Florida farmers say freeze damaged crops may raise prices
Florida's recent rash of frigid weather is hurting farmers — and they say consumers will feel the impacts, too. Though it's still early, some growers are already reporting damage to crops like squash and sweet corn after some parts of the Sunshine State saw freezing temperatures last weekend. Florida experienced an initial freeze on Dec. 30, followed by an additional freeze in mid-January and an extended cold period beginning in late January. More from Axios.
ABC Fine Wine & Spirits begins expansions efforts outside of Florida for first time
ABC Fine Wine & Spirits has expanded its alcoholic beverage retail presence outside of Florida for the first time amid additional plans for future growth. The family-owned operation, which opened in 1936 in downtown Orlando, acquired and rebranded three Colorado-based Applejack Wine & Spirits stores as Applejack by ABC on Jan. 30. ABC operates more than 125 stores across Florida. Future plans for growth will be focused in the Southeast region of the country. More from the Orlando Business Journal.
Fort Lauderdale back to original plan: Build new City Hall for $200 million
Just two weeks ago, Fort Lauderdale was ready to scrap a long-term plan to spend $200 million building a new City Hall and purchase a less expensive office tower downtown instead. That plan went up in smoke on Tuesday when Commissioner Pamela Beasley-Pittman walked back comments she made two weeks ago saying she wanted to look into buying Tower 101 for $86 million. More from the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
What could a Rays stadium deal offer Hillsborough College?
Last month, Hillsborough College’s trustees approved a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the Rays that lays out the parameters of a potential deal. Some economists and faculty are concerned that the project’s disruption won’t have much payoff for the college itself. Others think it could modernize the campus and create a better student experience. What’s clear is there are few certainties right now. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
BWXT opens Melbourne IT center, pursues moon nuclear reactor for NASA
A Fortune 1000 company that produces nuclear reactors and uranium fuel for the U.S. Navy now has a Melbourne office for "the IT brains of the organization" — and the company hopes to develop NASA's fission powerplant on the moon's surface for future Artemis missions. Headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia, BWX Technologies President and CEO Rex Geveden said his company's new footprint on Florida's Space Coast may rapidly expand, depending on nuclear space-industry developments. More from Florida Today.
Business Beat - Week of February 6th
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Luxury Trends
Buy a $30M penthouse in this Miami causeway building, get a rare $3M car
Talk about a BOGO: Buy a penthouse at the Pagani Residences in North Bay Village, and they’ll throw in a special edition Utopia Roadster, one of the Italian automaker’s ultra-luxury hypercars. The bright blue Miami edition of the roadster, worth more than $3 million, is included with the purchase of one of the Pagani Residences’ two penthouses. One penthouse in the 30-story, 70-unit building is priced at $28.5 million, and the other is $30 million, a record-breaking sum for the causeway town between Miami and Miami Beach.
» Read more from the Miami Herald.