South Florida Business Journal articles from June 1999

South Florida Business Journal archives from June 1999

New hotel set for Lauderdale strip.
June 4, 1999... The owners of exclusive Fisher Island are plotting the first new hotel on Fort Lauderdale beach in more than a decade. Developer Daniel J. Melk said he leads plans to build a 15-story, 108-suite luxury resort on State Road A1A - just south...

Appliance seller finds it's hard to stay in the red.(Miele struggles to cope with Boca Raton, Florida's color scheme)
June 4, 1999... Once a color scheme for a building is approved in Boca Raton, that's what you're going to have to live with, even if you're a billion-dollar company. Miele, an international German appliance maker that's had a showroom off of Clint Moore...

The Zap stops here.(Meter-Treater introduces outdoor surge suppressor products)
June 4, 1999... Meter-Treater's protection goes right in the electric meter It's the kind of hair-raising experience most people don't like to think about. You're sitting at home, pecking away on the computer and suddenly the power goes out. To your...

The Rx for doctors' paperwork.(automating physical therapy offices through TherAssist Software)
June 4, 1999... Miami's TherAssist Software will handle patient load TherAssist Software, a Miami company known for helping physical therapists automate their offices, is preparing to enter a much broader arena with a new product geared toward physicians....

Health Foundation, board settle divisive dispute.(Health Foundation of South Florida)
June 4, 1999... The Health Foundation of South Florida moved to settle a divisive internal dispute Tuesday just moments before witnesses were scheduled to testify in Miami-Dade Circuit Court about whether documents were altered. Details of the agreement...

Wellington may have more newspapers than it can handle.(highly competitive market for newspaper publishers in Florida)
June 4, 1999... One newspaper publishes its competitors' stories word for word - and no one seems to notice. Another paper battles its former publisher for the rights to its own Web site. There's something funny about the local newspaper market of western...

Republic Bancshares up and running locally.(Republic Bancshares of St. Petersburg opens five branches in south Florida)
June 4, 1999... Republic Banchshares of St. Petersburg last month added five South Florida branches, giving it 17 locally and completing its opening of former NationsBank offices. Republic also introduced a small business banking program and increased...

Little boutique law firm is a lean, mean machine.(Hector and Harke)
June 4, 1999... Although the phrase, "boutique law firm, conjures up images of canape and delicate crystal, you won't find Hector & Harke at many garden parties. That's because founding partners Alice Hector and Lance Harke have only eight lawyers and a...

Attitude adjustment.(chiropractors find expansive market in south Florida)
June 4, 1999... Chiropractors find validation in alternative medicine boom Chiropractors were once called everything from quacks and charlatans to glorified witch doctors. When it came to practicing their craft, these Rodney Dangerfields of medicine got no...

Jackson Memorial revenues down, still tops list.
June 4, 1999... Jackson Memorial Hospital's 1998 net revenue fell off from 1997, yet this University of Miami medical center still managed to retain the top ranking on the Business Journal's list of largest hospitals. While the hospital's billings fell...

Analyst: REITs peak, plan to sell properties.(real estate investment trusts)
June 4, 1999... Highwoods Properties' decision last month to sell its South Florida portfolio, about 3.3 million square feet of offices, to Americas Capital Partners of Miami for $323.2 million promises to be one of the regions largest transactions. Paul...

Fontainebleau redraws addition; controversy surrounds mural elimination.(Fontainebleau Hilton Resort and Towers' plans for expansion project)
June 11, 1999... Fontainebleau Hilton Resort & Towers, South Florida's largest hotel, has set plans in motion to revive its controversial expansion project. Architects for the 45-year-old hotel have drawn initial plans for a smaller version of the...

Applied buys online-oriented computer seller.(Applied Digital Solutions; Bostek)
June 11, 1999... Applied Cellular Technology, the fastest-growing technology company in South Florida, has changed its name to reflect a broader strategy and its largest acquisition to date. The company's new name, Applied Digital Solutions, was announced...

