South Florida Business Journal articles from May 1998

South Florida Business Journal archives from May 1998

Pink plaza positions itself for potential purchase. (Royal Palm Plaza)
May 1, 1998... James and Marta Batmasian, owners of Royal Palm Plaza in downtown Boca Raton, said they plan to sell the landmark retail complex or will agree to a joint venture to redevelop it. Such a deal would be designed to get the 190,000 square-foot...

Toy retailer selects Boca for first Florida location. (Noodle Kidoodle)
May 1, 1998... Noodle Kidoodle, a Long Island-based chain that sells educational toys, is planning to open its first South Florida store in Boca Raton. The retailer has leased space at the Somerset Shoppes, a 179,000 square foot shopping plaza a few miles...

CityPlace sparks downtown homes. (South Florida)
May 1, 1998... Using CityPlace as the hook, the city of West Palm Beach is trying to reel in developers to create 3,000 new downtown residences. The plan, according to city officials, is to give people a place to call home after they've worked all day in a...

The sky's the limit. (1998 Shell Air & Sea Show)
May 1, 1998... Fort Lauderdale businesses salute the air and sea show As Blue Angels soar this weekend, so will the flow of money into the wallets of businesses that normally see a scarcity of tourists at this time. "Among the goals of the 1998 Shell Air &...

Cashing in on Latin phone calls. (Long Distance International Inc)
May 1, 1998... Long Distance International heating up competition For three years, Long Distance International of Fort Lauderdale has built revenue by selling phone service from the U.S. to Europe. Its next target is South Florida's Latin population. In...

Big Pink goes for bigger green in Broward, Palm Beach. (restaurant)
May 1, 1998... Only a block away from his award winning New American restaurant, Nemo, Myles Chefetz has been quietly changing his focus from high-end dining to family style comfort food. Just 15 months after he opened his first Big Pink on Collins Avenue in...

Boom in new luxury hotels draws concern. (Miami-Dade County, Florida)
May 1, 1998... After a long absence in Miami-Dade County, luxury hotel developers suddenly are almost as common as supermodels on South Beach. Investors see opportunity in the influx of affluent business and leisure travelers to Miami, where no five-star...

Marriott reserves room for hotels in Boca. (BF Saul Co's real estate projects in Boca Raton, FL)
May 15, 1998... A pair of Marriott hotels and a 165,000-square-foot upscale office building will soon rise on one of the last undeveloped parcels in the Arvida Park of Commerce in Boca Raton. BF Saul Co., a Maryland-based real estate and development firm,...

Sunbeam sputters, brings on new management. (includes related article on Sunbeam's new executives)
May 15, 1998... Dunlap hires 56 executives to jump start company You could call them Al's army. Sunbeam Corp. Chairman and CEO Al Dunlap has hired 56 executives since the beginning of the year, with as many as 15 of them carrying the title of vice...

CityPlace architect draws inspiration from Italy. (interview with architect Howard Elkus)(Interview)
May 15, 1998... CityPlace architect Howard Elkus has known the project's developer, Ken Himmel, for 20 years. When CityPlace emerged as an opportunity, Elkus received a call from Himmel asking if his firm, Elkus/Mafredi Architects of Boston, would be...

To close the sale, developer has to buy, too. (Tambone Real Estate Development's acquisition of Bristol West Insurance Services' old buildings)
May 15, 1998... Before Bristol West Insurance Services signed a deal to build a new $15 million headquarters in Davie, the firm made an unusual demand of potential developers: Buy our old buildings first. The Hollywood-based company, which markets and...

Tired of your hotel room? Boutique operators hope so. (boutique hotels in Florida)
May 15, 1998... Pass through the hand-carved doors at the Mayfair Hotel in Coconut Grove and you are swept up in a world of Art Nouveau and Japanese spa tubs. Upon arrival, guests are ushered into a private check-in lounge with rounded walls and soft lighting....

