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Southwest Florida Business Briefs - Aug. 2005
CLEARWATER -- Market Street Mortgage, the largest originator of home mortgages in the Tampa Bay area, has acquired 27 residential production offices in eight Western states from Major Mortgage, giving the company 101 locations nationwide.
COLLIER COUNTY -- Taxable property values jumped by more than 19% over the past year and could generate an extra $38.3 million in tax revenue. New construction accounted for about 3% of the $61.2-billion total taxable value of property, according to preliminary figures posted by the Collier County Property Appraiser's Office. The county could soon rank fifth in the state for highest taxable property values.
Citing traffic concerns, the Collier County Commission rejected a proposal for an affordable housing development off Collier Boulevard.
FORT MYERS -- NeoMedia Technologies received permission from the European Patent Office to patent its core technology in 10 European countries. NeoMedia makes PaperClick software that lets PC, cell phone and PDA users scan bar codes or words on products to link to the internet.
Moody's Investor Services recently boosted its rating on the $397 million in outstanding bonds for Southwest Florida International Airport from A3 to A2. Strong increases in passenger traffic, regional population growth and the completion of a $438-million terminal contributed to the upgrade.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY -- Taxable property values jumped by 16.52% last year in Hillsborough County, thanks in part to new construction. Some 11,000 homes were constructed there last year.
LAKELAND -- Former Publix President Charles H. Jenkins, brother of the grocery chain's founder and father of its current CEO, died June 14 of natural causes at age 90. Jenkins started his Publix career as a stock clerk at the company's Lake Wales store in 1946. Jenkins was president of the Lake Wales Chamber of Commerce and served on the board of the Greater Lakeland Chamber of Commerce. He was also a trustee at Florida Southern College.
MANATEE COUNTY -- Despite opposition from some residents, developer David Shafer is looking to build an industrial park on 21 acres west of U.S. 301 and south of Tallevast Road. Shafer, a managing partner of Swift, Richardson Holding in Sarasota, says the proposed development would employ about 250. He vowed that the development will be off-limits to heavy manufacturing.
GE Infrastructure Security has established a headquarters in Bradenton. The move is expected to bring 70 new jobs to the area.
NAPLES -- For the seventh consecutive year, the Naples Alliance for Children has named the Bonita Bay Group a "family-friendly workplace." The developer of master-planned communities and recreational facilities throughout southwest Florida offers its employees everything from smoking cessation assistance and paid paternity leave to $115 a month in matching child-care costs and interest-free $5,000 home loans.
Naples ranked as the top second-home market in the country during the first quarter, according to Escapehomes.com, beating out both Myrtle Beach, S.C., and South Padre Island, Texas. The designation is based on the number of searches each month.
PALMETTO -- German-based Gammerler AG, maker of printing equipment, plans to build its North American headquarters in Palmetto, adding 70 jobs to the area. The company is committing $4.25 million to build the 80,000-sq.-ft. facility and purchase machinery and other equipment.
PASCO COUNTY -- Flight simulator maker Opinicus Corp. is building a 56,383-sq.-ft. research and manufacturing facility at State Road 54 and the Suncoast Parkway.
SARASOTA -- Art Eckert was appointed president of S.S. Appel & Co., the developer that is planning the Sonesta Legacy Resort and Spa and San Marco Plaza at Lakewood Ranch.
City leaders have launched a pilot program for alternative fuel vehicles: The city has purchased two Toyota Priuses -- one for the public works department and the other for the code compliance division.
ST. PETERSBURG -- The city is expected to choose this month from four proposals to buy and develop the Dome Industrial Pilot Area, a 16-acre site west of Tropicana Field. Bids range from $2.25 million to $3 million.
Dave Sobush has signed on as the city's economic development coordinator. Previously, he was an associate director of the University of South Florida's Center for Economic Development Research.
TAMPA -- The developer of the Seaboard Square condos at Channelside has hired a marketing communications firm to analyze the costs and potential market for a high-speed ferry to connect Tampa and St. Petersburg.
Sago Networks will provide free wireless internet access in downtown Tampa, meaning that anyone with a wireless-enabled computer or PDA can surf the web for free.
