Central Fla. and Space Coast Business Briefs - Aug. 2008

DAYTONA BEACH

» International Speedway Corp.’s second-quarter revenue fell 3% to $174.9 million while its profit rose 41% to $26 million. The company took a charge of $9.1 million in last year’s second quarter because of its decision to hold off on building a racetrack in Seattle. Race admissions revenue was down nearly $4 million in the second quarter.

LAKE COUNTY

The Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization is surveying public transportation riders, operators and stakeholders as it develops a long-range blueprint.

MELBOURNE

» Amid reports that it’s for sale, Harris Corp. (NYSE-HRS) continues to sign major contracts, including a potential seven-year, $53-million deal to supply communication and navigation systems for the next generation of spacesuits for NASA’s Constellation program.

» Medical device manufacturer C2C Development and electronic testing product developer Global Engineering Management and Support have moved into the Florida Technological Research and Development Authority’s Business Innovation Center in Melbourne.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH

» Vintage Props & Jets in New Smyrna Beach has started operating flights to the Abaco Islands from Daytona Beach International Airport.

ORLANDO

» AirTran will keep its headquarters at Orlando International Airport for the next 15 years and will receive more than $5 million in incentives from state and local government agencies.

» JetBlue Airways has nixed plans to build a $30-million employee lodge at Orlando International Airport.

» The building that houses Doc’s Restaurant across Orange Avenue from Orlando Regional Medical Center will be retooled in a $32-million project starting this fall to make way for a Hampton Inn.

» Disney’s Wide World of Sports plans to add a 100-lane bowling alley, the largest in the nation, by early 2010 and start hosting U.S. Bowling Congress tournaments the following year.

» Disney partnered with NASA in May to launch a 12-inch Buzz Lightyear action figure into space aboard the shuttle Discovery as a way to get kids interested in science and to promote the new Toy Story Mania! attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

OSCEOLA COUNTY

» About 50 people gathered in Kissimmee in May for the first-ever summit of local arts organizations from Orange, Seminole, Lake, Osceola, Brevard, Polk and Volusia counties. Top issue on the agenda: Talking with state elected officials about the importance of funding the arts. The group plans to convene in October in Brevard County.

» The county’s Economic Development Department has launched ChooseOsceola.com to recruit and retain targeted industries.

» Toronto-based recycled plastic products manufacturer Norseman Plastics has opened a plant in Poinciana Office & Industrial Park and expects to create as many as 50 jobs by the end of 2009.

SEMINOLE COUNTY

» Seminole Community College and the University of Central Florida are starting construction this summer on a four-story, $30-million Partnership Center on the Sanford/Lake Mary campus. It will house classrooms, offices, a library and a cafe.

» Orlando Sanford International Airport has made a 10-year pledge to cut carbon emissions by 35.4% and reduce water consumption by 982,080 gallons annually, starting in early 2009. Estimated savings: More than $4.7 million.

WINTER PARK

» Developer Steve Walsh died in his home from a shotgun wound June 25. Police have ruled the death a suicide. Among the projects handled by his firm, Broad Street Partners: The on-hold Tradition Towers in downtown Orlando, which was to include a new location for the University Club; The Carlisle in Winter Park, abandoned after protests that it would forever change the flavor of the city’s downtown core; luxury condos The Residences at Ravinia in Maitland; and a new town center in Oviedo.

Tags: Central