Business Observer 4.20.18 issue

A PR I L 20 - A PR I L 26 , 2018 | TH R E E D O LL A R S

FLOR IDA’S NE WSPAPER FOR T HE C - SUI T E

Succession | New business owner aims to honor past while forging new paths. PG.7 PASCO • H ILL SBOROUG H • PIN ELL AS • P OLK • M A N ATEE • SA R ASOTA • C H A R LOT TE • LEE • COLLIER

inside

Special Banking Issue: PAGES 10-17

Wave on

STRATEGIES

Table Turners

A couple that sells unique furniture has discovered multiple revenue streams, including one unexpected: doughnuts.

PAGE 8

WAVE

BANKING

Three’s Company

A division of Florida-based banking power CenterState starts with a trio of top executives.

PAGE 10

A bruising statewide political loss helped banker Alex Sink refocus on her next mission: mentoring startups. PAGE 12

BANKING

Outside Perspective

The Atlanta Federal Reserve president, in a visit to Sarasota, talks interest rates — and tweets from President Trump.

PAGE 11

BANKING

Wealth Watchers

The business of trusts — mostly steady, sometimes staid — has proven lucrative for three area firms.

PAGE 14

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Opportunity Calls

With less need for hotel rooms and apa r t ment s, dow ntow n S a r a s ot a developers turn to the condo market.

PAGE 18

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Status Update

Tampa’s multifamily market, with a rash of deals, begins to ditch its secondary market reputation.

PAGE 20

REAL ESTATE Developer starts work on high-end Fort Myers apartment complex. 18 Firm closes $143.1 million office deal in Tampa. 18 Tampa investment trust buys Starbucks building to expand portfolio. 19

Alex Sink | CHAIRWOMAN-ELECT, TAMPA BAY WAVE

16 Do credit unions get an unfair tax benefit over banks?

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DON’T MISS

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BUSINESS OBSERVER | APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018

BusinessObserverFL.com

CLASS A FULL-SERVICE BUILDING IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN

Vol. XXII, No. 13

SARASOTA CITY CENTER 1819 MAIN STREET, SARASOTA

A Division of The Ob­serv­er Media Group

BusinessObserverFL.com Founded in 1997, the Business Observer is Southwest and Central Florida’s newspaper for business leaders. With offices in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Pasco, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties, the Business Observer is the only weekly business newspaper that provides business leaders with a regional perspective. The Business Observer’s mission is to deliver relevant news and information on Southwest and Central Florida’s leading and growing companies, up-and-coming entrepreneurs and economic, industry and government trends affecting business. The Business Observer is also the leading publisher of public notices on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Contemporary remodeling plans for the building include: • Upgrades to the lobby, hallways, bathrooms, fitness center, elevators and courtyard

Editor and Publisher / Matt Walsh, mwalsh@BusinessObserverFL.com Executive Editor / Kat Hughes khughes@BusinessObserverFL.com Managing Editor / Mark Gordon mgordon@BusinessObserverFL.com Commercial Real Estate Editor / Kevin McQuaid kmcquaid@BusinessObserverFL.com Tampa Bay Editor / Brian Hartz bhartz@BusinessObserverFL.com Staff Writer/ Grier Ferguson gferguson@BusinessObserverFL.com

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For leasing, contact: Lori Hellstrom CCIM | (727) 450-6964 | lori.hellstrom@colliers.com

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New Port Richey, FL 34655 Phone: 941-906-9386 (Legal Notices) Fax: 813-287-9403

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POSTAL INFORMATION The Business Observer (ISSN#1539-9184) is published weekly on Fridays by the Gulf Coast Review Inc., 1970 Main St., Sarasota, FL, 34236; 204 S. Hoover Blvd., Suite #220, Tampa, FL 33609; 14004 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33762; 3030 Starkey Blvd., New Port Richey, FL 34655; 5570 Gulf of Mexico Dr., Longboat Key, FL 34228; 949 Tamiami Trail, Suite 202, Port Charlotte, FL 33953; 15050 Elderberry Lane, Suite #4-12, Fort Myers, FL 33907; The French Quarter, 501 Goodlette Road N., #D-100, Naples, FL 34102; and 3730 Cleveland Heights Blvd., Suite 5, Lakeland, FL 33803. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sarasota, FL, and at additional mailing offices. The Business Observer is circulated in Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties.

