Lennar Launches End-of-the-Year Sale in all its Southwest Florida Communities

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Lennar’s Southwest Florida Division is hosting an End-of-the-Year Sale in all new home communities in the Southwest Florida region.

Matt Devereaux, director of sales for Lennar’s Southwest Florida Division, said Lennar is offering special pricing on all new homes under construction, along with upgraded stainless steel appliances, granite counters and free golf and country club memberships.

“This is a great opportunity to take advantage of the $8,000 U.S. federal tax credit for new home buyers,” Devereaux said.

For more information, contact:
Matt Figlesthaler, Area Sales Manager Lennar-Southwest Florida 239-278-1177
Matt Devereaux, Director of Sales, Lennar-Southwest Florida 239-278-1177
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142

Chicago Office Market Snapshot: Third Quarter 2009

CHICAGO, IL--The following summary is designed to provide a brief overview of the Chicago metro office market during the third quarter of 2009. For more information or to speak with one of the company’s local market experts, please contact Erin Mays at 312.698.6735 or via email at erin.mays@grubb-ellis.com.

REGION

· Nearly 1.3 million square feet of vacant space was added to the Chicagoland market during the third quarter, increasing the total negative net absorption to more than 3.3 million square feet year-to-date and contributing to the region’s 60-basis-point increase in vacancy to 19.6 percent.

· The area currently has more than 2.7 million square feet of new development under construction. However, much of it is the 1.1-million-square-foot 155 N. Wacker and the 1.2-million-square-foot 353 N. Clark in Chicago’s CBD, both delivering in the fourth quarter and both 80- to 85-percent leased.

· Average Class A asking rental rates for the region stayed flat at $29.80 per square foot from $29.79 per square foot in the second quarter.

· With commercial property values continuing to erode, CMBS and traditional bank loan maturities are expected to remain a major concern through 2012.

Analysis:  Most tenants are interested in evaluating their options while it is a tenant’s market. However, inability to make a long-term commitment has caused tenants to either put decisions on hold or sign short-term renewals in order to maintain maximum flexibility. Many well-capitalized landlords are holding out for the market to revive, or alternatively, they are “backloading” deals by offering rental rates that are initially low to help the tenant through the recession, then escalating those rates toward the end of the term to recoup the discount.

CHICAGO CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT

· The vacancy rate in the Chicago CBD office market increased 60 basis points to 15.4 percent from the second quarter.

 (O'Hare Airport, middle right photo)

· The market had overall negative net absorption of 770,000 square feet in the third quarter, bringing the total negative net absorption accumulated year-to-date up to 1.5 million square feet.

· Class A average asking rental rates decreased by $0.02 to $37.13 per square foot for the third quarter.

Analysis: While 155 N. Wacker and 353 N. Clark may be mostly preleased, the older buildings from which tenants are moving don’t have other businesses waiting in the wings to take the space. This, combined with the existence of more than 4.3 million square feet of sublease space on the market, indicate that things are likely to get worse before they get better.

The downtown real estate market continues to be a tale of two landlords. Well-capitalized landlords are in a position to either wait out the recession or to woo tenants with attractive incentives, including moving allowances and tenant improvement dollars. Highly leveraged landlords, however, are very limited in what incentives they can provide to tenants, and lenders have taken a more active role in these discussions.

(300 N. Riverside Plaza, middle left photo)


SUBURBAN CHICAGO

The vacancy rate crept to 24.3 percent overall, an increase of 40 basis points from the previous quarter.

The market saw more than 500,000 square feet in negative net absorption during the quarter, bringing the total for the year to 1.8 million square feet of negative net absorption.

A modest 430,000 square feet is currently under construction in the I-88 East, I-88 West, North and O’Hare submarkets. The Northwest submarket, which has the highest vacancy of the region at 29.3 percent, currently has no new construction underway.

Average Class A asking rental rates in the Chicago suburbs stood at $24.19 per square foot, an increase of $0.09 from the previous quarter.

