South Florida Business Journal articles from January 1999

South Florida Business Journal archives from January 1999

Overbuilding is biggest worry in commercial real estate.(South Florida)
January 1, 1999... To build or not to build? That is the question South Florida developers will be asking this year. Many plans that seem well grounded in 1998 won't even make it out of the ground this year, real estate analysts say. Speculative projects...

Health-care field has its own illnesses.(Industry Overview)
January 1, 1999... It would be easy to blame managed care for all the changes sweeping the health-care industry these days. But there's more to it than that. The ongoing consolidation of home-health agencies, for example, has more to do with Medicare...

Artesyn Technologies.(Company Profile)
January 1, 1999... Exchange: Nasdaq Symbol: ATSN Address: 7900 Glades Rd., Suite 500, Boca Raton 33434-4105 Phone: (561) 451-1000 Web site: www.artesyn.com Employees: 4,200 Profile: Formerly known as Computer Products, Artesyn makes...

SouthTrust takes its local business to the next level.(Company Profile)
January 1, 1999... If SouthTrust Bank had a New Year's resolution for South Florida it would be clear-cut: Use its still-new branch network to cross-market more loans and deposits to business customers. "It helps to have the retail franchise because a lot of...

Port of Palm Beach plans to build it, but will they come?
January 1, 1999... A $12 million overnight cruise terminal is slated for construction at the Riviera Beach port starting next summer. The question is: Which cruise line companies will make the Palm Beach port their home once the project is completed in early...

Well-known banker back in medicine.(Dr. M. Lee Pearce of Oakbridge Medical Group)
January 1, 1999... During the 1980s, Dr. M. Lee Pearce became known for a golden touch as he made millions from investments in medical and banking businesses around South Florida. Now, the physician-turned investor is mining for new gold as his Oakridge...

Super Bowl provides a good start: event predicted to draw nearly 150,000 visitors, $354 million in spending.
January 1, 1999... South Florida's retail, hospitality and tourism industries expect business in 1999 to kick off with a big bang due to Super Bow XXXIII, which will be played at Pro Player Stadium at the end of January. Industry experts expect that event to...

Despite obstacles, high tech is here to stay.(high technology industries in South Florida)
January 1, 1999... South Florida is no Silicon Valley, but some technology companies would rather be here anyway. Steven Sponder, president of BizProLink Network Inc., a business-to-business Internet "portal" company, recently moved his small company to Boca...

Trade turns its attention more towards Europe.(South Florida)
January 1, 1999... Like the middle-of-the-road numbers being forecast, the outlook for South Florida international trade in 1999 contains an even share of optimism and pessimism. The so-called "Asian contagion" has, in theory, shown signs of letting up....

Training temporary workers.
January 1, 1999... Agencies expand teaching to cope with demand for technology employees They don't even work directly for your company, but they're probably some of the few people in the office who can tame the computer system and tackle the database all in...

Caring for everybody: Lauderdale Medical Group sells its clinic to keep up with changing times.
January 1, 1999... Lauderdale Medical Group appeared to be immune from the whims of the medical establishment since the 1950s, when its three founding doctors left the internationally renowned Mayo Clinic to build a cozy, self-contained clinic. Their...

Parimutuels in peril: video gaming machines seen as remedy for falling revenues.(Industry Overview)
January 8, 1999... In a vacuous room on the ground level at Flagler Dog Track in Miami, CEO Fred Havenick imagines sounds that don't exist. In his mind, he hears the bells, whistles and euphoric beeping noises that only a room full of electronic poker games or...

Cosmetics plant faces a setback; delay may affect 250 jobs, tax breaks.(plant of BGI Industries at Quantum Corporate Park)
January 8, 1999... A Peruvian cosmetics maker's plans to build a $20 million manufacturing facility in Quantum Corporate Park and provide 250 jobs has been postponed until early 2000. Citing economic turmoil in Latin America, officials with BGI Industries...

Racer brings Hispanic flavor to NASCAR.(Mario Hernandez)
January 8, 1999... Auto racer Mario Hernandez considers himself as much a scrappy entrepreneur as a steel-nerved driver. He has spent nine years scrounging enough money to keep himself racing. Hernandez, 25, plans to debut on NASCAR's Busch series this...