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“The road is cleared,” said Galt. “We are going back to the world.”

He raised his hand and over the desolate earth he traced in space the sign of the dollar.

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APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

CoffeeTalk

OWN YOUR OFFICE/WAREHOUSE SPACE

Speak their language Dave Harting, CEO of commercial and residential cleaning services firm Crystal Clean, is straight out of central casting to play the exasperated executive over the region’s stubbornly low unemployment rate.

The Fort Myers-based firm is growing 20% to 25% a year — but it’s missing out on more work. No surprise, considering Lee and Collier counties posted a 3.5% unemployment rate in February, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity data show.

“We could easily grow over 30% a year if we had the personnel,” Harting says.

“We’re out there trying to find people and it’s really tough.”

Harting, in response, has introduced a new benefit at Crystal Clean: free English classes to its 90-plus employees, most of whom speak Spanish.

Harting says Crystal Clean is the first commercial and residential cleaning company in Southwest Florida to offer English-language classes as an employee benefit. He also notes this is the tightest labor market he’s seen serving

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BusinessObserverFL.com

commercial and residential clients since he founded the company in 1981.

Employees who are bilingual in English and Spanish can often earn 20% to 25% more immediately because they can communicate with both clients and employees. “They bring more value to the company,” says Harting.

Recruitment is just one benefit of English-language classes, Harting adds. Another positive aspect is employees who can communicate effectively with clients provide superior service. “Our team members feel empowered when we remove the language barrier,” Harting says. “Effective language skills let them anticipate client needs and respond quickly.”

Longtime schoolteacher Laura Herrera teaches English to employees on Mondays and Fridays at the company’s headquarters. Herrera’s 15-year experience teaching in Florida and Colorado helped her craft a curriculum that helps Crystal Clean employees be proficient in English writing and conversation within one year.

G AT E

WO O D D R I V E

7 72,500 sf 120’x500’

Prepare for the worst The Oct. 1 shooting in Las Vegas that claimed the lives of 58 people shook hoteliers nationwide to the core. Prior to the shooting, over the course of several days, Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino staff unwittingly helped the gunman carry 22 suitcases filled with guns and ammunition to his rooms.

The shooting, and that component, has spurred hoteliers, especially in tourism-heavy Florida, to take a look at security and emergency response protocols.

To wit: the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association partnered with local law enforcement agencies to hold active-shooter trainings for its chapters statewide. At a mid-April meeting of the FRLA’s Pinellas County chapter at the Hilton in St. Petersburg’s Carillon Park, attendees were abuzz about the training, which took place March 21 at the Hampton Inn & Suites Largo.

“For a negative topic, it was a very positive response we got back,” says FRLA Regional Director Dannette Lynch.

Those who hadn’t taken part were looking forward to the Hillsborough County chapter training scheduled for April 23, at Yacht Starship in downtown Tampa. Deputy Brian Gibson of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office will oversee the training.

Lynch says the trainings aren’t a direct response to the Las Vegas shooting, but rather an “overview of awareness and what to think about in certain situations. I think you could say it was prompted by similar training that our schoolchildren are going through,” she says. “We have to keep looking at things with new eyes, as everybody does. It’s an ever-changing issue.”

Lynch adds that the training, which costs $10 per person, is open to anyone in the hospitality industry — FRLA membership isn’t required. To register, visit frla.org.

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TOP OF MIND such as Publix, Hertz, Chico’s and Rooms to Go. The ranking is also a key marketing tool that can be used to reel in potential customers and clients. The kicker? It’s free. There’s no cost to submit information for Gatewood Corporate Center Building 7 the Top 500 and no cost to be included.