Analysis:  Commercial real estate fundamentals continued to soften in the Chicago suburbs as vacancy increased and negative absorption mounted. However, these losses have slowed compared with previous quarters, potentially signaling that the suburbs may emerge from the recession before Chicago’s CBD. The construction pipeline has begun to dry up while the CBD awaits 2.3 million square feet of new construction deliveries, and the suburbs posted less negative absorption this quarter than did the CBD.

To access the full Chicago Metro Office Trends report and other Grubb & Ellis research publications, visit www.grubb-ellis.com/research.

Grubb & Ellis Represents Chinatrust Bank USA in Sale of The Flat

LOS ANGELES, CA (Oct. 12, 2009) – Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that its Financial Services Asset Management Group represented Chinatrust Bank USA in the sale of The Flat, (top right photo) a 206-unit REO apartment conversion that the bank took ownership of in September.

The property was sold to SA Properties Holding LLC in an all-cash transaction. Financial consideration was not disclosed.

The Flat is located at 750 S. Garland Ave., and was 93 percent occupied at the time of the sale. Although the sale price was not disclosed, the property was listed at $27 million, making it one of the city’s largest real-estate-owned investment sales transactions in 2009.

Senior Vice Presidents Phillip Sample and Chris Cooney were the lead brokers. Chris Caras, senior vice president, Sandi Mann, senior associate, Mike Shustak, senior vice president, and Ed Rosenthal, vice president, assisted Sample and Cooney in the representation of Chinatrust Bank..

“Navigating the foreclosure, bankruptcy and subsequent sale of the asset was extremely complicated,” said Sample.

“Adding to the complexities of the transactions was our client’s goal to close the transaction prior to the end of the third quarter. Certainly, having a buyer with the ability to quickly close all-cash on this complex asset was key to our success.”

Sonya Moreno, managing partner of SA Properties Holdings, represented SA Properties Holding LLC in the transaction.

Contact: Julia McCartney,  Phone: 714.975.2230,  Email: julia.mccartney@grubb-ellis.com

Wyndham Hotel Group Recognized as Largest Hotel Company in the U.S.

PARSIPPANY, N.J.– After a year of solid system growth and increased efforts focused on franchisee retention, Wyndham Hotel Group, franchisor and manager of well-known hotel brands, including Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®, Ramada®, Days Inn®, Super 8®, Wingate by Wyndham®, Baymont Inn & Suites®, Microtel Inns & Suites®, Hawthorn Suites®, Howard Johnson®, Travelodge® and Knights Inn®, has been recognized by Hotel & Motel Management magazine as the largest hotel company in the U.S. by number of rooms.

Included in the magazine as part of its 2009 Top U.S. Hotel Companies Survey, the distinction highlights the more than 464,000 rooms and nearly 6,000 hotels that make up the company’s 11-brand U.S. portfolio, as of June 2009, which, in a little over a year, has grown by more than 300 hotels and 20,000 rooms. Wyndham Hotel Group is also the largest hotel company in the U.S. by number of hotels.

“Over the past year, we’ve made significant strides in enhancing our development and retention efforts by increasing the size and scope of our development team while providing the necessary tools and flexibility to ensure that current owners and developers succeed in this challenging environment,” said Eric Danziger, (top right photo)  Wyndham Hotel Group president and chief executive officer.

“This achievement underscores the success of those efforts and is a testament to the strength and value of our brands.”

(Ramada Bangkok Sukhumvit, bottom left photo)

Wyndham Hotel Group, part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies (NYSE: WYN), encompasses more than 7,000 hotels and 590,000 rooms under its 11 brands in 66 countries. All hotels are independently owned and operated excluding certain Wyndham and international Ramada hotels which are managed by our affiliate or through a joint venture partner.

