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Northwest Fla., Big Bend Business Briefs - Aug. 2008
Crestview
» Segers Aero Corp., which last year relocated its domestic headquarters from south Florida and announced plans to build a 100-employee jet engine repair facility here, is moving instead to existing space in Baldwin County, Ala.
» The 2008-09 state budget includes $2.5 million to establish a Florida A&M University School of Pharmacy in downtown Crestview. Sen. Durell Peaden, R-Crestview, requested the funds.
Escambia County
» Emerald Coast Utilities Authority approved five contracts totaling more than $144 million to start construction of a $302-million wastewater treatment facility at a new midcounty location. Completion is expected by the summer of 2010.
Jackson County
» The Jackson County Development Council won the 2008 Excellence in Economic Development Award for Rural Economic Development from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The award cited the council’s assistance in the Green Circle BioEnergy project, which manufactures wood pellets for power generation.
Northwest Florida
» Home sales in Bay, Escambia, Leon and Okaloosa counties dropped between 24% and 33% through May compared to the same period in 2007, according to Metro Market Trends.
Okaloosa County
» Commissioners approved plans for a 95,000-sq.-ft. courthouse annex extension, to be located on a 16-acre site at Northwest Florida Fairgrounds purchased last year from Fort Walton Beach. Budgeted cost: $28 million.
Panama City Beach
» Beazer Homes of Atlanta has started Whisper Dunes, its first area venture. The coastal community will include 222 single-family attached villas and 156 townhomes on 78 acres. Prices start in the $160,000s.
» GAC Contractors of Panama City has completed construction of Breakfast Point Academy. The $31-million, K-8 public school, built on land donated by the St. Joe Co., can accommodate 1,200 students.
Pensacola
» Sacred Heart Hospital is starting construction on a $31.5-million cancer center. The hospital is affiliated with the Physicians Network of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
» Synergy Solutions of Phoenix, which provides back office support for Fortune 500 companies, opened a customer service operation downtown in June with 100 employees. It expects to hire an additional 25.
» Olive Baptist Church has mounted a $10-million community initiative to build Ministry Village at Olive, located on the campus of the 9,000-member church. The blueprint includes a health clinic for the indigent, housing for those battling addiction and a community sports complex.
» Pall Corp., based in East Hills, N.Y., is building a $27-million, 40,000-sq.-ft. expansion at its Ellyson Industrial Park membrane manufacturing plant. The project will add 50 jobs.
» Baptist Health Care is buying West Florida Hospital from Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) for $245 million. The deal is expected to be completed by year-end.
Tallahassee
» Florida State University and the University of Michigan are sharing a $7-million grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health to study the effectiveness of early intervention for toddlers under 18 months diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.
» FSU will eliminate more than 250 positions and reduce enrollment by 2,000 students to help deal with a $31 million loss in state funding.
» McKibbon Hotel Group of Gainesville, Ga., is building a seven-story, 162-room hotel called Aloft Tallahassee Downtown on city-owned property. The property was once the site of the Floridan hotel, a hangout for legislators that closed in 1977.
Taylor County
» Suwannee River Water Management District approved an environmental resource permit for The Reserve at Sweetwater Estuary, a 1,243-acre redesigned coastal development proposed by landowner J. Crayton Pruitt. Pruitt still needs a county comprehensive plan amendment and additional regulatory approvals.
