Southwest Fla. Business Briefs - May 2010

BROOKSVILLE — Hernando County commissioners approved new economic development priorities that include encouraging more foreign trade and creating more partnerships between local businesses and government.

CLEARWATER — Delta Dental, a dental benefits company based in Missouri, has purchased Advantica EyeCare, a Clearwater-based vision benefits provider that employs 90 and had $46 million in revenue last year. The purchase enables Delta Dental to offer group vision benefits.

» St. Petersburg College’s Clearwater campus has installed a 3.5-kilowatt solar power generating system on the roof of its natural science, mathematics and engineering building.

» AAR Composites, which develops, manufactures and markets composite products for the aerospace industry, will use $42,000 from Florida’s Incumbent Worker Training Program to train 40 of its Pinellas County employees.

FORT MYERS — Lee County commissioners approved $16.1 million worth of improvements to Page Field General Aviation Airport in Fort Myers, including a new 22,613-sq.-ft. passenger terminal and a 24,000-sq.-ft. multiuse hangar.

» Lender TIB Bank has taken possession of the Hotel Indigo downtown following a foreclosure sale. The hotel will remain open.

MANATEE COUNTY — Gainesville-based Exactech announced plans to add 29 workers at its Manatee County facility over the next five years, including five this year. Exactech makes surgical instruments used to implant joint-replacement devices.

» Home-Tech, which repairs and replaces air-conditioning systems and large appliances, announced plans to hire 22 workers over the next five years.

» Port Dolphin Energy, which is planning to develop a deepwater port 28 miles from the mouth of Tampa Bay, signed a $30-million deal with the Manatee County Port Authority.

PASCO COUNTY — Pasco-Hernando Community College, which has campuses in Dade City, New Port Richey and Brooksville, plans to open another in Wiregrass Ranch. The college hopes to break ground in 2012 and open the campus in the fall of 2013. A $46.4-million, seven-building campus in Spring Hill is expected to open this August.

ST. LEO — Saint Leo University is building its first new academic building since 1964. The $11-million College of Business building will add nine classrooms, a large lecture hall, computer labs and a broadcast technology suite. Construction begins this month.

ST. PETERSBURG — Advocates for the homeless dropped their lawsuit against the city after a federal judge dismissed most of the suit. The ruling allows the city to arrest homeless people for sleeping in certain areas downtown, and it prevents them from storing their possessions on public property.

TAMPA — PBS&J has been awarded a five-year, $95-million contract to provide architectural, engineering, planning and other services at Air National Guard facilities throughout the U.S., Guam, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

» Sypris Electronics has won a $6-million contract to make electronic assemblies for the Air Force’s F-16 digital flight control computer.

» Former USF football coach Jim Leavitt is suing the school, arguing that his January firing was illegal. Leavitt was let go after the university found that he had slapped a football player during halftime of a game.

WINTER HAVEN — Legoland Florida, which isn’t expected to open until the end of next year, has already started posting some of the 1,000 jobs Polk County economic officials hope the theme park will bring.

» The Florida Business Continuity Center, which helps companies recover data in the event of a natural disaster, has opened alongside the University of South Florida Polytechnic’s Blue Sky East business incubator.

Tags: Southwest