Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Southwest Florida Business Briefs - July 2006

CLEARWATER --
» Opus South Development has broken ground on Water's Edge, a 153-unit residential condominium in downtown Clearwater.

» JMC Communities is planning a condo development at the site of the old Holiday Inn SunSpree hotel. JMC is scheduled to break ground on the French Polynesian-inspired project by this fall, with condo prices starting at $1 million.

FORT MYERS --
» Home furnishing retailer Robb & Stucky has acquired The Home of Fine Decorators, a luxury design firm with locations on Florida's east coast and Las Vegas, for an undisclosed price.

» The Lee County Port Authority was awarded $18.3 million from the Florida Department of Transportation to design and build terminal expansions at Southwest Florida International Airport, including additional aircraft gates and ramp areas.

» As part of its Annaly Bay project, the Throgmartin Co. announced it will develop a major golf club community called Solitude Valley on 1,100 acres in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

NAPLES --
» The founders of InfiNetwork, an information technology firm specializing in computer security, have launched a company called New IQ to oversee the construction of so-called "intelligent" buildings. The company will create systems that control lighting, electronic access control, elevator control, security surveillance systems and energy management via the internet.

» The Naples-Marco Island area ranked eighth in Inc. magazine's annual "Best Cities for Doing Business" list based on its surging population and steady job growth.

SARASOTA --
» Clockwork Homes Services has added Indianapolis-based Dial One to its portfolio of nationally branded home repair franchises.

ST. PETERSBURG --
» Home Depot has purchased Cox Lumber Co., the largest independent lumber supplier in Florida, for an undisclosed amount.

» Progress Energy has pledged $6.3 million over the next 20 years for arts and entertainment programming at the Mahaffey Theater and other sites along 19 acres of downtown waterfront. The Progress Energy Center for the Arts will include the newly renovated Mahaffey Theater, a civic plaza, offices of the Florida Orchestra, a park and the new Dali Museum.

TAMPA --
» U.S. Special Operations Command opened a $25.5-million Warfighter Center, which will serve as a base for the war against terrorism.

» The University of South Florida's Department of Chemistry has launched a Center for Molecular Diversity in Drug Design, Discovery and Development to advance the school's efforts to develop drugs. strong>? Data center operator Peak 10 is expanding its Tampa center to meet increased demand for its disaster recovery services.

» Tampa-based Metro Development Group, a 3-year-old residential developer, is opening an office in Jacksonville.

» WCI's Westshore Yacht Club, which opened this spring, is the city's first marina to berth megayachts. It has 149 slips that can accommodate yachts 80 feet or longer.