Monday's Afternoon Update
Florida gains presidential and congressional clout — at the expense of other states
The steady flow of people moving to Florida helps keep the roads clogged with traffic and housing prices high. But the 640 newcomers every day for the last 10 years are bringing something that will benefit every Floridian: increased political clout. The latest analysis of population trends shows Florida is likely to gain two seats in Congress and two more votes in the Electoral College that decides the presidency. Both are a big deal. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Florida Trend Exclusive
Economic outlook: Miami in 2020 - Trains, politics, environment
Florida Trend’s Economic Outlook focuses on specific issues that challenge the cities and counties across the state, assessing whether progress has been made in each category. There will likely be increasing focus in Miami-Dade on growing companies rather than starting them. Failure to scale up companies founded in the county “continues to be the case,” says Juan Montoya. “But other numbers are trending up,” including more venture capital. More from Florida Trend.
Fewer banks, healthier banks in Sarasota and Manatee
A lot can happen over 10 years. At the end of 2009, more than 16,000 banks and credit unions operated in the U.S. After hundreds of failures and thousands of mergers, the banking sector is down to about 10,000 lenders. Fifteen banks were headquartered in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties a decade ago. Today, just four call the region home. More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Human trafficking fight has an unlikely new ally: Pinellas bus drivers
Bus terminals are known to be a favorite hunting ground for human traffickers seeking young people who are on their own. So it makes sense that bus drivers are now on the lookout for victims of trafficking, say officials with the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority. The bus agency recently launched an initiative dubbed “Eyes of the City” to teach its nearly 400 drivers how to identify passengers who may be victims of trafficking. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
SeaWorld attendance is on the rise
The Orlando-based SeaWorld Entertainment is off to a good start in 2020. The company expects to announce a 2% attendance increase for the final quarter of 2019 that included the holiday season, according to a SEC filing from late Friday. The 2% jump is compared to the previous 2018 quarter. More from the Orlando Sentinel.
Retail Trends
From The Falls to Lincoln Road, South Florida retail is at a crossroads
For longtime South Florida shoppers, the closing of Bloomingdale’s at The Falls in South Dade seems like a watershed moment in the history of retail in Miami-Dade. While retail centers faltered and national brands shuttered brick-and-mortar stores nationwide, Miami has seemed largely immune — at least until Bloomie’s announced the Jan. 11 closing of its 35-year-old Falls store. (The Bloomingdale’s at Aventura Mall will not be affected.) But there’s more to that news than the headlines might suggest, say experts.
» More from the Miami Herald.
Profile
Bill Reeves
Bill Reeves is the executive managing director of Colliers International’s office services division in Tampa. Prior to joining Colliers in 2015, he spent 15 years with Cushman & Wakefield, where he completed more than 250 commercial real estate transactions. Reeves is a founding member of Southern Train, a band made up of other area commercial real estate executives plus Jamie Inman, a singer they recruited after she jumped up on stage to play with them at MacDinton’s pub in South Tampa.
» Read more from the Business Observer.