Stiles' buildings could fetch up to $60 million. (Florida real estate developer Trry Stiles)
May 15, 1998... A hot market for commercial real estate has led Fort Lauderdale developer Terry Stiles to put some of his Broward County offices on the market. Stiles is selling Plaza at Las Olas in downtown Fort Lauderdale and several buildings at Sawgrass...

Jeweler hopes business is diamond in the rough. (Chimento SpA)
May 15, 1998... As a child in Morocco, Salomon Bendayan learned from his father how to sift pearls to spot imperfections. As an adult in Miami, Bendayan is giving the same scrutiny to an 18 karat gold bracelet made by his Italian company while talking about a...

Temporary lawyers growing more popular in South Florida.
May 15, 1998... Until three years ago, Renu N. Mody figured that being a trial lawyer meant she would never have time to travel, never mind raising children. Her perspective changed during a trip to Washington, where she and her husband, also a lawyer,...

Prevailing wage bill in Dade draws concern. (Miami-Dade County, FL)
May 15, 1998... If a controversial Miami-Dade County ordinance passes next week, private companies doing business on county land will no longer be able to hire whoever they want at whatever price they want to pay. They will have to hire women and minorities...

Fashion Mall looking for an image. (shopping mall in Plantation, FL)
May 15, 1998... Nobody knocks the decor, but merchants want traffic From its opening in 1988, the Fashion Mall in Plantation has had a hard time creating an identity that packs the parking lot. Now, merchants are hoping a better marketing plan and a movie...

Marlins find it's tough to score with fans. (baseball club Florida Marlins)
May 15, 1998... After unloading a spate of high-paid players last year, the Florida Marlins went from the best team in baseball to one of the worst. Now, the depleted organization is finding that luring fans is perhaps an even tougher task than winning games."...

Downtown living in Delray. (Delray Beach, Florida)
May 15, 1998... Size of parcel could create a challenge for developers Delray Beach plans to seek developers to transform an acre - or more - patch of trendy East Atlantic Avenue into a five-story apartment building with 10,000-square-feet of ground-floor...

Cutbacks hit health inspections. (poor state of health inspections for cases of infectious disease in Florida)(includes related article on the state of disease investigation in Florida)
May 22, 1998... Tracking infectious disease a challenge As growth in population, tourism and international trade increases the likelihood of infectious disease in South Florida, the region's public health system is struggling to keep up. More than 400...

Washing away the old. (Laundromax laundry centers)(Company Profile)
May 22, 1998... Ex-Blockbuster executives introduce a new cycle for laundries in South Florida Traditionally, coin-operated laundries aren't the most pleasant places, especially in South Florida. With hot dryers and no air conditioning, the inside can be...

DRI status of Blue Lake questioned. (development of regional impact)(Blue Lake Corporate Center)
May 22, 1998... Redevelopment of ex-IBM site doesn't fit the typical situation With four tenants moved in and others coming next month, state officials are investigating whether owners of Blue Lake Corporate Center are moving faster than the approval process...

Fitness craze spinning off new business. (LifeSpin's opening of about 70 physical fitness centers)
May 22, 1998... Fitness is a fickle business because, despite testimonials to the contrary, most people don't really like to exercise. For that reason, the industry relies on fads to generate new customers, who come and go like the pounds they shed. One of...

Getting a grip. (Just Tap It! wristbands)
May 22, 1998... Former minor leaguer pitches Just Tap It! wristbands to pros Steve Niewulis hatched the idea for his sporting-goods product just after a Dominican pitcher with shaky control blew a 90-plus mph fastball past him. Niewulis was at the plate in...

Moving off welfare creates 'crisis' in Dade. (Dade county, Florida)
May 22, 1998... Members of Enterprise Florida raised a considerable amount of concern last week at a meeting at the Fountainebleau Hilton about the thousands of former welfare recipients who will begin to pound the pavement this fall in search of jobs that don't...