Cutting edge travel: eco-tourism is in and local companies are capitalizing on it.(South Florida)
January 8, 1999... Beyond the Facts What do air boat rides, rope climbing and Max the Monkey have in common? They're all attractions for those seeking the latest rage in outdoor adventure - eco-tourism. With sales estimated at $335 billion a year, some...

SBA office revs up service, plans more guarantees.(Small Business Administration loans in South Florida)
January 8, 1999... The Small Business Administration hopes to increase South Florida activity by 50 percent this year even though low interest rates make many banker comfortable issuing loans without SBA guarantees. Gary Cook, SBA district director for South...

Licking their wounds, bank stocks hope to bounce back.(bank stocks in South Florida)
January 8, 1999... "It has to get better" could be the 1999 motto for investors in the battered stocks of small banks and savings & loans, particularly in South Florida. It probably will be, but not until most investors spend several months assessing 1998's...

Lack of unity in global trade under attack.
January 8, 1999... When it came to international trade development, the distance between Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties was once words apart. Efforts to nurture global commerce were parochial at best. But boundaries, which kept trade promoters in...

Blue Dot is on the spot to get acquisitions.(Blue Dot Services)
January 8, 1999... While most consumers have finished their holiday spending, Blue Dot Services is still on a shopping spree. Between July I and Oct. 30 last year, the Deerfield Beach-based company bought a dozen plumbing, heating and air conditioning...

New owner has plenty of ideas for Hyde Parks.(Maidad Rabina; Hyde Park Markets)
January 8, 1999... As a grocery chain, Hyde Park proved a flop. But as a real estate play, the company is more intriguing. The new owner of a dozen Hyde Park Markets in South Florida plans to transform the stores into apartments, offices and retail space. ...

Growing up fast: national ISPs keep close watch over South Florida start-ups.(Internet service providers)(Industry Overview)
January 8, 1999... If South Florida were an orphanage of Internet service providers, it would soon have to close down. In the past 16 months, e.spire Communications (Nasdaq: ESPI), parent company to CyberGate, purchased TheNet Digital Services and ICANECT in...

Not just kidding around: South Florida's children party business is growing along with the young family population.(Industry Overview)
January 8, 1999... It's one of those times when life couldn't possibly pile one more thing on your plate. You just got back from an out-of-town presentation. You're backed up at the office. The car's in the shop. The house is being renovated. The dog has...

Dirt cheap deal? Not for this developer.(Lane Co. drops plan for 600 apartments)
January 15, 1999... Rich soil is good for growers, but not so great when building 600 luxury apartments An Atlanta-based developer's plans to build upscale apartments next to the former West Palm Beach auditorium and stadium site got stuck in the muck. ...

Sikorsky sets course for rebound.(Sikorsky Aircraft)(Company Profile)
January 15, 1999... Sikorsky Aircraft, best-known for its Blackhawk military transport helicopter, is aiming its new $14 million, high-tech copter squarely at the commercial market. As the Connecticut-based company begins testing its new S-92 Helibus - which...

Sailing away with profits: unregulated gambling boats draw customers, critics.
January 15, 1999... The Wednesday evening gaming cruise aboard the new Casino Princesa in Miami has several hours left, but passenger Rebecca Benefiel isn't going back to the $1 slots below. She's dropped $1,200 in an hour and a half. It's money she won a few...

Wall Street with a Florida twist: 'Nightly Business Report' celebrates its 20th year.(Miami, Florida television station WPBT-Channel 2)
January 15, 1999... At 4 p.m. next Friday, the New York Stock Exchange will recognize a South Florida-based pioneer in national business news when the closing bell rings. That evening, "Nightly Business Report" will mark its 20th anniversary as it closes a...

Organization key to builder's success.(Seawood Builders)(Company Profile)
January 15, 1999... Betty Masi stands in a circle of construction contractors, crew supervisors, painters and Sunbeam Corp. executives. Except for Masi, it's an all male grouping. This meeting will be one of the last construction updates that Masi, 4,5,...

Audio Book Club expects deal will amplify Internet sales.(acquisition of Columbia House Audiobook Club)
January 15, 1999... Audio Book Club, marketer of best-selling books by authors ranging from John Grisham to Zig Ziglar, wants to raise the volume on its Internet sales. The Boca Raton-based company, which offers 70,000 book titles on tape and/or CD, says that...

