Kristina Lavallee first started baking with her mom while growing up in Puerto Rico. Now she's celebrating the 10-year anniversary of her brand The Cake Girl, which grew from a dessert truck in 2016 to a brick-and-mortar in 2019 to an expanded Tampa location in 2021.
To date, Lavallee has crafted more than 25,000 custom cakes and 1 million cupcakes, while gaining more than 250,000 followers on social media. Her clients include celebrities such as Tom Brady, Jason Momoa and Cardi B. She also made the 2026 Inc. Female Founders 500 list.
Clientele: "When we opened our brick and mortar, it was normal business. ... But once we started doing cakes for either brands or influencers or actually famous people, our business itself took a turn. ... It was major success almost overnight."
Growth: "We are franchising. That would be the next big step. ... Another part of our business that we want to grow to (is) doing a distribution of Crave'n Cups (her signature product — cake layered in a jar), whether it's at Target, Walmart, Publix."
Challenges: "It's honestly finding people that want to work. ... I feel like that's the way the world is right now."
HEALTH CARE
- The USF Health Institute for Voice and Hearing Innovation, which opened in February, is the nation's first fully integrated institute for voice, hearing and swallowing care and research.
- Tampa General Hospital's new 32,000-sq.-ft. Innovation Center in Ybor City houses technologies and analytics teams, innovation venture staffers, a test lab and the Tampa headquarters for tech giant Palantir.
- Orlando Health opened its Institute Square medical complex in St. Petersburg, which includes a cancer institute, women's health institute, orthopedic institute and imaging and wound care center.
HOUSING
- Onda Housing Group, a Naples-based developer specializing in affordable housing, is planning a 300-unit affordable apartment complex called Wave Florida in Pasco County's Holiday.
- Jacksonville homebuilder Southern Impression Homes is constructing Hamilton Oaks, a 224-unit build-to-rent subdivision spanning 61 acres in Wesley Chapel.
- A 4.6-acre parcel of the former Sanibel Outlets sold for $5.25 million to Altamonte Springs-based developer Wendover Housing Partners. It will be developed into a 200-unit affordable workforce housing complex.
EDUCATION
- The Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota has named Davis Schneiderman — who worked for more than two decades at Lake Forest College in Illinois — its seventh president.
- Suncoast Apprenticeship Academy, a workforce development nonprofit, is fundraising to transform its recently acquired Sarasota facility into a workforce development center.
TRANSPORTATION
- Swiss aircraft manufacturer Pilatus Aircraft broke ground on a $200-million sales, service and production center at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.
INDUSTRIAL
- Baltimore developer St. Johns Properties is breaking ground on Mitchell Business Park, a 93-acre development in Pasco County with nearly 570,000 square feet of commercial space.
LOGISTICS
- The Fulfillment Lab, an e-commerce and logistics company, is relocating its headquarters from Tampa to Lutz and investing more than $2 million into outfitting a 45,000-sq.-ft. facility at the Sunlake Business Center.
GOVERNMENT
- The new $59-million, 51,700-sq.-ft. Bernie McCabe Courthouse — built by New York-based Skanska — is now the permanent home of Florida's Second District Court of Appeal in downtown St. Petersburg.
RETAIL
- Indianapolis-based landlord Simon Property Group is investing more than $250 million into redesigning three of its shopping centers, including Tampa's International Plaza mall.
MANUFACTURING
- Israeli medtech company OSSIO Inc. opened its U.S. headquarters in Palmetto. The 30,000-sq.-ft. facility includes a manufacturing plant.
- With a $4-million investment, Lithium Battery Co. will build an 83,000-sq.-ft. battery manufacturing facility in South Tampa.
NONPROFITS
- Youth Haven — Collier County's only shelter for abused and neglected children and teens — broke ground on a new 22,000-sq.-ft. Therapeutic Enrichment Center on its Naples campus.
MUSEUMS
- Robin Nicholson, executive director of St. Petersburg's James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art since 2023, died Feb. 17 following an illness.
- Florida Southern College selected Daryl Ward as executive director of the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art. Ward has served as interim executive director since June.
CONSTRUCTION
- Thanks to $400,000 in city incentives, Plant City construction company Trimak Building Systems is planning a new corporate headquarters and manufacturing plant in Lakeland.
FINANCE
- North Carolina-based Captrust Financial Advisors acquired Suncoast Prosperity Advisors, the wealth advisory arm of Tampa investment manager Suncoast Equity Management, and its $830 million in assets.
LEE COUNTY BY THE NUMBERS
359,252
Number of jobs in 2025
$61,577
Average 2025 wage in the county, an increase of more than 33% since 2019
3,200+
New businesses registered in 2025, contributing to 40,000-plus active business licenses countywide
26 million+
Square feet of commercial and industrial development currently proposed countywide
Growing a Grove
Cape Coral Grove — a $700-million, 131-acre mixed-use project led by West Palm Beach-based L&L Development Group — is coming to the town's Pine Island Road corridor. It will feature more than 350,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space. The project will also bring more than 1,200 apartments, a hotel and several public parks. Its estimated economic impact? Around $1.3 billion. Vertical construction should begin later this year.
History Updated
Clearwater commercial construction firm Creative Contractors is completing a $13.5-million restoration of the historic Tampa Theatre.