South Florida Business Journal articles from May 1999

South Florida Business Journal archives from May 1999

Highwoods plans to unloadd $326 million local portfolio.(Highwoods Properties)
May 7, 1999... Highwoods Properties, the North Carolina-based real estate investment trust that went on a South Florida buying spree in recent years, plans to sell its regional portfolio to a Miami partnership, sources familiar with the deal said. The...

It's where Visa wants to be; the company's international office chooses Miami's Blue Lagoon Park.(Visa International)
May 7, 1999... Visa International's talk about building a signature headquarters has turned to ink. The credit card company, spread between several buildings west of Miami International Airport, recently signed a deal to buy eight acres in the high-brow...

Legislature approves tort reform measure.(Florida Legislature)
May 7, 1999... While most businesses are applauding legislation overhauling civil litigation in Florida, some lawyers' groups believe the new law may be unconstitutional and have begun exploring ways to test it in the courts. The Legislature approved a...

Winter Wonderland in the works: indoor ski slope and $200 million 'Adrenaland' proposed to Sunrise.(Sunrise, FL)
May 7, 1999... A New York developer who once proposed a 200-foot indoor ski mountain for downtown Miami has a $9.6 million agreement for land next to Sawgrass Mills mall in Sunrise. The "Mount Florida" attraction would include skiing, snow boarding, ice...

The Business Journal plans to publish Jewish newspaper.
May 7, 1999... The Business Journal plans to publish a new Jewish newspaper in Palm Beach County. Details are still being hammered out but the proposal calls for the first 28-page edition to hit the streets Sept. 10 - the day before the Jewish New Year,...

Disney considers Tampa for cruise port.(Disney Cruise Lines)
May 7, 1999... Imagine a Disney cruise ship and terminal on 52 acres of prime waterfront at the Port of Tampa. That's the possibility Tampa's new port director, George Williamson, laid out for Disney Cruise Line President Art Rodney when the two...

Name change could cost bank up to $75 million.(name change of NationsBank by Bank of America)
May 7, 1999... Bank of America will spend between $65 million and $75 million to change the NationsBank name in Florida one year from now, company executives said. The nation's largest bank has budgeted a total of $1.4 billion to change its brand in 22...

Despite low unemployment, local temp agencies post gains.
May 7, 1999... A decco Employment's jump in annual billings isn't just benefiting shareholders. Local companies and job hunters are also reaping the rewards. The company, which topped the Business Journal's list of largest temporary personnel agencies,...

Tight labor market keeps growth flat for local firms.(messenger service firms)
May 7, 1999... Just when "same-day service" became the mantra of courier and messenger firms, changes in technology began sweeping the industry, making package delivery for businesses virtually instantaneous, "Business rush," "on demand" and "one-hour...

Soffer's big adventure: the developer who has spent 30 years building Aventura has only just begun.(Don Soffer)(Company Profile)
May 7, 1999... Some people say Aventura should have been called Sofferville, Sofferton or Softer by the Sea. But looking back, its name, Spanish for "adventure," is exactly what the process of budding it has been for its 66-year-old founder, Don Softer. ...

And then there were three: new mall, Mizner Park-like development planned near Sawgrass Mills.
May 14, 1999... What is perhaps the last prime tract of land adjacent to Sawgrass Mills mall in Sunrise is slated to be sold to the Hogan Group of Tampa. A mixed-use project with retail, offices, restaurants and a hotel is planned for the 40-acre parcel,...

Hyper retirement.(retirement communities in Boynton Beach, Florida)
May 14, 1999... Building boom brings baby boomers to Boynton Beach They're taking Palm Beach County by storm. Some communities call them "active." Others call them "energetic." They are a new breed - younger, active retirees who demand more from...

Trade Day offers easier connection.(Latin American investors to foster partnership with Florida-based companies)
May 14, 1999... Latin American companies are coming to do business South Florida companies seeking international trading partners usually have to go looking for them. That's meant crossing borders and time zones, often at great expense and with little...

IFN roars full speed ahead.(Internet Financial Network plans to acquire Global Equity Analytics and Research Service L.L.C. while preparing for its first initial public offering)
May 14, 1999... Days after securing a $10 million investment from Aventura's Trump brothers, Internet Financial Network has shifted its growth into high gear. The often-tumultuous provider of online news and financial information has: * Signed a...

