Tuesday, August 07, 2007

5,700 Acre Community Planned For Fort Myers

http://www.crainscleveland.com/"Real estate developer Cameratta Properties LP of Cleveland and private equity firm The Carlyle Group said they will develop a 5,700-acre master-planned community in the Fort Myers, Fla., area.

The proposed 9-square-mile parcel in DeSoto County, known as the “2 x 4 Ranch,” is expected to consist of more than 10,000 homes, a town center, government offices, retail stores, commercial office space, schools, houses of worship, a golf course, recreation facilities, athletic fields and walking trails, according to a news release from Cameratta and Carlyle Group."




5:51 AM 0 comments  

Lakeland Apartment Project Construction

http://www.bizjournals.com

"DeBartolo Development LLC has begun site work on its Arbor Glen Apartment project in Lakeland.

The project will have 12 three-story buildings with 324 units, including a clubhouse, office and maintenance garage. It will have 343,846 square feet of building area. Units will have one, two or three bedrooms.


Arbor Glen is located off Interstate 4's exit 33, just north of State Road 33. "





5:50 AM 0 comments  

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Winter Haven Shopping Center Sells

http://www.theledger.com
"Winter Haven Corners, a 23,434-square-foot strip shopping center across from the Citi Centre, has been sold for $5.7 million to an unidentified Miami-Dade County investment company, according to a press statement from Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services in Tampa, which represented the seller and buyer. The center's tenants include the Atlanta Bread Co. and Mattress Giant."




7:26 AM 0 comments  

Friday, August 03, 2007

West Tampa Apartment Construction

http://www.bizjournals.com/


"The Zaremba Group is joining with Morin Development Group to build a 249-unit apartment development in West Tampa.

The complex will be at the corner of Cypress Street and Rome Avenue.


The apartments, Vintage Lofts at West End, will include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units and studios ranging from 525 to 1,400 square feet. Complex amenities will include a clubhouse, fitness center and pool. The 4-story buildings will have a flat roof and a 470-space parking garage in the center of the complex."





6:10 AM 0 comments  

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

New Tampa Bay Office Park Development

http://www.bizjournals.com/
"A 580,000-square-foot waterfront office complex is planned to replace an aging five-building office park in Tampa's Westshore business district over the next two years.

Rubenstein Partners LP, a Philadelphia-based real estate investment trust, announced Monday it is partnering with Christian Tyler Properties of Tampa to develop West View Corporate Center on the current site of Executive Square Office Park at the end of Reo Street near Interstate 275.


The new three-building complex, consisting of five to eight stories, will feature a fountain and green space in the middle facing Tampa Bay. Completion is scheduled for occupancy by spring 2009, subject to local government approvals."





6:23 AM 0 comments  

Friday, July 27, 2007

Tampa OK's Ikea

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/

"The Tampa City Council on Thursday formally approved IKEA's initial plans to build a 353,000-square-foot store at the southeast corner of Adamo Drive and 22nd Street.

Pending approval of building permits, the Swedish retailer could start construction as early as next summer and target the opening for summer 2009. IKEA would replace the Tampa International Center business park on a 29-acre site that will include 1,700 parking spaces."





6:42 AM 0 comments  

Friday, July 13, 2007

Lowe's Wants Third Pasco Store

http://www.sptimes.com/

"Site plans for a Lowe's Home Improvement store have arrived in county offices, reviving the company's push to add a third Lowe's to Pasco.

The plans show a 166,000-square-foot store and garden center to be built on one of the last remaining patches of empty land in the area around State Road 54 and U.S. 41.

Maureen Rich, a Lowe's spokeswoman, said that's the bigger version of its two types of stores, akin to a SuperTarget or a Wal-Mart Supercenter in size."






6:06 AM 0 comments  

Tampa Bay Medical Complex Purchased

http://www.costar.com/

"Montecito Medical Investment Co. (MMIC) acquired Summit Medical Centers, a three-building medical campus in Bayonet Point, FL.

The acquisition is MMIC's 22nd acquisition in the past 13 months. The California-based real estate investor and manager plans to acquire 5 million square feet of medical office properties and hospitals over the next year. "





6:01 AM 0 comments  

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Tampa Office Tower Sale

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/


"The sale of Tampa's third-largest office tower has been completed, though its anticipated record price has yet to be disclosed.

CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. announced Wednesday it brokered the sale of American International Group Inc.'s interest in 100 North Tampa, the 42-story Class A office building named for its Tampa Street address. AIG is part of Plaza IV Associates, the building's ownership group that includes prominent downtown developer Richard A. "Dick" Beard III."





6:37 AM 0 comments  

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Lakeland Town Center Purchased

http://www.theledger.com/
"A Clearwater investment company on Tuesday purchased the Town Center shopping center in on Memorial Boulevard in Lakeland for $32 million.

The company, National Properties Trust, owned by Greek native G.N. Fantatos, purchased the 304,000-square-foot Town Center less than a year after he purchased the 200,000-square-foot Spring Lake Square in Winter Haven"




5:49 AM 0 comments  

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Carter Real Estate To Manage 6 Tampa Buildings

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/
"Carter Real Estate has taken on one of its largest office leasing and property management assignments to date in Tampa -- six premium buildings developed by Crescent Resources LLC.

Atlanta-based Carter confirmed Monday its assignments of the Corporate Center One, Two and Three buildings at both International Plaza, along Boy Scout Boulevard in the Westshore business district, and at Hidden River Corporate Park, along Fletcher Avenue near Interstate 75. "





8:44 AM 0 comments  

Fort Myers Condo Project Gets Funding

http://www.bizjournals.com
"Commercial Alliance Group, a real estate development financial services firm based in Sanford, has closed on a second round of funding for the La Vita condominium project in Fort Myers.

The second round consisted of a $2.5 million senior acquisition loan arranged by the company and the first funding of a $3.3 million mezzanine loan. "





6:24 AM 0 comments  

Thursday, May 31, 2007

No More Trump Tower Tampa

http://www.heraldtribune.com/
"There will be no Trump Tower in Tampa.

Real estate mogul Donald Trump has pulled out of the $300 million, 52-story Trump Tower condominium project in Tampa, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court.

Trump said in the lawsuit that developer SimDag owes him more than $1 million in unpaid licensing fees. Trump also said SimDag failed to show it had sold enough condos, valued between $700,000 and $6.2 million, to meet contractual obligations to him. Trump was entitled to half the profits of the sale of 190 condos and a licensing fee of $2.8 million."





5:52 AM 0 comments  

Monday, May 28, 2007

Ritz Carlton Coming To Tampa?

http://www.sptimes.com
"What's billed as the first five-star hotel in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties may soon land on a renowned piece of real estate off the Courtney Campbell Parkway.

Clearwater developer Sandip Patel is close to finalizing negotiations with Ritz-Carlton to bring the high-end hotel chain to property now occupied by the Radisson Bay Harbor Hotel at Rocky Point, Tampa officials said Saturday. The Radisson would be razed.

If they reach agreement, Tampa would add a glitzy new weapon to its arsenal as it fights for conventions and tourists seeking rooms that are as luxurious as they are pricey."





6:29 AM 0 comments  

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Punta Gorda Project: More Retail, Less Homes

http://www.heraldtribune.com/
"The Wilder Cos.' plans now call for 1.2 million square feet of retail space to be a part of The Loop-Punta Gorda, a 20 percent increase from designs unveiled last year.

At the same time, Wilder has reduced to 500 the number of new residences that would become part of its massive project, slated for a tract near Interstate 75 and Burnt Store Road. When Wilder's plans were announced last May, plans called for 800 homes."




12:03 PM 0 comments  

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Tampa Office Building Sells

http://www.pr-inside.com/
"Chief Investment Officer Jeff Hanson announced today that Triple Net Properties, LLC has sold Buschwood Office Park III on behalf of tenant-in-common investors. The disposition closed on May 16, 2007.

Buschwood Office Park III is a nearly 78,000-square-foot office building in Tampa, Florida. Built in 1989, the two-story multi-tenant property is 89 percent leased to 13 tenants, including the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Food and Drug Administration, and Southwestern Staffing."





6:21 AM 0 comments  

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Waldorf Astoria Coming To Sarasota

http://www.heraldtribune.com/
"Hilton Hotels Corp. has signed a tentative agreement to bring the Waldorf-Astoria brand to Sarasota -- part of a push to expand the famed New York hotel flag nationwide.

