In the News

DAYTONA BEACH -- Construction is under way on a $57-million renovation of the Ocean Center designed to almost double the center's size to 500,000 square feet. Completion is set for late 2007.

In February, United Airlines will start offering two daily flights between Daytona Beach International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. The flights will be on 50-seat Mesa Air Group jets under the United Express brand.

A 95-acre site along Interstate 95 near the Bellevue Avenue Extension and Williamson Boulevard has been purchased for almost $6.7 million by North Delaware Land Acquisition Co. The pasture land formerly was owned by Norpak Corp. of New Jersey, which is operated by longtime area land owners the Coraci family.

DEBARY -- A $6.6-million industrial facility under construction off Springview Commerce Drive will include 100,000 square feet of class A office and warehouse space. Springview CommerCenter is set to open in the spring of 2006.

DELEON SPRINGS -- The Florida Department of Transportation is studying the impact of the planned widening of about six miles of rural U.S. Highway 17 from DeLeon Springs to Barberville. The study will continue while the project is under development, which could be as long as 10 years.

LAKE MARY -- Ruth's Chris Steak House has settled into its new headquarters in Heathrow, relocating after its New Orleans base was struck by Hurricane Katrina. The company had been operating out of an office in downtown Orlando.

ORLANDO -- John Adams brings a varied list of credentials with him as Enterprise Florida's new CEO. Adams, 51, formerly economic development executive director of Laredo, Texas, holds a doctorate in history from Texas A&M University, has written numerous books, including one titled "Mexican Banking and Investment in Transition," rose to the rank of captain in the Air Force, is a pilot and graduated from the American-Nicaraguan School in Managua, Nicaragua. In 1988, the U.S. Small Business Administration named Adams, then head of a medical supply company, exporter of the year.

Demetree Builders plans to start construction in spring 2007 on a $100-million residential and retail complex called College Park Village at Edgewater Drive and Par Street in College Park. The site at the former Edgewater Corporate Center will include 150 apartments and condominiums, two parking garages, restaurants, shops and office space.

In a $23-million renovation project scheduled for completion in mid-2006 at the former Adam's Mark in south Orlando, Edinburgh Management is repositioning The Florida Mall Hotel as a first-class meeting destination. Besides doubling the available meeting space, the hotel inside Orlando's largest shopping mall is upgrading its 510 rooms. Houston-based owners Tantallon Orlando purchased the hotel last year for $17.8 million and decided to keep it independent.

Advanced Power Electronics has been awarded a two-year, $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the Army to create a hybrid power system for combat vehicles that is small enough to fit into a space the size of a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle engine compartment. The company has developed the system's concept under an earlier $100,000 grant.

In a $175,000 survey by myregion.org of central Florida values, 70% of area residents cited growth as their top concern, and 64% said they expect their quality of life to decrease in the next five to 10 years because of it.

ORMOND BEACH -- The American Motorcycle Institute plans to build a $26-million campus on 27.5 acres at the Destination Daytona site under development along Interstate 95 in Ormond Beach, where a new Harley Davidson dealership now doubles as an official Daytona Beach welcome center. The motorcycle school is owned by Corinthian Colleges in California.

SANFORD -- Orlando Sanford International Airport lost one of its carriers when TransMeridian Airlines went bankrupt in October. Other airlines have offered to help passengers who already held tickets.

WINTER PARK -- A slew of multimillion-dollar developments under construction or planned in the city's historic downtown has drawn ire from residents, who have been packing into municipal meetings to protest. Among the most debated: The four-story Carlisle building on New York Avenue along the border of Central Park that will contain a post office, retail, office space, condos and parking.

Rollins College now has a house on campus for its presidents and their families. The 7,200-sq.-ft. residence on Lake Virginia is on the east side of the campus..