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Northwest Business Briefs - July 2007
BAY COUNTY —
» St. Joe Co. (NYSE-JOE) has purchased the 136-slip Bay Point Marina near Panama City Beach for $9.9 million and plans to expand it.
CRESTVIEW —
» Defense contractor Aerospace Integration Corp., purchased last year by Ohio-based MTC Technologies, has laid off 38 employees, nearly 10% of its local workforce.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY —
» A Tallahassee administrative law judge has recommended that the Department of Environmental Protection deny International Paper’s request to build a 10-mile pipeline for wastewater discharge to wetlands near Perdido Bay, saying the project wouldn’t comply with minimum water quality standards.
JACKSON COUNTY —
» Grants totaling $1.89 million will be used to help build Green Circle Bio-Energy’s production facility, with $750,000 coming from the Florida Department of Community Affairs and $1.14 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
LYNN HAVEN —
» The Air Force has agreed to transfer 40 bayfront acres of a deactivated fuel depot at Tyndall Air Force Base to Florida State University for use as an extension campus. Tentative FSU plans include expansion of the underwater crime scene investigation program offered at its nearby Panama City campus. The remainder of the depot’s 203 acres will be marketed for development.
NAVARRE —
» Plans for The Boardwalk at Navarre, a 188-unit condo project to include stores, offices and town homes, have been scrapped because of the softening residential market and increasing construction costs. Charter Development Co. of Auburn, Ala., now is considering a retail center for the 20-acre site.
PANAMA CITY —
» Former state Rep. Scott Clemons was elected mayor, defeating incumbent Lauren DeGeorge. Clemons’ father, Gerry Clemons, held the top city political office for 20 years before losing to DeGeorge two years ago.
PENSACOLA —
» The Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce has partnered with four other Gulf Coast economic development agencies to launch iTen Wired, an interstate web-based effort teaming Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties and Baldwin and Mobile counties in Alabama. Among the group’s goals: Showcase technology and success stories and connect entrepreneurs to resources and research.
» Endeavor Credit Union has merged its 5,000 members and $50 million in assets into Central Credit Union, giving the combined organization 14,000 members and assets of $106 million.
TAYLOR COUNTY —
» Taylor Energy Center, a proposed $2-billion, 800-megawatt coal-fueled power plant near Perry, has reached an agreement with Buckeye, a nearby specialty cellulose plant, providing that 80% of Taylor Energy’s daily water requirements, primarily needed for cooling, will come from Buckeye’s wastewater. Taylor Energy has filed with the state to begin the licensing and permitting process.
