Florida jobless claims drop to pandemic low

First-time unemployment claims in Florida last week dropped to a new one-week low during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Department of Labor estimated 6,289 first-time applications were filed in the state during the week that ended July 31, down from a revised count of 10,110 during the week that ended July 24. The agency had initially estimated 9,082 new claims for the week ending July 24. While still subject to revision, last week’s estimate would reverse a recent upward trend in claims. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Business Beat - Week of August 6th

Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video newsbrief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.

Florida’s COVID hospitalizations hit new all time high, reaching nearly 13,000 admissions

The COVID surge continues in Florida with hospitals reporting new record-breaking admissions for the virus on Thursday. Critically ill COVID patients now fill 2,577 intensive care beds in Florida’s hospitals, occupying about 89% of available beds, with all 261 hospitals reporting. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Florida ranks 7th in the country for home development, study says

Florida ranked seventh, just behind Texas, with 5.49 residents per 100,000 for permits issued. They’ve seen a total of more than 800,000 permits requested, which is a 641% increase over those five years. Idaho ranked first, with Utah, Colorado, South Carolina, and Delaware rounding out the top five states on the list. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

The future of retail is in question at one of Tampa's oldest malls

Sitting on Fowler Avenue, just a mile or so from the University of South Florida, is University Mall. Like a lot of malls, it’s a massive, spread out edifice surrounded by acres of parking spots. And like a lot of malls, it has seen better days. University Mall is undergoing a transformation, part fundamental and welcomed, and part quiet and underneath the surface. With ambitious plans and an investment that's already surpassed $100 million, the transformation is also in the spotlight in the region and across the state, as the indoor mall sector figures out what it will be in the next five, even 10 years. [Source: Business Observer]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Food equipment manufacturing trade show canceled at Orange County Convention Center amid coronavirus concerns [Orlando Sentinel]
A second business meeting has been canceled at the Orange County Convention Center, as the region battles a resurgence of COVID-19 with record numbers of new infections and hospitalizations. The NAFEM Show, a trade show of foodservice equipment manufacturers, was expected to bring about 10,000 visitors to the region between Aug. 26 and Aug. 28, but announced the cancelation on its website Wednesday.

› As record Florida manatee deaths climb, state and feds prepare for another deadly winter [Florida Today]
Wildlife management agencies are preparing for another potential round of mass manatee deaths they fear could occur as early as winter. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission met in Bonita Springs Wednesday to talk about the Unusual Mortality Event, or UME, that has claimed hundreds of sea cows in the Indian River Lagoon.

› AdventHealth purchases Holy Land Experience in $32 million sale [Orlando Sentinel]
AdventHealth has closed a purchase of the Holy Land Experience theme park property, promising to expand its health offerings for the area off Vineland Road. The sale of 14 acres at 4655 Vineland Road closed Aug. 2 for $32 million, according to property records, allowing the expansion of the region’s largest hospital system.

› Private equity giant Apollo signs on for new downtown Miami office space [Miami Herald]
Apollo Global Management has signed on for temporary office space with Miami-based law firm Greenberg Traurig while the private equity giant searches for a permanent Miami home. The 3,500-square-foot space at Traurig’s Wells Fargo Center offices in downtown Miami, under a license agreement, will house as many as 16 employees.

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› See which Central Florida restaurants got federal COVID grants of up to $10 million [Orlando Sentinel]
Thousands of Florida restaurants and caterers were awarded more than $1.3 billion in grants through a federal stimulus program, with a company that does business at Disney World’s Epcot and another connected to eateries at the Orange County Convention Center each receiving the maximum $10 million in funding. JBI LLC and Pita Hut Enterprises LLC each were awarded $10 million through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant program, Small Business Administration records show.

› Real estate firm tops $1.6B in sales volume — in six months [Business Observer]
John R. Wood Properties, the oldest major real estate brokerage in Southwest Florida, led the region in closed sales and sales volume in the first six months of 2021. The Naples-based company, in a statement, says the results come from MLS data from January through June. In that time frame the company posted sales volume of $1.605 billion. That leads the nearest competitor in the region by $160.21 million in volume, the release states.

› Jacksonville office park sold off-market to New York City investor  [Jacksonville Daily Record]
New York City-based Jack Sitt Real Estate LLC is the buyer who invested in The Concourse office park along Belfort Road at Butler Boulevard and Interstate 95. Through Jax Concourse Owners Corp., Jack Sitt Real Estate paid $43 million on June 10 for the 303,648-square-foot office park on 19.48 acres at 5200-5210-5220 Belfort Road. It comprises three four-story buildings.

› Red Tide is still out there in  Tampa Bay, but so far fish kills aren’t as bad [Tampa Bay Times]
Conditions have cleared up in the interior of Tampa Bay, which in early July was the epicenter for the toxic bloom. High levels of the organism in Red Tide continue to be found off several Pinellas County beaches, including Madeira Beach and Indian Rocks Beach in recent days. The bloom is expected to remain in the area into the weekend, according to a Red Tide forecast from a lab at the University of South Florida.