Marlins not the first to cut deep, but fans want a winner. (Florida Marlins' decision to let go of high-profile players)
May 22, 1998... RICH vs. POOR Major League baseball teams with low payrolls typically draw fewer fans and lose more games. The Marlins are no exception. Payroll shown in million of dollars. Rank/Team Payroll Attendance(*) ...

Tri-Rail searching for new marketing direction.
May 22, 1998... Commuter rail wants to improve its faltering image Tri-Rail, South Florida's often besieged commuter rail, has ditched its expensive in-house marketing team and is seeking outside expertise. Tri-Rail is soliciting credentials from marketing,...

NationsBank aims to keep Barnett's customers. (NationsBank-Barnett Bank merger)
May 22, 1998... "We realized that our customers liked their bankers, no matter which of, the institutions they were with last August,' says Mike Nursey, NationsBank's senior vice president for business banking in Miami-Dade County. So, he added, keeping...

Miami Subs, Arthur Treacher's cook up potential deal. (merger planned between two quick service seafood chains)
May 22, 1998... Arthur Treacher's Inc., the quick-service seafood chain that's negotiating a merger with Miami Subs, is seeking $25 million in new capital. Treacher's, which has been losing money since 1995, wants to convert to a new marketing concept, add...

Lowe's prepares move into South Florida. (Lowe's Companies Inc.)
May 29, 1998... Market leader Home Depot also expanding Lowe's, the nation's No. 2 home-improvement retailer, is expanding into South Florida and taking on top-ranked Home Depot. The North Wilkesboro, N.C., chain is planning at least two stores in Broward...

CareMatrix targets area for 12 centers. (CareMatrix Corp.)
May 29, 1998... CareMatrix Corp., a fast growing builder of assisted living facilities for retirees, plans to open at least a dozen communities in South Florida by 2000. Three of the projects - in Jensen Beach, Boynton Beach and Deerfield Beach - are...

Some public firms keep right to privacy. (Pollo Tropical)
May 29, 1998... Pollo Tropical is not the first company to try to make a U-turn on Wall Street In an era when it seems almost every company wants to be traded on Wall Street, it may be a surprise to hear of a public company seeking privacy. But the...

Counting their blessing. (accounting firms in South Florida)
May 29, 1998... South Florida's top accounting firms are world-class. They are headed by professionals with extensive, fascinating backgrounds. This section, compiled by David Volz, features profiles about some of them. JOE BARNES POSITION: Managing partner...

California bank targets South Florida. (Wells Fargo)
May 29, 1998... Wells-Fargo offering loans to Hispanic business owners A California bank isn't letting its lack of branches in Florida stop it from offering loans to Hispanic small business owners here. Wells Fargo, a San Francisco-based bank with branches...

Coral Gables' Renex shifts focus toward acquisitions. (Renex Corp.)
May 29, 1998... Rather than sit by as its competitors carve up the industry, Coral Gables' Renex Corp. (Nasdaq: RENX) plans to build fewer and buy more kidney dialysis clinics. President and CEO James P. Shea said the company will spend most if not all of a...

If only Ryder could move its stock price. (Ryder System)
May 29, 1998... Ryder System is meeting predicted growth, boosting profitability and focusing on its core integrated logistics business - enough to prompt one analyst to reiterate a "buy" rating. But the Miami company's shares, which traded at $40.50 less than...

Hollywood Beach becomes hot spot for development. (Florida; real estate development)
May 29, 1998... Hollywood Beach, the strip that slept for decades, suddenly is hot property. Developers plan to spend more than half a billion dollars on four major projects on Hollywood Beach. If the planned projects are built, the city will boast 1,300...

Tollycraft Yachts sets sail for South Florida. (Tollycraft Yachts Corp.)
May 29, 1998... After a tempestuous voyage and a near-death experience, Tollycraft Yachts Corp. may move from Washington State to the Sunshine State. Tollycraft President D.R. Cooley is engineering a deal that would move the company's headquarters to South...