If Waldorf-Astoria does eventually anchor Lion's Gate Development Group Inc.'s planned Proscenium project, designed for a six-acre tract on U.S. Highway 41 near downtown, it would be the latest evidence that the nation's premier brands, retailers and investors remain focused on Southwest Florida."




5:55 AM 0 comments  

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Hernando County Retail Project Announced

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/
"Development of Nature Coast Commons, a 350,000-square-foot retail center in Hernando County, is now under way.

Opus South, a Tampa-based division of the Opus Group, broke ground on the project Tuesday at its 42-acre site along U.S. 19 south of Spring Hill Drive. The center is projected for completion early next year and will be anchored by a 104,000-square-foot JCPenney department store. "





5:55 AM 0 comments  

Sarasota Warehouse Space Leased

http://www.heraldtribune.com/
"Bealls Inc. will occupy 200,000 square feet of distribution space in a former Winn-Dixie warehouse beginning this summer, the Bradenton-based retailer's second major expansion move this year.

The lease by Bealls marks the first commitment to the shuttered Clark Road distribution center since Tampa's Meridian Development Group and a financial partner bought the building for $30 million in early 2006.

"The ability to have our operations in one facility, instead of having to break them up into multiple locations was certainly attractive to us," said Dick Judd, Bealls' chief operating officer."




5:53 AM 0 comments  

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Pasco County Approves 2 More Commercial Developments

http://www.sptimes.com/
" Thursday was a good day for those looking for more office space in central Pasco.

The county's top staff planners gave the green light to two more office developments in Wesley Chapel and Land O'Lakes.

Expect to see these new offices fill up with the likes of doctors, real estate agents, lawyers and insurance agents.

Commercial construction is chugging along in Pasco. Last year, while home building permits began to plummet, the value of commercial construction contracts - the conventional measure of commercial development - grew more than 10 times from the previous year."






6:18 AM 0 comments  

Hyatt Sarasota Sells

http://www.heraldtribune.com/
"Giant New York equity fund Blackstone Group has completed its $65 million purchase of the Hyatt Sarasota, a move that will result in a significant upgrade to the 294-room hotel.

As part of the purchase from local Hotel Associates Ltd. that closed on Wednesday, Blackstone will continue work on an anticipated $15 million investment to renovate rooms, common areas and food and beverage service that began last month."




6:17 AM 0 comments  

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Clearwater Beach Project Stopped

http://www.sptimes.com/
"Construction on the $180-million Indigo Beach Residences & Suites on the site of the former Adam's Mark Hotel had been delayed already because of slow sales, but late last year, builders thought they could break ground by this summer.

But Monday, officials with the British developer said the soft market had continued to thwart their efforts to find buyers for the condo-hotel project - a community with two West Indies-style buildings - so they wanted to reassess the overall project."





6:24 AM 0 comments  

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Large Mixed-Use Project Planned For St. Petersburg

http://www.sptimes.com/
"Defying a dull real estate market, developers submitted plans this week for a mammoth $360-million mixed-use complex at Second Street and Central Avenue.

The downtown project, dubbed Tropicana Center, calls for two towers that will include a hotel, shopping and 585 condominiums on an empty lot now used mostly for the Saturday Morning Market."






5:29 AM 0 comments  

Friday, April 27, 2007

Healthcare REIT Acquires Naples Medical Office Building

http://sev.prnewswire.com
"NNN Healthcare/Office REIT, Inc. has acquired Commons V Medical Office Building in Naples, Florida. The acquisition closed on April 24, 2007.

Commons V is a three-story, multi-tenant medical office building totaling more than 55,000 square feet of gross leaseable area in one of Southwest Florida's fastest-growing coastal communities; the population within a five mile radius of the property is expected to grow from nearly 63,000 in 1990 to more than 116,000 by 2010. Commons V is located in close proximity to the 250-unit Goodlette Arms Senior Apartments, the Brennan Medical Building, and the Naples Community Hospital, which lies a half mile away. Commons V is 97 percent leased to five tenants, including Anchor Health Center and Collier Surgery Center."






5:58 AM 0 comments  

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

2 Sarasota Office Buildings Under Construction

http://www.bradenton.com/
"Construction is under way on University Professional Park, an 85,000-square-foot office development in Sarasota County on the corner of University Parkway and Honore Avenue.

University Professional Park will consist of two office buildings developed by Burton-Katzman Development Co., slated to open this fall.

