Palm Beach Gardens-based Carrier marked its fifth year as a standalone public company and fifth year on the New York Stock Exchange. As it happens, this is also the 123rd year since Willis Carrier — trying to solve a problem with humidity in a printing plant — invented modern air conditioning. Carrier still makes air conditioners, of course, but prefers to identify itself as in the “intelligent climate and energy solutions” business.
Carrier, the air conditioner manufacturer, employs 1,100 people in Palm Beach County.
Willis Carrier’s successor — many times removed — is chairman and CEO David Gitlin, a father of three, holder of a bachelor’s from Cornell, a law degree from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from MIT. Before leading Carrier, he was president and COO at Collins Aerospace and before that president of UTC Aerospace Systems. Says Gitlin, “As we celebrate five years as a publicly traded company and our position as the largest U.S.-headquartered company in our industry, Carrier’s ties to Palm Beach County have never been stronger. We demonstrate that commitment not just through job creation and economic impact, but through ongoing innovation, investment, meaningful partnerships and local events that strengthen the community.” Carrier has 1,100 of its 1,500 Florida employees and contractors in Palm Beach County.
SPECIAL DESIGNATION
- The Vatican designated St. Edward Catholic Church on Palm Beach, a Spanish Renaissance-style church built in 1926, as a minor basilica. All basilicas outside of Rome are minor.
REAL ESTATE
- New York-based investment firm Journey Capital Real Estate Partners paid an affiliate of Boca Raton-based Encore Capital Management $102 million for the 404-unit The Rise at Plantation Walk in Plantation.
- Miami-based Related Group and Fort Lauderdale-based Merrimac Ventures broke ground on their oceanfront Waldorf Astoria Residences Pompano Beach, the first standalone condo project in Waldorf’s 100-year history and the first Waldorf in Broward. Scheduled for completion in 2027, the developers say 70% of the 92 units in the 28-story tower are under contract. The four penthouses range from $16 million to $20 million.
TECHNOLOGY
- Sarasota-based Roper Technologies agreed to spend $1.65 billion for Fort Lauderdale-based platform company CentralReach that provides workflow and admin support for applied behavior analysis therapy for autism and related neurodivergent conditions. The seller was New York private equity firm Insight Partners.
EDUCATION
- Florida Atlantic University joined other state universities in receiving a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research designation by the National Security Agency and its partners. Others in Florida are Florida International, Nova Southeastern, University of Central Florida, University of South Florida, University of Florida, Florida State and Florida Tech.
HEALTH CARE
- Researchers at Florida Atlantic University won a $1.3-million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop disposable microchip tech for HIV-1 self-testing. The tech will be applicable to other infectious diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, malaria and SARS-CoV-2. The researchers expect the technology to cost under $5 per test.
- Health care testing company Treasure Coast Diagnostic Lab in Vero Beach is adding seven employees after receiving a job grant from Indian River County.
CORPORATE
- Fort Lauderdale-based holding company BBX Capital said it would restructure to maximize liquidity and mitigate loss by possibly selling assets and subsidiaries, ending some operations, pausing new real estate developments, cutting staff and cutting executive salaries. Last year, BBX reported a $62.4-million operating loss on $307.3 million in revenue. Its main business lines are candy, real estate development and door manufacturing.
BOATING
- Charleston, S.C.-based BlueWater Marinas paid $16.1 million for the Boathouse Marine Center and its 160 dry slips and 21 wet slips in Pompano Beach. BlueWater is led by Joe H. Miller IV, who previously founded marina companies Atlantic Marina Holdings and Port32 Marinas. The seller was Larro Holdings.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
“Ted has kept the company together through challenging times, and for this we wish him all the best going forward.” — Spirit Airlines chairman Robert Milton in announcing that CEO Ted Christie was gone after six years as CEO and a Chapter 11 restructuring. He was replaced by Dave Davis, president and CFO of Sun Country airline.
Room for More
Palm Beach Atlantic University, a Christian institution in West Palm Beach, won city approval to build a 25-story, 275-unit dormitory addition to its campus on South Dixie Highway. The building will house 990 students. The university also plans a seven-story parking garage. The university wants to increase enrollment by 2,000 to bring it to 5,000 students.