Aiming to win support: focus groups, surveys help Marlins set strategy.(Florida Marlins)
June 11, 1999... The Florida Marlins have intensified a public affairs campaign the team says is designed not only to foster public support for a new baseball stadium, but to bolster fan loyalty to the game itself. The effort isn't without guidance. In...

Connecting to the main artery: group develops 1.6 million-square-foot industrial park.(Seneca L.L.C.; Seneca Industrial Park)
June 11, 1999... A Miami development group recently broke ground on a 1.6 million-square-foot industrial park near the eastern edge of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Experts say Seneca Industrial Park will be one of the largest to come out of the ground...

Macy's store lures other big names to CityPlace.(retail space in West Palm Beach, FL)
June 11, 1999... A Macy's department store planned at CityPlace has caught the eye of upscale fashion retailers who otherwise might not have given the project a second glance, the projects developers said. About 10 percent of the West Palm Beach urban...

Cable sports channels square off in state; SportsChannel, Sunshine Network compete for programs.(Florida)
June 11, 1999... The rivalry between Florida's cable television sports channels has become as fierce as any of the games they broadcast most evenings. Sunshine Network remains the dominant player in coverage of sports of interest to fans throughout the...

Developer, architect taking heat.(violation of rules on the use of women- and minority-owned businesses by Basketball Properties Ltd. and Arquitectonica)
June 11, 1999... A three-member panel could recommend by the end of the month whether the developer of Miami's American Airlines Arena and the project's lead architect violated rules regarding the use of women- and minority-owned businesses. Basketball...

Drumming up business: musician-turned-banker, Carlos Migoya works to own beat.(Banking and Finance)(president of First Union Corp.)
June 11, 1999... In the summer of 1969, Carlos Migoya was studying to be an architect and earning tuition money by playing drums in a rock 'n soul band called The Shufflin' Kind. But the band split up when several members decided to tour. Migoya stayed at...

Palm Beach newcomer grows 941 percent.(Fast-Tech 40)(Applied Digital Solutions)
June 11, 1999... Looks can be deceiving. Although its new headquarters sits hidden among the trendy cafes and art galleries on the island of Palm Beach, Applied Digital Solutions (Nasdaq: ADSX), formerly known as Applied Cellular Technology (Nasdaq: ACTC), is...

Regulatory cure urged.(limitation of identical hospital services sought in Florida)
June 18, 1999... Legislators attack health-care certificates of need Florida's hospitals and nursing homes could regain the right to expand at will as part of a health-care policy review going on in Tallahassee. Prodded by state legislators, the Agency...

BankUnited under review by Moody's.(Moody's Investors Service evaluates BankUnited Financial Corp's credit rating)
June 18, 1999... Moody's Investors Service is considering a downgrade of the credit rating of BankUnited Financial Corp., the second-largest thrift based in Florida. Moody's said its review, announced June 9, "reflects the rating agency's growing concern...

WCI seeking realty agencies.(Watermark Communities Inc plans to expand through the addition of new facilities)
June 18, 1999... Wanted: Residential real estate brokerages. Small firms with quality management are OK, but big brokerages with a strong presence are best. If your agency fits either bill, it could become the latest conquest of Watermark Communities. ...

Plastic surgery: a vacation, rejuvenation or both.(South Florida capitalizes on cosmetic surgery to gain additional foreign investments)
June 18, 1999... Cosmetic surgeons around South Florida are tapping into the region's tourism industry with vacation packages that put husbands on the golf course, kids on the beach and room under the knife. The trend mirrors "medical tourism" - a recent...

Short on asset requirement, Med/Waste withdraws from Nasdaq.(Med/Waste compelled to remove stocks from Nasdaq due to financial constraints)
June 18, 1999... Med/Waste, a medical waste management services firm with 65 employees based in South Florida, has voluntarily removed its stock from trading on the Nasdaq stock market. The Miami Lakes company, delisted June 10, is trading on the "pink...