"The new office buildings are both two stories. One is 41,000 square feet the other is about 45,000 square feet," said Diane Lawson, director of marketing for Sarasota Commercial Management LLC. "They are under construction now and are scheduled to be completed probably in October or November."





5:45 AM 0 comments  

Saturday, April 21, 2007

St. Lucie School District Buys Land

http://www1.tcpalm.com/
"A piece of property that has profited multiple owners is now in the hands of St. Lucie County Public Schools.
The school districted paid $5.5 million this week for a 40-acre site on Walton Road west of Grand Avenue. The property could become a K-8 school or the district's eastern Port St. Lucie transportation compound, said Marty Sanders, the district's head of growth management and land acquisitions. "





6:26 AM 0 comments  

Friday, April 20, 2007

Tampa Office Park Sells

http://www.costar.com/

"Stow Gunn LLC of Bradenton, FL, has sold the four-building Premier Corporate Centre office park in Tampa, FL, for $22.2 million or $153 per square foot.

The fully leased property was acquired by local firm Om Ventures Inc. at a 7.8% capitalization rate.

The 145,496-square-foot office park sits along W Linebaugh Ave., between N Dale Mabry and Gunn Highways in the Northwest Tampa submarket. It was built in 1984 and renovated in 1997."




1:17 PM 0 comments  

Thursday, April 19, 2007

North Naples Shopping Center To Open

http://www.naplesnews.com/
"Another busy North Naples intersection is being developed and residents who live nearby soon will be able to shop at an independent pharmacy, eat breakfast at First Watch or sip a Starbucks Frappuccino a little closer to home.

Businesses should start moving into Marquesa, a shopping center on the southeast corner of Pine Ridge and Livingston roads, by Aug. 1, said Erik Mogelvang of Hovland Real Estate, the center’s developer.

Committed tenants include restaurants, a pharmacy, an urgent care center, a senior gaming center and various retailers, including a wireless phone company, jewelry shop and picture framing company."





5:58 AM 0 comments  

North Naples Shopping Center To Open

http://www.naplesnews.com/
"Another busy North Naples intersection is being developed and residents who live nearby soon will be able to shop at an independent pharmacy, eat breakfast at First Watch or sip a Starbucks Frappuccino a little closer to home.

Businesses should start moving into Marquesa, a shopping center on the southeast corner of Pine Ridge and Livingston roads, by Aug. 1, said Erik Mogelvang of Hovland Real Estate, the center’s developer.

Committed tenants include restaurants, a pharmacy, an urgent care center, a senior gaming center and various retailers, including a wireless phone company, jewelry shop and picture framing company."





5:58 AM 0 comments  

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Venice Hotel Proposed

http://www.heraldtribune.com
"There soon may be 106 new units added to the city's paltry stock of hotel rooms.

A development team led by Joe Suriol, who soon will break ground on a Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Punta Gorda, will ask for the Venice planning commission's approval today to build a similar five-story hotel at the Laurel Road exit of Interstate 75.

The company to run the hotel will not be selected until Suriol's group receives its approvals, though Suriol suggested it might become a Hilton Garden Inn, a Carlson Country Inn & Suites or a Four Points by Sheraton."




6:09 AM 0 comments  

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Fort Myers Townhomes To Be Auctioned

http://www.dsnews.com
"Pompano Beach, Florida-based Fisher Auction Co., Inc. has 50 luxury townhomes up for grabs in what is essentially an unprecedented sale of brand-new properties using an auction platform traditionally associated with foreclosures.

The two-to-three bedroom homes are part of a 110-town home development in Fort Myers, Florida, called San Simeon. Louis Fisher III, of Fisher Auction, says the homes were originally under contract with buyers who agreed to purchase the residences after selling their own properties. Everything was working out okay until the market changed leaving the buyers with homes they could not sell -- in turn, Levitt & Sons, the builder, lost their pre-arranged buyers.

“Levitt and Sons took a proactive position in going ahead and seeing the auction possibility that it chose to conduct the sale with,” said Fisher, whose company was chosen to oversee the auction. “It chose to conduct the sale with the intent to move all of the remaining units so they could then continue on their next phase of development.”




