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Miami-Dade Business Briefs - March 2007
HIALEAH --
? Citing skyrocketing insurance and other costs of doing business, printing company Genesis Press will move its operation to Greenville, S.C., later this year. About 40 of 130 workers will make the move, executives say. Genesis joins a list of manufacturing companies fleeing Miami-Dade in the past year for more affordable regions.
MARATHON --
? Coral Gables developer R. Donahue Peebles bought Key Colony Bay Motel in Marathon for $28.3 million. Peebles plans to build 72 furnished, waterfront vacation homes starting at $1.8 million on the five-acre site. Construction on Manoir Resort Villas is expected to start later this year, with completion by mid-2009.
MIAMI --
? Parrot Jungle Island, the iconic theme park that has struggled to remain aloft since moving from south Miami-Dade to a new home near downtown in 2003, will change its name to Jungle Island effective June 1 to better reflect the 71-year-old park's assortment of animals and shows added in recent years.
? Banco Sabadell, part of Spain's fourth-largest banking group, bought Miami-based TransAtlantic Bank for $175 million.
? Ornare, a Brazil-based maker of high-end closets and storage systems, is opening its first U.S. showroom in Miami's Design District.
? The National Basketball Association has named the Miami Heat the 2006 Team Retailer of the Year, recognizing the team's 175% increase in merchandise sales. The Heat is the league's only two-time winner of the award.
? Alabama-based banking giant Colonial Bancorp has agreed to acquire Miami's Commercial Bankshares (Nasdaq-CLBK), parent company of Commercial Bank of Florida, in a deal valued at $317 million.
? With revenue of $62 million, Miami-based law firm Adorno & Yoss ranks 101st on DiversityBusiness.com's annual list of top-grossing minority and women-owned businesses in the U.S.
? The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which succeeded in getting Taco Bell to pay more for its tomatoes two years ago, failed to persuade Miami-based Burger King to pay a penny per pound more for tomatoes. The fast-food company says it doesn't have a direct relationship with tomato growers and that it pays the best market price from repacking companies.
MIAMI-DADE --
? Baptist Health South Florida ranks 81st on the list of "100 Best Companies to Work For" in the U.S. by Fortune magazine. Baptist Health, the region's largest private employer with about 11,300 employees, is the only Miami-area company to appear in the rankings.
? Post-Newsweek's broadcast outlet in Miami, WPLG-ABC, will be among four stations in the U.S. to launch the Latin youth-oriented television network LATV. Programming will be available to cable customers and over the air to viewers with a digital receiver.