The sky's the limit for Air & Sea Show sponsors.(Shell Oil launches an air and sea show in South Florida to boost industry's marketing efforts)
May 14, 1999... Shell Oil's dropping out last November as the title sponsor of the Air & Sea Show may turn out to be the best thing that's happened to the 5-year-old event. True, the show's producers lost the money Shell would have paid, which put the...

Miramar's Spirit Airlines upgrades its fleet, has big plans.(Spirit Airlines plans to increase workforce with the opening of new terminal at Miramar, California)
May 14, 1999... Low-fare carrier Spirit Airlines, which is moving its headquarters from Detroit to Miramar, is upgrading its fleet with bigger planes and inaugurating service to Los Angeles. The airline also may begin service to the Caribbean next year,...

State health-care chief wins praise for fairness.(health care industry members in South Florida praise Ruben King-Shaw Jr.'s efforts)
May 14, 1999... The state's new top health-care regulator - South Florida's own Ruben King-Shaw Jr. - picked up impartiality points during the recent legislative session in Tallahassee. While pushing forward several quality-assurance and anti-fraud...

South Florida firms raise $81 million in venture capital.
May 14, 1999... Communications and software firms led the way as 11 South Florida companies raised $81 million in venture capital during this year's first quarter, the PricewaterhouseCoopers' Money Tree Survey reports. They were among 17 Florida companies...

Gruntal's acquisition of A.F. Best is just the first step.(Gruntal and Co seeks to expand in Florida through strategic alliances)
May 14, 1999... Firm plans expansion in Florida through 'strategic alliances' Gruntal & Co.'s recent affiliation with A.F. Best Securities could be the first step in a significant expansion in South Florida, said a senior executive of the New York-based...

Securities firm, bank merger could be Golden's opportunity.(First Colonial Chairman Michael Golden eyes to provide online financial services through a merger with Southern Security Bank)
May 14, 1999... First Colonial Securities Group of Boca Raton has 20 offices and generated $17 million in revenues last year. Southern Security Bank of Hollywood has one office and $22 million in assets. The companies, which are waiting for regulators'...

Courier services.(management strategies at ASAP Courier)
May 14, 1999... You see so many on the road, but how do you pick a good one? All Joseph C. Sanzeri has to sell in the crowded courier industry, he says, is his company's reputation. "Word of mouth is the best advertising we've got," said Sanzeri, who...

It's name is last in alphabet, but not in venture capital.(Z-Tel Communications receives $32 million investment in 1998)
May 14, 1999... Over on Tampa's Harbour Island, on the second floor above a hotel, is a company that received $32 million in venture capital last year, the largest sum accumulated by any private Florida firm in 1998. Tough to believe when one realizes that...

Airport West stretches boundaries.(additional 1 million square feet of space)
May 21, 1999... Prices spur nearly 1 million square feet A Miami developer hopes to take advantage of rising prices and dwindling vacancies in the Airport West industrial market by adding nearly 1 million square feet of space with two office and warehouse...

Ashes anyone? boca firm takes death care public.(Boca Raton, Florida; investment banking firm BG Capital Group's purchase of The Neptune Society)
May 21, 1999... A group of Boca Raton venture capitalists, wagering that money can be made now from the hereafter, has taken the nation's largest cremation company onto Wall Street. BG Capital Group, a Boca investment banking firm, bought The Neptune...

Can Tweety Bird sell milk to China's 'little emperors'?(China Peregrine Food Corp.)
May 21, 1999... Tweety Bird attracts China's littlest consumers. That's the strategy being used to pump up a Palm Beach County firm's milk-distribution business in China. China Peregrine Food Corp (OTC BB: CHPF), a North Palm Beach company that...

South Florida HMOs may change Medicare benefits.(health maintenance organizations)
May 21, 1999... July 1 is deadline for adjustment to coverage Florida Medicare HMOs, still reeling from 1997 congressional spending cuts, are considering placing conditions on their participation in the federal insurance program. Several health plans...

Broward is hothouse for sprouting of new banks.(includes related article on Florida Banks' new office)(Broward County, Florida)
May 21, 1999... Broward County has become one of Florida's hottest markets for new banks, with four institutions in line to open this year and several other groups reportedly waiting in the wings. Those banks plan to emphasize lending to local businesses,...