Wyndham Hotel Group is based in Parsippany, N.J. Additional information is available at http://www.wyndhamworldwide.com/

CONTACT:  Christine Da Silva, 973-753-6590, christine.dasilva@wyndhamworldwide.com

Grubb & Ellis Commercial Florida Negotiates Three New Lease transactions

TAMPA, FL--- Grubb & Ellis Commercial Florida recently negotiated three new Class A office lease agreements that total 16,754 square feet of space at Laurel Place, 5102 W. Laurel St. in Tampa’s Westshore district.

Paula Buffa,  (top right photo) CCIM, senior vice president of Grubb & Ellis Commercial Florida’s Tampa Office Group and Associate Maria Camarinos Hall (bottom left photo) negotiated all three lease agreements representing the landlord, Tampa-based Arcis Investments, Inc., a private equity real estate investment group.

The three leases resulted in 100 percent occupancy at Laurel Place.

Idearc Media Sales-West, Inc., a Delaware corporation, leased 3,380 square feet of office space, Alaska-based Tyonek Manufacturing Group leased 5,035 square feet, and IT Authorities, Inc., of Tampa leased 8,339 square feet.

Contacts:

Paula Buffa, 813-830--7887

Maria Camarinos Hall, 813-830-7894

Jeffrey Sweeney,  407-481-5387
Larry Vershel,  407-644-4142

New Faces and Duties at Mortgage Bankers Association

Tom Koonce to Join MBA as Vice President of Legislative Affairs

WASHINGTON, D.C.--- John A. Courson, Chief Executive Officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), today announced that Tom Koonce (top right photo) will join MBA as Vice President of Legislative Affairs, effective November 2, 2009.

In this role, Koonce will lead MBA's day-to-day lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill working with Members of Congress and their staff on issues important to MBA's members. He will report to Steve O'Connor, MBA's Senior Vice President of Government Affairs.

"We are very fortunate to have someone with Tom's expertise leading MBA's legislative team," said Courson. "Tom has valuable experience working on the Hill on issues related to housing and mortgage finance, and he knows how to work with a variety of constituencies in a major trade association."

Cheny and Bradshaw Get New Posts

WASHINGTON, D.C. - John A. Courson, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), today announced the appointment of Brad Cheney as Director of Legislative Affairs. In addition, he also announced the promotion of Pace Bradshaw to Director of Government Affairs.

"Promoting Pace and adding Brad will ensure MBA's voice on Capitol Hill continues to be strong and effective on behalf of our members," said Courson. "Given the issues facing our industry, we believe that having our strong and experienced lobbying team is more important than ever."

Cheney is joining MBA from the office of Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), where he served as Chief of Staff. In that role, he was responsible for managing all operations of the Washington, DC office, including developing and implementing critical strategy during the recent financial crisis and stabilization efforts. In his new role, Cheney will join MBA's lobbying team on Capitol Hill working with Members of the House of Representatives and Senate. He will begin on November 10.

"MBA is excited to add Brad's energy and expertise in lobbying for the issues important to our members," said Steve O'Connor, (top left photo) MBA's Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. "He brings with him valuable experience and knowledge which he will put to use on the industry's behalf."


CONTACT: John Mechem, (202) 557-2924, mechem@mortgagebankers.org
   
MBA, CMSA Comment to Regulators on Proposed Treatment of Assets Coming on Books as a Result of FAS 166 and FAS 167

Washington, DC-- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association (CMSA) filed a comment letter with banking regulators Wednesday to address the proposed risk-based capital (RBC) treatment of assets coming on the books of banks on January 1, 2010, as a result of FAS 166 and FAS 167.

FAS 166 and FAS 167, issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in June 2009, will generally require that assets and liabilities of prior private label residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) be put on the balance sheet of the issuer, servicer or special servicer for all deals prior to January 1, 2010. These new guidelines will also apply to all deals commencing on or after that date.

A copy of the joint comment letter can be found on both www.mortgagebankers.org and http://www.cmsaglobal.org/.

