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Southwest Florida Business Briefs - Nov. 2007
BONITA SPRINGS —
» Carl Icahn is one of nine new directors on the board of WCI Communities (NYSE-WCI). The billionaire investor and his companies control at least 14.5% of WCI stock.
» After letting go 30 employees earlier this year, Bonita Bay Group cut another 30 jobs in August.
BRADENTON —
» Pierce Manufacturing, a division of Oshkosh Truck, will add 140 employees over the next two years as part of a $1.2-million expansion to increase production of its Medtec ambulances.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY —
» Venice, North Port and Charlotte County are looking at pooling their building department staffs to save money, avoid layoffs and avoid permitting and inspection delays.
FORT MYERS —
» Prominent real estate broker Frank D’Alessandro drowned in September in a kayaking accident in New Jersey. He was 52.
GULFPORT —
» The American Bar Association has named Stetson Law School its ABA School of the Year for the second time in the past three years.
NAPLES —
» Stofft Cooney Architects is building two mixed-use projects in old Naples. The McCabe building will include a restaurant as well as commercial and residential space. The Condello building will include commercial, office, retail and residential condos.
MANATEE COUNTY —
» The Manatee County School Board has agreed to buy 146 acres from Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, developer of Lakewood Ranch, for $4.4 million to build up to three schools.
» Gyrocam Systems received a $43.4-million order from the Army for replacement parts for the Gyrocam Triple Camera systems it purchased a year ago. The company more than doubled its workforce to 112 employees.
» Lion’s Gate Development has begun construction on Gateway to the Ranch, a retail project on State Road 70 east of I-75.
PINELLAS COUNTY —
» The Pinellas County Commission voted to approve increased zoning densities in select communities along the beaches to help hoteliers rebuild aging properties. The new limits, which were scheduled for final approval in October, would apply only to communities that individually ratified the county’s plan and would allow 125 units per acre, up from 50.
» Smith & Nephew, a London medical device company, is planning to close a Largo production facility that employs 150.
SARASOTA —
» Diamond manufacturer Gemesis Corp. plans to double the size of its facility at Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park to 60,000 square feet.
SARASOTA COUNTY —
» A $45-million plan to renovate Ed Smith Stadium for the Cincinnati Reds fell apart because of a lack of support from county commissioners.
» Honeywell International is moving 87 jobs to Freeport, Ill., and Mexico.
ST. PETERSBURG —
» Catalina Marketing’s shareholders accepted a $1.7-billion private buyout bid by investment group Hellman & Friedman.
» The Bernard Osher Foundation awarded Eckerd College $1 million to establish an endowment for the Eckerd Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for adults 50 and older.
TAMPA —
» Walter Industries (NYSE- WLT), a producer and exporter of metallurgical coal, is acquiring Tuscaloosa Resources, an Alabama coal producer, for $21.7 million.
» Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. (NYSE-NA), a Tampa steel producer, plans to buy Chaparral Steel of Midlothian, Texas, for $86 a share.
» Syniverse Technologies (NYSE-SVR), which provides technology services to wireless telecom companies, is laying off 56 employees.