5:56 AM 0 comments  

Friday, April 06, 2007

Clearwater Shopping Center Sells

http://www.earthtimes.org/
"Investcorp Real Estate Group today announced that it has completed the sale of Cypress Point Shopping Center, a 166,933-square-foot retail property in Clearwater, Florida, to Ramco- Gershenson Properties Trust . Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

New York-based Investcorp acquired Cypress Point in November 2004. The property is 97% occupied and anchor tenants include Burlington Coat Factory and Fresh Markets. It is located along US Highway 19 North, the primary north-south commercial roadway in Pinellas County."




6:17 AM 0 comments  

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Change In Plans For Punta Gorda Mixed Use Project

http://www.heraldtribune.com
"The developers behind City Marketplace, the 520,000-square-foot hotel, retail and residential project planned for downtown Punta Gorda, are heading back to the drawing board.

Changing market conditions -- namely the huge slowdown in Southwest Florida's condominium and residential housing market -- has prompted developers to rethink the design and makeup of the project.

Rather than building the project all at once as originally planned, the massive mixed-use development will now likely be built in phases, said Ron Oskey Jr., head of the Charlotte County Development Corp."




6:13 AM 0 comments  

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Winter Haven Publix Relocating

http://www.theledger.com/
"The relocation of a Winter Haven Publix is a "continental" shift in the making. Publix Super Markets Inc.'s store at 800 Cypress Gardens Blvd. is moving from the center of Southeast Plaza shopping center to its east end, replacing the historic Continental Theater. The Publix location was the company's 100th location when it opened in the mid-1960s. The Lakeland-based chain expects to begin construction soon on its 39,000-square-foot store in the shopping center, said Shannon Patten, a spokeswoman for the company.

The Winter Haven store will continue to operate in its current location until the new site is completed at the end of 2008. The former supermarket space will then be renovated for a new anchor tenant."




6:16 AM 0 comments  

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Ikea Chooses Tampa Location

http://www.sptimes.com/

"Ikea's affiliation with clean living suggested the Swedish furniture chain might gravitate to the suburban green fields of Interstate 75.

But it was a gritty industrial site between the Port of Tampa and Ybor City that Ikea named Monday as the future home of its third Florida megastore.

A $22-billion global company best known for its blond, assemble-it-yourself furniture, Ikea plans to open the 353,000-square-foot store by the summer of 2009.

The 29-acre site - boxed by Adamo Drive, 22nd Street, the Crosstown Expressway and 26th Street - would employ 400 and draw from the estimated 100,000 Ikea devotees living in and around the Tampa Bay area."





6:26 AM 0 comments  

Ikea Chooses Tampa Location

http://www.sptimes.com/

"Ikea's affiliation with clean living suggested the Swedish furniture chain might gravitate to the suburban green fields of Interstate 75.

But it was a gritty industrial site between the Port of Tampa and Ybor City that Ikea named Monday as the future home of its third Florida megastore.

A $22-billion global company best known for its blond, assemble-it-yourself furniture, Ikea plans to open the 353,000-square-foot store by the summer of 2009.

The 29-acre site - boxed by Adamo Drive, 22nd Street, the Crosstown Expressway and 26th Street - would employ 400 and draw from the estimated 100,000 Ikea devotees living in and around the Tampa Bay area."





6:26 AM 0 comments  

Monday, March 26, 2007

Bradenton To Get New Independent Living Apartments

http://www.bradenton.com/
"CORE Construction was recently awarded a contract to build four-story independent living apartments at Water's Edge, a gated adult community at 2013 32nd Ave. W., in Bradenton. The buildings will be called The LakeHouse of Water's Edge and will include 109 apartments in more than 146,000 square feet.

Water's Edge has one- and two-story villas in addition to an expansive social center that includes fitness and health facilities, a community hall, activity areas and a movie theater. Construction on The LakeHouse is under way and the building is slated to open in mid-2008.

Another large project CORE Construction was awarded last year is a step closer to completion. The Taylor Woodrow Sales and Preview Center at Artisan Lakes, on Moccasin Wallow Road near Interstate 75, should be "substantially completed" by mid-August, according to a press release. Construction on the $3.8 million facility began in October 2006."





5:10 AM 0 comments  

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Bradenton - Sarasota Home Sales Rise

http://www.bradenton.com
"In February, the consumer appetite for buying single-family homes and condos in the Bradenton-Sarasota market rose 5 percent from a year earlier.