CONTACTS:

MBA CMSA, John Mechem , (202) 557-2924, jmechem@mortgagebankers.org
Kenneth Reed (212) 589-0961, kreed@cmsaglobal.org

Grubb & Ellis's Bach Says Commercial Real Estate Not as Dark as Pictured

SANTA ANA, CA--Bob Bach, (top right photo) senior vice president and chief economist, Grubb & Ellis Co., shares his views on the current commercial real estate markets:

Smart Money called “second derivative” one of those “needlessly nerdy financial words.”

 In the context of the recession, it means that conditions are still getting worse but at a slowing rate – a prelude to bottoming out. A number of economic indicators have seen improvement in their second derivatives and some are signaling expansion. But because commercial real estate is a lagging indicator, we haven’t seen second derivative improvement… until now.

Preliminary third quarter data from Grubb & Ellis show an abatement in the pace of deterioration compared with the past two quarters.

The national office vacancy rate appears to be about 50 basis points higher than in the second quarter, which would take it to just above 17 percent.

By comparison, vacancy in the first and second quarters increased by 80 and 100 basis points, respectively. Negative net absorption and sublease space also appear to be moderating.

What could explain this slowdown in the rate of decline?

One theory is that panicked employers “over-fired” after the credit markets froze in September 2008. The faster deterioration in the leasing market during the first and second quarters likely reflected this panic. Now that the recession appears to be ending, tenants may feel less of a need to further slash their space requirements, although we won’t see positive absorption until job growth returns.

A couple of other notable data releases this week:

The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims fell 33,000 to 521,000 last week, beating analyst expectations.

The decline, which was the fourth in the past five weeks, brought the four-week moving average to its lowest level since January 17th. Continuing claims for the previous week slipped by 72,000 to 6.04 million.

Chain store sales rose 0.1 percent in September according to ICSC, the first increase since July 2008. The increase was driven more by calendar and weather effects than by underlying strength in spending, but we’ll take what we can get.

Contact:  corporatecommunications@grubb-ellis.com.

Florida First Capital Announces First-Ever Dip below 5% Interest for SBA Commercial Real Estate, Equipment Loans

 

TALLAHASSEE, FL.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the first time ever, the 20-year fixed rate for commercial real estate and equipment loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) “504” loan program has fallen below the five percent threshold to a historic low of 4.86 percent.

This is one of the lowest rates that has ever been widely available in the country for the acquisition and enhancement of commercial space and equipment by small- and mid-size businesses.

“Such a rate may never be seen again, and small business owners can now also save substantial sums on most program fees, which have largely been waived or eliminated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” said Todd Kocourek, top right photo) president and CEO of Florida First Capital Finance Corp., Florida’s statewide certified development company.

The SBA 504 loan program is reserved exclusively for the purchase, construction or renovation of owner-occupied commercial real estate and/or the acquisition of industrial equipment or other fixed assets.

“Business owners who understand the benefits of owning rather than leasing their space and equipment will recognize that there may never be a better opportunity to invest in growing their business,” concluded Kocourek.

Florida First Capital Finance Corp. is the state’s largest non-profit certified development company that promotes economic development and job creation throughout Florida by working with the SBA and private-sector lenders to provide financing to small businesses. Florida First Capital lends to small businesses under the SBA 504 loan program for real estate and equipment as well as via the Florida Recycling Loan Program and other small business assistance programs.

For information on the SBA or State of Florida loans, call 888-320-5504, email info@ffcfc.com or visit www.ffcfc.com.

Contact:  For Florida First Capital Finance Corp., John P. David, 305-255-0035, john@davidgarciapr.com

Grubb & Ellis Represents University of Phoenix in Downtown Expansion

CHICAGO, IL– Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm,  announced that it represented the University of Phoenix in a lease renewal and expansion at 203 N. LaSalle St., bringing the institution’s total occupancy to approximately 44,000 square feet.

“The University of Phoenix has experienced a significant increase in enrollment, driving the need for additional classroom space,” said Craig Cassell, vice president in the Office Group at Grubb & Ellis and tenant representative in the transaction.

 “The available space on the floor directly above the school’s currently occupied space proved to be an excellent solution.”

