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Central Florida Business Briefs - Feb. 2007
DAYTONA BEACH —
» Yvonne Scarlett-Golden, Daytona Beach’s first black mayor, died in December from cancer. She was 80.
» AirTran Airways now flies out of Daytona Beach International Airport, with round-trip service to Atlanta and Baltimore.
» Oceans West III, a division of the Callahan Group, is developing Halifax Landing, a 15-story, 186-unit luxury riverfront condominium on Ridgewood Avenue in South Daytona Beach. The company’s other projects have included the Oceans Grand and Salida del Sol condominiums.
LAKE MARY —
» Evok Advertising, a national firm that expanded its headquarters in mid-2006 in Northpoint office park, has acquired Orlando-based Jackson-Terral, formerly Jackson Advertising.
ORLANDO —
» The University of Central Florida will have a new College of Nursing starting July 1. The program will be the university’s 12th college. Current nursing school director Jean Leuner will be its founding dean. It will remain in the College of Health and Public Affairs building until a new facility can be built at Lake Nona.
» The Lynx regional transportation authority has started charter service to Clermont and the Four Corners area as part of an agreement with the Lake County Commission.
» The Orlando-Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau is launching its largest marketing campaign ever, spending $68 million in 2007-08 to attract more vacationers and meetings/conventions. The 2005-06 budget was $20 million. Most of the funding, which comes from the local tourist tax, will target the leisure market with the slogan “Built for families. Made for memories.”
» The Orlando Magic’s home has been renamed the Amway Arena in a four-year, $1.5-million deal between the city and team owner Rich DeVos, who founded Amway.
» The Barry University School of Law, established in 1999, was granted full accreditation in December by the American Bar Association.
» MCZ/Centrum Development Corp. is converting the 304-unit gated rental community Mirabella near Gaylord Palms into condominiums.
» Isleworth Golf & Country Club developer Tavistock Group has teamed with golfers Tiger Woods and Ernie Els to create Albany Golf & Beach Club on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. The 565-acre family resort is scheduled to open in late 2008.
» Orlando International Airport has opened two new options for people picking up passengers: A free “cell phone lot,” where they can wait until they receive a call from arriving passengers; and Express Pick-Up, where people with E-Pass and SunPass toll transponders can enter through a security checkpoint and meet passengers at the curb on the B side of the terminal. Express Pick-Up costs $1 for each 30 minutes and offers access to free Wi-Fi internet service.
» Florida Hospital has received approval to establish a general surgery residency starting in July. The program will accept two residents each year.
OSCEOLA COUNTY —
» Visitors at hotels, motels, restaurants and other businesses across the state won’t find Disney brochures among displays of the state’s attractions. Disney World ordered all of its brochures removed, saying the brochures do little to attract visitors.
PONCE INLET —
» Luxury beachfront condominium developer Volusia Properties from Daytona Beach Shores has acquired the Lighthouse Boat Yard and plans to enhance the existing 30-boat marina.
SANFORD —
» Orlando Sanford International Airport has started an $8.2-million project to expand the concrete apron around its international terminal.
» Also, the Sanford Airport Authority is building a 22,000-sq.-ft. hangar at the airport that will be leased by Aeronautical Restoration and Maintenance Facility.
WINTER PARK —
» Independent CPA firm Chastang, Ferrell, Sims & Eiserman, with nearly 100 employees, has been acquired by LarsonAllen, one of the nation’s largest accounting firms with 1,100 employees and $160 million in annual revenue.
» Winter Park Memorial, part of the Florida Hospital system, has become the first medical center in the nation to open a county vital statistics office on campus where parents can
get their infant’s birth certificate before they leave the hospital. The amenity is expected to become a national trend.