While that may sound like only a modest gain, Bradenton-Sarasota outperformed every other market in Florida, except one. Statewide, the sales of existing homes were down 23 percent, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.

Only Panama City, where sales were up 21 percent, outperformed Bradenton-Sarasota."





6:03 AM 0 comments  

Thursday, March 22, 2007

New Port Richey Approves Two Developments

http://www.sptimes.com/
"Two proposed residential developments officially became part of the city Tuesday night. City Council voted to approve the voluntary annexations, one for a proposed 21-unit townhome project on the north side of Trouble Creek Road, and another for a proposed 60-unit apartment complex on the east side of Congress Street near Illinois Avenue."




5:18 AM 0 comments  

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

St. Petersburg's Bank of America Tower Now 1/5th Vacant

http://www.sptimes.com/
"Until Thanksgiving a member of the no-vacancy club, the 27-story office tower, St. Petersburg's tallest, now finds itself one-fifth empty.

Late last year a major tenant, Progress Energy Corp., began consolidating operations a couple of blocks away at a new 16-story tower at 299 First Ave. N. Progress had removed all but 40 employees over the years, but continued to tie up space with a long-term lease.

While 20 percent vacancy is close to average for top office space in downtown Tampa - and even an improvement over the nearly 30 percent vacancy rate in downtown Clearwater - such a renter's market has been rare the past several years in St. Petersburg."





6:28 AM 0 comments  

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Central Florida Commerce Center To Be Built In Lakeland

http://www.theledger.com
"This time it's LeFrois Development, based in Buffalo, N.Y., which is building the Central Florida Commerce Center.

The center, which should be complete by July, is a 152,600-square-foot facility at 5335 Swindell Road in Lakeland.

"This building is being developed by buyers outside the market," said Dolores Seymour, managing director of Industrial Services for Colliers Arnold Commercial Real Estate Services in Tampa. "Lakeland has really come into its own. It is between the larger population of Tampa and Orlando markets, which keeps building up and out."




6:45 AM 0 comments  

Saturday, March 17, 2007

St. Petersburg Complex Sells

http://www.bizjournals.com/
"A Maitland-based commercial real estate firm has acquired the eight-building Bay Tec Center complex near Interstate 275 in St. Petersburg.

Tower Realty Partners Inc. said it paid nearly $12.2 million, or $98 per square foot, for the 124,327-square-foot office/warehouse park at 2810-2880 Scherer Drive N. in the Gateway business district. The purchase was made in partnership with The Praedium Group of New York."





7:18 AM 0 comments  

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Sarasota County Wants Land Owned By Sarasota City

http://www.heraldtribune.com/
"A 2,500-acre real estate deal is taking shape in which taxpayers would be the buyers and the sellers, with a private landowner as the middleman.

The city owns the land and currently uses it to dispose of reclaimed water. It could have to sell it back to the original owner because of an agreement it entered into nearly 20 years ago.

The company, Hi Hat Ranch, is poised to make a profit by then selling the property to the county."





5:36 AM 0 comments  

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Cape Coral Builder Tries To Help Housing Debacle

http://www.bradenton.com/
"A Cape Coral homebuilder is planning to step in and complete some of the hundreds of homes that were left unfinished in the wake of the Construction Compliance Inc. and Coast Bank loan debacle.

Tom Gillespie, owner of Enchanted Homes, said Monday he is ready to start work on about 70 homes in the North Port area that were not completed after St. Petersburg-based CCI announced in January it had run into financial trouble and couldn't finish building.

In all, 482 borrowers of Bradenton-based Coast Bank were left in limbo after CCI's announcement. The bank determined about half of those homes amounted to empty lots at the time CCI ran into trouble."





4:46 AM 0 comments  

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Big Lakeland Facility Being Built

http://www.theledger.com/
"Saddle Creek Corp. is building a $4.5 million, 98,600-square-foot facility to make room for more business.

The decision by Saddle Creek to expand at its current location was based on two facts: the need to ship fresh baked goods quickly for a client and the price of the local commercial real estate market.

"The market for industrial space in Lakeland is so tight and expensive that building some space of our own makes sense now," said Bruce Abels, president of Saddle Creek Corp. "The foundation is in and site work is well along."