The university’s existing lease of 27,000 square feet was originally scheduled to expire within the next several years. The renewal and lease expansion, which provides an additional 17,000 square feet of space, has been signed on a long-term basis.

The landlord, M&J Wilkow, was represented directly by Jack O'Brien.


Contact: Erin Mays, Phone: 312.698.6735, Email: erin.mays@grubb-ellis.com

Grubb & Ellis AGA Realty Income Fund Announces Dividend

SAN MATEO, CA– Grubb & Ellis Alesco Global Advisors  announced that Grubb & Ellis AGA Realty Income Fund (NSDQ: GBEIX) paid a dividend of $0.132 per share on Sept. 30 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 29. The fund intends to make regular quarterly distributions.

Grubb & Ellis AGA Realty Income Fund is managed by an experienced portfolio team with public and private market real estate experience, as well as long-standing industry relationships. The fund is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

Grubb & Ellis Alesco Global Advisors is a subsidiary of Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), one of the largest commercial real estate services and investment management firms. This relationship affords them access to a nationwide network of real estate brokers and researchers, providing market insights and understanding on virtually every real estate market and product type in the country.

For more information regarding Grubb & Ellis AGA Realty Income Fund, please visit the fund’s Web site at http://www.gbemutualfunds.com/.


Contact: Damon Elder, Phone: 714.975.2659, Email: damon.elder@grubb-ellis.com

Gary Bechtel is New  Senior Vice President in Newport Beach Office

NEWPORT BEACH, CA– Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, announced that commercial real estate veteran Gary Bechtel (bottom right photo) has joined the company’s Newport Beach office as senior vice president, effective immediately. He will be responsible for serving the debt financing and equity needs of clients, expanding the office’s service offerings to include mortgage brokerage.

During his 22-year career, Bechtel has been involved in roughly $7.5 billion in commercial debt transactions involving multiple property types, including office, retail, industrial, multifamily, hospitality, self storage and manufactured housing.

Contact: Julia McCartney, Phone: 714.975.2230, Email: julia.mccartney@grubb-ellis.com

Thomas D. Wood Brokers $4.6M Loan in South Florida

MIAMI, FL— Thomas D. Wood and Company, a Strategic Alliance Mortgage LLC member, secured financing on October 1, 2009, in the amount of $4,600,000 for Lincoln-Lauderhill Industrial in Lauderdale Lakes and Lauderhill, Florida.


Marshall Smith, (top right photo)  Company Executive Vice President, financed Lincoln-Lauderhill through Thomas D. Wood and Company’s relationship with a local bank.

The loan term is ten years, and the rate can be reset after five years, based on a 25-year amortization and a loan-to-value of 49.4%. The interest rate is 6.50%.

The two properties total 328,400 square feet of industrial space, and were built between 1974 and 1978. Lincoln-Lauderhill Industrial is located at 3435-3699 NW 19th Street, Lauderdale Lakes, and 1840-1898 NW 38th Avenue, Lauderhill, Florida.

For further information, please contact:
Marshall Smith (305) 447-7820 msmith@tdwood.com
Jessica Gurtowski (407) 937-0470 jgurtowski@tdwood.com

260-Acre IDI Meridian 75 Business Park Receives Foreign Trade Zone Designation

“Deal of the Year” is First Zone in Middle Georgia

ATLANTA, GA– IDI’s Meridian 75 Logistics Center, (bottom left aerial photo) a planned 2.9 million square-foot business park 15 miles north of Macon, Ga. was recently granted Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) status by the Federal FTZ Board.

The park is included in a now expanded Atlanta zone, Zone 26, and is the first in Middle Georgia. FTZ status allows those operating in the park to benefit from duty deferral, inverted tariffs and merchandise processing fee savings.

The FTZ program was created by the Foreign-Trade Zones Act of 1934 as an attempt to alleviate the effects of the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariffs, which raised tariffs on more than 20,000 imported goods to record levels, and cut American imports and exports by more than half. The Foreign-Trade Zones Act was created in response, to facilitate and encourage foreign commerce in the U.S.