Miami-Dade to test controversial ambulance plan.(Humana Inc. and American Medical Response's Pathways program)
June 18, 1999... Humana Inc., the nation's third-largest health plan, has agreed to test Colorado-based American Medical Response's Pathways program in Miami-Dade County for three months beginning this summer. The pilot project is one of three new Pathways...

Cutler Ridge getting a lift out of Hurricane Andrew's rubble.(Pinnacle Investment Properties acquires Cutler Ridge Regional Center for a $5.8 million deal)
June 18, 1999... The only office towers in Cutler Ridge have changed hands in a sale that could lure new businesses to a market still struggling to recover from Hurricane Andrew. Pinnacle Investment Properties paid $5.8 million for the Cutler Ridge...

NationsBank Tower may lose a prominent tenant - NationsBank.
June 18, 1999... Downtown Fort Lauderdale's NationsBank Tower may lose its signature tenant soon. NationsBank, the largest financial institution in South Florida, is weighing plans to move its Broward County headquarters into one of the new, Class A office...

First Union admits closing Tampa small-business unit.
June 18, 1999... First Union's small-business lenders in South Florida are calling Charlotte, N.C., rather than Tampa, for underwriting and back-office work following closure of its statewide small-business operations center. First Union made that change...

First Union mutual-fund strategy questioned.
June 18, 1999... Some analysts warn that the next ugly surprise for First Union Corp., if there is one, could come in the mutual-fund operations that top executives tout as a key engine of the company's future profits. "Adjusted for acquisitions, they are...

Levitz gets $93.5 million boost from Philadelphia investors.
June 18, 1999... Two Philadelphia investors with deep pockets showed struggling Levitz Furniture of Boca Raton some brotherly love this month in the form of a $93.5 million check in return for all of its U.S. real estate assets. Center City-based...

Don King's deal goes beyond boxing; promoter plans headquarters, concerts, TV studios at ex-fronton.(Palm Beach, FL)
June 25, 1999... Promoter plans headquarters, concerts, TV studios at ex-fronton Don King, the biggest name in professional boxing outside the ring, is moving his headquarters to the vacant Palm Beach Jai Alai fronton and plans to create a world-class...

Mount Sinai may cut full-time staff.(Mount Sinai Medical Center)
June 25, 1999... Mount Sinai Medical Center braces for heavy layoffs as its new CEO wrestles with money-losing physician practices and Medicare cutbacks. Although one hospital source described a worst-case scenario of 400 pink slips, or 15 percent of Mount...

Zone squared; second Broward Foreign Trade Zone coming.
June 25, 1999... Parts of Broward County soon may secede from the nation - but only in the eyes of U.S. Customs agents. A Fort Lauderale-led effort to give Broward its second Foreign Trade Zone breezed through its public comments period last month with no...

Pompano firm fetches pet drugs online.(Petmedexpress.com)
June 25, 1999... Clever, useful business ideas can crop up in the strangest places. Some people get them in the shower. Others get them stuck in traffic on I-95 while listening to bad morning radio. Dr. Marc Puleo, an anesthesiologist, got his in the...

Make banks sell by rules, insurance association says.(Florida Association of Life Underwriters)
June 25, 1999... Insurance agents say they have no problem with banks' offering similar policies, as long as they do it right. The Florida Association of Life Underwriters has weighed in, along with its national group, on the debate in Congress of HR 10, a bill...

Printers aren't just for your printing anymore.(JKG Corp.)
June 25, 1999... The brown cardboard box on the conference table at JKG Corp. in Boca Raton was labeled "Top Secret." Piled in it were sales brochures, army helmets, dog tags, pencils, pens and disposable cameras, each designed in a camouflage green theme with...

Schwab opens 300th office, plans many more in S. Fla.(Charles Schwab & Co.)
June 25, 1999... Charles Schwab & Co. is planning its 21st century growth around new branches, including a milestone office in South Florida, as well as its highly publicized Internet trading. The world's largest discount securities broker, Schwab just...