Cape Coral —
» Texas-based National Swimming Center Corp. is proposing to develop an aquatic center, tennis courts and a hotel on the site of the city’s Academic Village. The developer is proposing that Lee County pay $10 million and the city more than $5 million of the overall $30-million cost.
Clearwater —
» Achieva Credit Union, headquartered in Clearwater, is in talks to merge with Sarasota Coastal Credit Union.
» Tech Data (Nasdaq-TECD) has launched an “economic stimulus watch,” an initiative to help track the “billions of dollars” of IT spending the company expects to result from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Fort Myers —
» Gartner, an information technology research company, will expand its Lee County operations after getting $1.8 million in incentives from the county and state. The company, which employs 346 in Fort Myers, plans to add 200 jobs over the next five years and spend $13.5 million to build a 70,000-sq.-ft. office building.
Lake Wales —
» After spending $3 million over the last 10 years, the city has decided to give up on plans to convert a 90-year-old school building into a performing arts center.
Manatee County —
» Port Manatee signed a two-year alliance with the Panama Canal Authority designed to increase trade between the two ports by soliciting shippers world-wide through joint marketing and information sharing.
Pasco/Hernando Counties —
Avalon Park Group plans to build a sand-mining operation on 130 acres near the border of Pasco and Hernando counties and eventually place a lakeside residential community there.
Sarasota —
» A 12-block stretch of downtown, including the Five Points area, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Significant buildings within the district include the Kress Building on Main Street and the Sarasota Opera House on Pineapple Avenue.
» Proposed improvements to Siesta Beach parking lots and concession areas could cost taxpayers $4 million.
Sebring —
» The University of South Florida Polytechnic, formerly USF-Lakeland, has opened One Poly Place in Sebring, where local high school students and their parents can learn more about educational opportunities, including applying for colleges or trade schools. Mentors will be on staff to help students set and attain goals.
St. Petersburg —
» Raymond James Financial (NYSE-RJF) has reversed an earlier decision to seek federal TARP funds.
Tampa —
» More than a year after being raided by federal agents, WellCare Health Plans admitted it defrauded the state’s Medicaid system and agreed to pay $80 million to Medicaid and the Florida Healthy Kids program. The company will also pay a $10 million civil penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Meanwhile, WellCare will cut 360 jobs, including 200 in Florida.
» OSI Restaurant Partners, operator of Outback Steakhouse and other restaurant chains, has agreed to sell its 36-location Cheeseburger in Paradise chain for $2 million to a company owned by Steve Overholt, the cheeseburger chain’s president.
» Continental Airlines is closing its Tampa reservations center, putting 100 out of work. Another 600 workers were given the option of working from home for less pay, transferring to a reservation center in Houston or Salt Lake City or taking a severance package.
» A federal judge last month recommended that Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration hand over 17 tons of “Black Swan” treasure to Spain.
Wesley Chapel —
» A seven-year effort to build a tennis stadium has ended. The $7.9-million facility had been proposed as a joint effort between Pasco County and Saddlebrook Resort.