Merchandise may be admitted into an FTZ without going through formal Customs entry procedures or paying import duties. Customs duties and excise taxes are due only at the time of transfer from the FTZ for U.S. consumption. If the merchandise never enters the U.S. commerce, then no duties or taxes are paid on those items. Georgia has fewer than 25 zones and there are 230 zones nationwide.

In October 2008, Meridian 75 Logistics Center was named the “Deal of the Year’ by the Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA) for its economic impact and the innovative financing used to fund the project. Over time, it is projected that Meridian 75’s potential economic benefits will include an addition to the county’s job base of 1,250 employees and a net payroll of $39 million per year.

Meridian 75 Logistics Center located at Interstate 75 and Rumble Road in Monroe County, Ga. features space for five build-to-suit and inventory facilities totaling 2,928,255 square feet.

One-hour south of Atlanta, 2.5 hours from the Port of Savannah and nine hours from Miami, Meridian 75 is strategically located for local and regional distribution, as well as access to a quality labor force in North Central Georgia.

“For distributors of international goods, FTZ status is a key benefit when seeking a new facility. Along with our location, which offers exceptional access to both the Port of Savannah, and to a population base exceeding 70 million people within a one-day truck drive, providing FTZ is a major differentiator for Meridian 75, and a key benefit for our targeted tenant base,” said Lisa Ward,  (top right photo) vice president of leasing for IDI.

Contacts:

Kim Hardcastle, Jackson Spalding for IDI, 404-214-0693 khardcastle@jacksonspalding.com

Charlotte Marie DuPre, Jackson Spalding for IDI, 404-214-3555, cdupre@jacksonspalding.com

Net Lease Commercial Advisory Grows Tampa Office with New Hire David M. Williams

TAMPA, FLORIDA –Net Lease Commercial Advisory is pleased to announce that David M. Williams, (top right photo) former Business Director of Synergy Properties has joined the firm’s commercial real estate team as a Commercial Investment Advisor. He will be based in the firm’s downtown Tampa office.

“We are very eager to have David join our dynamic team,” said Eric W. Odum, (bottom left photo) President of Net Lease Commercial Advisory. “His real estate background, combined with his extensive leasing and sales experience, is a welcome addition to our firm. His addition shows our commitment to further develop talent for our commercial investment division.”

"I am very excited about joining this great company,” said Williams. “Net Lease Commercial Advisory has developed sophisticated and profitable investment strategies, and I am honored to be a part of the
company’s continued acceleration."
 

Before working with Synergy Properties, David M. Williams worked for two years as a sales associate for another prominent brokerage. David is a Tampa native and a resident of South Tampa. He is a graduate of Plant High School and The Universit of Florida.

Net Lease Commercial Advisory has experienced growth despite a challenging real estate market.
 
Contact: Kerrie E. Edington, 813-514-1070 or 813-248-8256 - alternate phone; 813-354-2338 fax, kedington@gunnallen.com

Fast Work by North Fulton Community Improvement District Could Eliminate Slow Commute at Windward Parkway in Atlanta

CID Board approves $500,000 Ramp Improvement Project; Keeps Millage Rate Flat


ATLANTA, GA – The North Fulton Community Improvement District voted to fully fund an expansion of the Georgia Highway 400 off-ramp at Windward Parkway, allowing for an expedited construction schedule that will drastically reduce congestion. The $500,000 project will add a right-turn lane along Windward Parkway, from the exit ramp to North Point Parkway.

Congestion at the Windward Parkway and Georgia 400 interchange is notorious. More than 168,000 cars each day pass through the interchange causing major back-ups on both arteries.

“I’ve seen people on Georgia 400 northbound reading books and newspapers while waiting to get on Windward Parkway in the morning,” said CID Board Member Moses Brown, vice president of Reed Elsevier/LexisNexis. “That exit ramp is a significant bottleneck, and a serious safety concern for commuters trying to get to Windward Parkway.”

