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Central Florida Business Briefs - Oct. 2007
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS —
» Mercantile Commercial Capital, which provides U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loans, has expanded nationwide.
APOPKA —
» The Army has awarded Northrop Grumman a $91-million contract to manufacture more than 300 lightweight laser-targeting devices.
CELEBRATION —
» Ginn Resorts has acquired the real estate holdings of Atlanta-based developer BriarRose Land Co. and current project BriarRose Hamlet, a 1,879-acre country estate and club community being built near White Plains, Ga.
MAITLAND —
» Value Financial Services, which operates 62 Value Pawn & Jewelry and Check Jewelry and Loan stores in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, plans to go public.
MELBOURNE —
» Lockheed Martin has awarded Harris Corp. (NYSE-HRS) a $30-million contract to supply high-speed fiber-optic network components for Air Force fighter aircraft. The add-on contract brings the total to more than $280 million since 1991. In other Harris news: The company has also been awarded a five-year U.S. General Services Administration contract to provide integrated IT solutions for federal agencies. With an additional five-year option, the contract could be worth $50 billion. It has also won a $76-million contract to provide Pakistan with Falcon II high-frequency tactical radios typically used by the U.S. military. This follows a 2005 contract for $68 million.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH —
» Sanford-based Commercial Alliance Group purchased 6.5 acres along Callalisa Creek that includes 30 boat slips with access to the Atlantic Ocean and development rights for a 21-unit luxury condominium. The developers also plan to build larger luxury homes on 3.5 adjacent acres, with preconstruction prices starting at $1.15 million in early 2008.
ORANGE CITY —
» Jordan Development Group plans to start construction in mid-2008 on a 700,000-sq.-ft. retail, hotel and office center called Victoria Pointe at I-4 and State Road 472 in southwest Volusia County.
ORLANDO —
» Darden Restaurants (NYSE-DRI) is buying RARE Hospitality for $1.4 billion. RARE owns the Capital Grille and LongHorn Steakhouse chains.
» Tavistock Restaurants, a division of Tavistock Group, has purchased Texas-based Mexican casual restaurant chain Freebirds World Burrito for an undisclosed price.
» Houghton Mifflin Co. is buying Harcourt Education and two sister units of British company Reed Elsevier. The deal reportedly is for $4 billion.
» HD Supply Electrical, a division of HD Supply, has opened an electrical equipment distribution center on Old Winter Garden Road to serve its 25 Florida branches. The center added 15 jobs.
» The University of Central Florida has opened an Honors Living-Learning Community dorm area for about 300 honor students. The program includes a live-in mentor and special programs that focus on continued learning. >> Home furnishings store IKEA is hiring 350 for its new store set to open this fall near Mall at Millenia.
POINCIANA —
» A $15-million condo office and warehouse project is in the works for Poinciana Office & Industrial Park. The developer, Poinciana 15 Acres, plans 14 buildings slated for construction late next year. PROscape, a landscape management and service company, is starting construction on a $1-million operations center there.
WINTER PARK —
» Rollins College’s Crummer Graduate School of Business is the only Florida university ranked in a recent Forbes magazine survey as one of the top 50 nationwide for return on investment for an MBA.