R.J. Gators offers customers a bite of the chain.(Florida-based themed restaurant chain R.J. Gators' Neighborhood Sea Grille and Bar)
January 15, 1999... R.J. Gators, the Florida-themed restaurant chain that serves up dishes with names like "Havana Banana Chicken," has cooked up an unusual offer for its customers: Buy a stake in the company. The 200-employee, Jupiter-based chain expects to...

Home Depot signs deal to own West Palm location.(former West Palm Beach auditorium complex)
January 15, 1999... Home Depot, originally tapped to be a tenant in a shopping center proposed for a slice of the former West Palm Beach auditorium complex, is poised to become an owner instead. The Atlanta-based retailer has hammered out a deal to buy 21...

The capital of disease management: Florida takes the lead in helping hospitals, managed care adopt cost control measure.
January 15, 1999... A new approach to health care that works to cut medical costs by helping patients manage their illnesses better is quickly becoming standard practice in South Florida. New companies called disease management organizations (DMOs) are being...

Cashing out of the party: price gouging offends value-conscious travelers.(Hospitality)
January 15, 1999... The world's wealthiest have long ago made arrangements to pay top dollar for cruises across the international date line, luxury hotel suites in Manhattan and $75,000 flights on the Concord for New Year's Eve 1999. That leaves the rest of...

'A nice, orderly, prudent fashion:' for Too Jay's, staying private means growing at its own slow, steady pace.(Too Jay's Original Gourmet Deli)(Company Profile)
January 15, 1999... Too Jay's Original Gourmet Deli isn't a fast-growing restaurant chain. Like the famous tortoise, it has adopted a slow-and-steady strategy as the route to success. Founded in 1982 by partners Jay Brown and Mark Jay Katzenberg, the...

'Unfortunate irony' leaves employees jobless: shaky market conditions put DeGeorge's growth on hold as financier freezes credit.(DeGeorge Home Alliance)
January 22, 1999... Despite abruptly shutting down its Boca Raton branch last week, leaving 225 people jobless, officials of DeGeorge Home Alliance say its core business remains strong. The company closed the branch because its sole financier, GMAC-RFC, the...

Raising the stakes: Indian tribes, state disagree on gambling machines' legality.(Florida)
January 22, 1999... A powder white Rolls-Royce idles past a pair of starlings picking at a bagel in a bag. The parking lot at the Seminole Indian poker casino in Hollywood is two-thirds full on a Sunday afternoon. Inside, Elsie Kent has been waiting half an...

Owner opts to renovate Royal Palm: deal to sell landmark plaza falls through.(Marta Batmasian; Landmark Royal Palm Plaza, Boca Raton, FL)(Brief Article)
January 22, 1999... A deal to sell Boca Raton's landmark Royal Palm Plaza to a North Carolina-based real estate investment trust is off, the potential buyer saying money is tight and the center needs work. So longtime owners Jim and Marta Batmasian say they'll...

Brazil crisis affects Florida negatively in short term.
January 22, 1999... Early this month, Brazilians who traveled to South Florida and converted their currency at official rates would have almost 90 cents to spend for each real. Last Tuesday that purchasing power dropped to 63 cents, or 1.57 reals a dollar, on...

Businesswoman links opportunities.(Imperial Packers and Purveyors Pres. Caroline LaBauve)
January 22, 1999... It is not a case mistaken identity. Caroline LaBauve - a Glasgow Scotland-born marketer with a background in public relations and journalism - has a new moniker: The "queen" of chorizo sausage in South Florida. LaBauve is president of...

Wachovia Bank centralizes its SBA loan processing.(Small Business Administration)
January 22, 1999... S. Florida newcomer touts new system as more efficient On Jan. 22, Wachovia Bank will roll out a centralized processing system for U.S. Small Business Administration loans at its Winston-Salem, N.C., headquarters. South Florida lenders...

Do or die time for CityPlace department store.(Florida)
January 22, 1999... Developers of CityPlace say if a department store is to open in the project's first phase, they need a deal in the next 30 days or it will have to wait. The retailer most likely to fill the anchor spot is Seattle-based Nordstrom, according...

Boca-based W.R. Grace faces troubles head on.(Boca Raton, Florida)
January 22, 1999... The chemical maker has a new battle plan When confronted, W. R. Grace has a history of blinking first. In years past, an internal financial crisis prompted Boca Raton-based Grace to downsize operations from more than 30 businesses to...