The CID selected PBS&J to manage the Windward project. Jordan, Jones & Goulding (JJ&G) is designing the new lane to relieve morning rush-hour congestion.

For more information on the North Fulton CID, contact Ann Miller Hanlon at (678) 397-0566, or visit www.NorthFultonCID.com.

Media Contacts:

Hadley Hickman, Jackson Spalding, (404) 419-9346
Patrick Hill, Jackson Spalding, (404) 724-2506

Dr. Tom O’Neal, founder of UCF Business Incubation Program receives award from Florida Small Business Development Center Network

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Dr. Tom O’Neal, (top right photo) founder and executive director of the UCF Business Incubation Program, recently received the “Regional Outstanding Resource Partner Award” from the Florida Small Business Development Center Network at its annual meeting.

The award was in recognition of the unique partnership between Dr. O’Neal of the UCF Business Incubation Program and Eunice Choi, (middle left photo)  Director of the UCF Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the new UCF/Leesburg Business Incubator site.(bottom left photo) 

 The 4,000 square foot building at 600 Market St. that serves as the Incubator will also function as an office for the SBDC, who will share staff and facilities with the Incubator to maximize productivity and economic impact within the community.

“By offering the UCF Business Incubation Program along with the SBDC, we can more efficiently and effectively serve the needs of more small businesses in Lake and Sumter Counties,” said James Spencer, new site manager for the Leesburg Incubator, who joined the program in July.

Another example of one of the many partnerships between several organizations that Dr. O’Neal has been involved in creating is the new 3,800 square foot UCF/Sanford Business Incubator, which opened recently at 110 W. First St. in downtown Sanford.

The UCF/Sanford Business Incubator (middle right photo)  is a partnership among City of Sanford, UCF Business Incubation Program and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council, the founding partners, who have formed an additional partnership with the local SBDC, SCORE (Service Core of Retired Executives) and volunteers in a joint effort to assist entrepreneurs in building successful companies that will create new jobs in Sanford and Seminole County.

“At the UCF Sanford Business Incubator everyone has stepped forward to help create a partnership that ranks as one of the most cost-effective strategies to stimulate local economies," Dr. O'Neal said.

The new incubator facility offers office space, along with coaching, training, and meeting space, and the daily point of contact from UCFBIP will be, Rafael Caamano, Dr. O'Neal said.

For more information about this release,  contact:

Gordon Hogan, Director of Operations, UCF Business Incubation Program 407-882-1577, bizdev@mail.ucf.edu

Dr. Tom O’Neal, Executive Director, UCF Business Incubation Program, 407 882-1120, oneal@mail.ucf.edu

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 or LvershelCo@aol.com

Avalonpark Texas L.P. to Develop 120-Acre Community in Dripping Springs near Austin, TX

AUSTIN, Tex. - Avalonpark Texas L.P., a Texas Joint Venture operation of Florida developer Avalon Park Group in Orlando, announced it plans to develop a 120-acre community on the Howard Ranch property in Dripping Springs near Austin.

Beat Kahli (top right photo) is CEO and founder of  Avalon Park Group.

Ross Halle, vice president of architecture and town planner at Avalon Park Group, said the development firm is currently negotiating with the City of Dripping Springs the establishment of a Planned Development District.

Halle said Avalonpark Texas L.P. plans to develop an assisted living and nursing facility, 100 multi-family units, including rental apartments, town homes and villas, 250 single-family homes and 55 estate home sites at Howard Ranch along with 50,000 square feet of commercial space and a church facility.

For more information contact:
Richard Kunz, Avalon Park Group, 512-695-3356 richardk@avalonparkgroup.com;
Stephanie Hodson, Marketing Coordinator, Avalon Park Group 407-658-6565;
Ross Halle, VP Architecture/Town Planner Avalon Park Group 407-658-6565;
Beat Kahli, Founder /CEO Avalon Park Group 407-658-6565;
Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142, Lvershelco@aol.com