5:22 AM 0 comments  

Friday, March 02, 2007

Fort Myers Beach To Be The New South Beach?

http://www.nbc-2.com/
"Officials with one developer are hoping that Fort Myers Beach will be the new South Beach and they're buying up a lot of property with big plans to make it the new happening place to be.

Empire Builders out of Naples is on the verge of acquiring a package deal. They want the torn down Sandman Motel property, the old Howard Johnson Hotel, the Days Inn, the Barking Shark Restaurant, the Pierview Hotel, and the Seafarer's Plaza."






5:34 AM 0 comments  

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Condos For Lake Maggiore?

http://www.sptimes.com/
"Condominiums could loom near the shoreline of Lake Maggiore if a landowner's plans are realized.

Fifteen acres between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sixth streets S could someday include 90 condos facing the lake to the west, with apartments, townhomes and a small commercial strip on the remaining property owned by Intraurban Investments.

The land, between 30th and 32nd avenues, held the Bay and the Bay to Lake mobile home parks before Intraurban's Bob DePugh bought the property last year.

"We're excited about this development," said DePugh, who had the land rezoned to allow medium-density residential that could someday provide up to 270 living units. "






6:26 AM 0 comments  

Monday, February 26, 2007

Great Bargains At Tampa Home Auction

http://www.sptimes.com/
"It seemed like an odd place to shop for a home. Yet about 250 curious guests gathered in the casino ballroom Saturday and had the chance to bid on an array of Florida properties while sipping free cocktails and eating hors d' oeuvres. Some watched online.

Within a few hours, the "All In Mega Auction" was over, and 26 of the 46 properties had winning offers. Judging by some of the offers, it appeared that the festive casino setting and large turnout didn't do much to offset the current buyer's market."





5:39 AM 0 comments  

Friday, February 23, 2007

Potential Sarasota Zoning Lawsuit

http://www.heraldtribune.com/
"Real estate maven Michael Saunders is considering suing the city under the state's private property rights protection law, claiming Sarasota has restricted her ability to develop a long-delayed headquarters on South Orange Avenue.

Saunders, whose real estate brokerage firm is the largest and most successful in Southwest Florida, claims city zoning changes adopted in September 2005 have trimmed $2.76 million off the value of land where she planned to construct an 18-story, office and condo tower.

That alleged decrease in the value at the 307 S. Orange Ave. property, from $13.1 million to $10.4 million after the zoning change, "caused a substantial and measurable loss in the fair market value" of the property, Saunders contends in a notice of claim filed with the city."




6:16 AM 0 comments  

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Grove at Wesley Chapel Project Gets Financing

http://www.bizjournals.com
"ECHO Real Estate Development Co. and Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors have secured financing for its planned 800,000-square-foot retail center in Wesley Chapel.

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler arranged a $115 million construction loan with Anglo Irish Bank on behalf of the joint venture it arranged with ECHO and Cornerstone in late 2005. The financing allows for the project to begin development on the Grove at Wesley Chapel retail center located in Pasco County.


The development will be situated on approximately 120 acres at the intersection of Interstate 75 and State Road 54 and will be occupied by more than 90 retail tenants, a release said. "





5:25 AM 0 comments  

Lee County Has Huge Unsold Home Inventory

http://www.news-press.com/
"In 32 years in the real estate business, “I’ve never seen the impact of residential on commercial like this. There’s a lot of fear,” said commercial broker Frank D’Alessandro of Gates D’Alessandro Woodyard, Commercial Realtors.

With 23,000 houses and condos on the market in the county and the number rising, he said, the residential construction market is likely to slow dramatically this year as builders work through a backlog of homes ordered in better times.

With 65 percent of industrial space occupied by people such as developers, subcontractors and suppliers for the residential market, D’Alessandro said, the commercial market could be hurt."






5:22 AM 0 comments  

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Equity To Develop Huge Commercial Project Near Tampa

http://www.columbusdispatch.com
"The real-estate firm Equity plans to develop South Bend, which will combine 1 million square feet of retail space, 650,000 square feet of office space and a hotel in a high-growth area near Tampa. Equity is nearing an agreement with Nationwide Realty Investors, the developer of the Arena District, on the project.

Equity won a battle with 20 companies that wanted a shot at the 133-acre site after a previously anointed developer dropped out of the picture. Equity’s success was a surprise, because the Columbus company is a newcomer to the Tampa market. "