Ritz proposing $95 million renovation of the DiLido.(DiLido Hotel in Miami Beach, FL)
January 22, 1999... An Art Deco hotel on Miami Beach and a condominium tower/hotel off the water in Coconut Grove may not seem like Ritz-Carlton material. But the five-star luxury hotel brand is joining the Miami-Dade hotel scene with intentions to operate...

Gateway American Bank finds new ways to grow.
January 22, 1999... Bank hires SouthTrust leader, plans acquisitions, expands customer service Gateway American Bank has named Broward County banker and civic leader John O'Neill president and CEO and is looking to acquire other banks as part of a growth...

BP Amoco spends millions to snap up area sites: oil giant's expansion focuses on convenience, not carburetors.(Florida)
January 22, 1999... Oil giant's expansion focuses on convenience, not carburetors Customers at the new Amoco station in Liberty City won't be able to get their oil changed. But they can buy fresh sandwiches and pizzas. The station at 79th Street and...

Historic name coming back to banking.(Flagler Bank to reopen in Palm Beach County, Florida)
January 29, 1999... First office for Flagler Bank could be next to newcomer Grand Bank The venerable name Flagler Bank, which disappeared from the banking scene in West Palm Beach six years ago, has been chosen by a local group seeking to open a new bank. ...

Man from MARS.(Mark Begelman's management of music equipment retail chain Music and Recording Superstores)(Company Profile)
January 29, 1999... Former Office Depot CEO propels music chain's growth As Office Depot CEO from 1991-95, Mark Begelman helped change the way America views shopping for file folders and day planners. The office supply category killer grew from 177 to 455...

Noted investor remains cutting edge.(Muriel Siebert)
January 29, 1999... Muriel Siebert of Boca Raton may be a tough businesswoman, but when it comes to keeping good employees, she uses a soft approach. Case in point: The president and CEO of national discount brokerage Muriel Siebert & Company (Nasdaq: SIEB)...

Lost and found: local Mary Kay director turns tragedy into opportunity by launching new career.(Paula Neier)
January 29, 1999... Prizes decorate Paula Neier's Jupiter home, line her china hutch and sit in her driveway, constant reminders of her success. "Mary Kay calls them Cinderella gifts," Neier says, flashing a diamond ring. Neier picks up a pink china plate...

PaxTV shows rapid growth in first four months.(television broadcasting company)(Company Profile)
January 29, 1999... Four months after arriving on the TV landscape, PaxTV, the West Palm Beach-based network that broadcasts family friendly programming, is receiving some positive signals. The number of U.S. households tuning in to PaxTV has surged from...

NationsBank branches get new leases on life.(branches in South Florida)
January 29, 1999... Other banks are moving into more than 50 S. Florida offices After sitting idle since October, the former NationsBank branch at 6260 Powerline Rd. in Fort Lauderdale reopened last week as a SunTrust Bank branch. Several other banks have...

Polar Ice travels to warm climates to open rinks.(skating rink developer)
January 29, 1999... Palm Beach Gardens entrepreneur Philip DiLeo envisions bustling ice centers in prime retail sites around the country. DiLeo, president and CEO of Polar Ice, sees a demand for new rinks in the Sunbelt. He has assembled a group of backers...

Company seeks investors but faces state hearing.(OccuLogix Corp.)
January 29, 1999... A Tampa doctor who pitched investors on a medical procedure at last week's Florida Venture Capital Conference in Coral Gables faces a hearing that could ban the treatment in Florida until further study. Without further clinical tests, the...

A new Criteria: Hit Factory takes over.(acquisition of recording studio Criteria Studios)
January 29, 1999... New York owner plans to expand landmark studio The legendary Criteria Studios in North Miami, one of the most sought-after recording studios in the music business, has been sold, again. A deal has apparently been finalized to sell...

Developer offers residents cash for support.(Ocean Beach Hotel and Club Inc. to develop hotel in South Florida)
January 29, 1999... Beachfront project aims to overcome opposition For 10 years, Mary and Anthony Taldone have enjoyed an unobstructed view of the Atlantic Ocean. But all that may end with the construction of a 13-story time-share hotel just north of their...