Wachovia moving state headquarters from Boca to Tampa.(Boca Raton, Florida)
May 21, 1999... One of the Southeast's largest banks is making Tampa the new headquarters of its Florida operations, starting with the opening of at least six new local branches. Wachovia Corp. is engineering a statewide expansion that began with the...

Sports' celluloid heroes made in Delray, not L.A.(Delray, Florida-based Five Star Productions to create 3-D animations for Florida Marlins)
May 21, 1999... Entertainment firms 'live events' lead to Marlins' pact While Star Wars hero R2-D2 sports a high-tech facelift, Five Star Productions has applied that same innovation to upgrade Billy the Marlin. Florida Marlins owner John Henry...

Movie mogul: head of Muvico Theaters is a long way from Tehran.(Hamid Hashemi, CEO and president of multiplex and megaplex theater developer)
May 21, 1999... Hamid Hashemi remembers going to the old-fashioned movie house in his native Tehran with his sister, brother and mother every Friday when he was a child. As he got older, he says, going to the movies was such a ritual that one time he and his...

New Lauderdale tower.(Trammell Crow Co exploits downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida, by designing a tower in the area)
May 28, 1999... Trammell Crow project could spur northern push for downtown Trammell Crow Co. wants to take advantage of renewed interest in downtown Fort Lauderdale with plans for a 19-story office tower directly across from the federal courthouse. ...

Change in course.(acquisition of 36 planes from GE Capital Corp renews Unicapital Corp's financial strength)
May 28, 1999... $1.32 billion deal lands Unicapital respect The terms and conditions haven't exactly gone to plan for Unicapital Corp., a North Miami specialty finance and leasing roll-up company. The company made 17 acquisitions in 1998, but global...

Ritual of tea helps hotel marketing.
May 28, 1999... Afternoon tea at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables is a mindset. It's a deep breath in the middle of a manic day, a polite downshift into an era that honored ritual. As the sacramental objects - silver, china, crystal - are carefully...

Network drama: finding a home.(Paxson Communication Corp struggles to find a headquarters in Florida)
May 28, 1999... A proposed $50 million tower at West Palm Beach's CityPlace was too small. The zoning on 19 acres on Old Okeechobee Road was too restrictive. And now "serious negotiations" for a 75,000-square-foot building somewhere in West Palm Beach...

Internet bringing growth to Intelligent Life Corp.
May 28, 1999... North Palm firm just raised $45.5 million in IPO After raising $45.5 million in an initial public offering, Intelligent Life Corp. of North Palm Beach is preparing for an expansion that could include adding Internet sites or acquiring other...

Struggling TCPI fights to cut losses, regain health.(Technical Chemicals and Products)
May 28, 1999... Clinical tests on key new product keep hopes alive Technical Chemicals & Products, a Pompano Beach medical diagnostics company, is refocusing and cutting costs as it awaits clinical test results on a key product. While fighting...

Florida crowd expected at first meeting to reduce ag tariffs.
May 28, 1999... A proposal to reduce or eliminate tariffs and duties on imported citrus and agriculture products is expected to draw Florida farmers and citrus growers en masse to a meeting with the U.S. Trade Representative and state and federal agriculture...

New roller coasters escalate competition.(theme park in Central Florida expected to intensify competition in the leisure industry)
May 28, 1999... Islands of Adventure, the newest theme park in Central Florida opening this weekend, raises the bar in the attraction industry and the competition for coveted gate revenue, industry experts say. After a media preview at Islands of...

Owning a used furniture store is 'like being possessed.'.(success of Victoria's Attic in the furniture industry)
May 28, 1999... "Oh, God," David Fernan whispered as he peered into the bed of a dirty white Ford pick-up truck, a workman's boots and a ladder crowding out three bronze fire hose nozzles. "Did you see these? Who owns this truck?" he wondered, looking around....

Working at home.(Weston, Florida as a favorite site for office buildings)
May 28, 1999... Mostly residential Weston logical place for firms to go When Ultimate Software decided on a location for its new corporate digs, management passed on Boca Raton's high-tech "Silicon Beach" for the serenity of Weston, a residential hamlet in...

BankAtlantic's Marcia Snyder succeeds with straight talk.(addressing the needs of savings bank clients)
May 28, 1999... Lenders who work for BankAtlantic's Marcia Snyder are ready to discuss anything about their bank when they meet with prospective clients. "You have to understand what is going on in each area of the bank because they will ask about things...