For more information, please email Grier Ferguson at top500@ BusinessObserverFL.com or call her at 941-362-4848.

OPTION A - GROUND VIEW 07.12.2017

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT

Stephen Racine (813) 767-7590 sracine@harrodproperties.com 5550 West Executive Drive, Suite 550 Tampa, FL 33609 (813) 229-1500 harrodproperties.com 270046

The Business Observer’s well-known Gulf Coast 500 publication is back for 2018 — but with a twist.

The annual list of the largest 500 companies in the region by revenue, a must-read for Florida business leaders, will now be known as the Top 500.

The new name better reflects our coverage area, which includes nine counties — Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee and Collier.

The Business Observer staff now seeks submissions from companies based in these counties. To submit, visit https://www.businessobserverfl.com/Top-500. The deadline is May 11.

The Top 500 will offer details about the region’s fastest-growing companies, from giant corporations to small businesses. It will include facts such as annual revenue, number of employees, what kind of work each company does, the top executive and more.

Applying to be in the Top 500 gives companies the chance to be included alongside regional giants

4 topstories from BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER | APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018

BusinessObserverFL.com

TAMPA BAY

Lobbying firm expands to region Tallahassee lobbying firm Capital City Consulting expanded in Florida with the opening of a Tampa office.

Justin Day, with 15 years of experience in government and politics, and partner Dan Newman will lead the new office, the firm’s first satellite branch. According to a press release, the firm plans to continue to grow its team of government consultants in other Florida markets.

Airport hits monthly record March was the busiest month in the history of St. PeteClearwater International Airport (PIE), which experienced a 15% increase in passenger traffic over March 2017.

According to a press release, the airport served 237,021 passengers in March, historically the busiest time of the year for PIE as spring breakers flock to the Tampa Bay area. International passenger traffic was down slightly: the airport reports it served 4,328

quote of theweek

international passengers in March, an 8% decrease from March 2017.

Year-to-date, passenger traffic is up 13%.

SARASOTA-MANATEE

There’s just too much good news about Tampa.

It’s not considered a secondary market anymore by anyone we know.

Philippe Lapointe | Lantower Residential SEE PAGE 20

what do you think?

Community increases sales 38% The master-planned community of West Villages Florida in south Sarasota County sold 346 homes in the first quarter of 2018, a 38% increase over 2017’s first quarter.

According to a press release, 115 homes were sold in the community in March. Annual sales for the period ending March 31 totaled 1,051 homes.

West Villages has been one of the country’s top five highest-selling communities for two years. It includes seven communities with homes constructed by eight homebuilders. West Villages is composed of 15,500 acres.

Chemical company buys business Akron, Ohio-based specialty chemicals company Gabriel Performance Products has acquired Sarasota-based Royce

International.

Royce is a provider of specialty epoxy resins, diluents, curing agents and additives sold under the RoyOxy trademark. Royce CEO Harry Anand, in a press release, says the two companies combined “will have a broader line of specialty products, technical expertise and manufacturing capabilities.”

The release says Gabriel intends to retain all product lines and their brand names.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

CHARLOTTE-LEE-COLLIER

County, Airbnb sign deal Charlotte County has become the latest, and the 40th county in Florida, to reach a bed tax agreement with online hospitality firm Airbnb.

The agreement will allow Airbnb to collect and remit bed taxes on behalf of its local hosts, according to a statement. The agreement is effective May 1.

About 350 Charlotte County residents share their homes on the Airbnb platform, the company says. In 2017, those

Should the federal government do more to deregulate banks?

Vote at BusinessObserverFL.com

Last week’s question:

hosts welcomed about 7,400 guests while earning more than $1.6 million in supplemental income, the release states. In Florida, Airbnb has been collecting and remitting state sales taxes on all statewide bookings since 2015, the release states.

Group hires executive Valerie’s House, a nonprofit that helps grieving children work through the loss of a loved one, named Jay Graham director of philanthropy.

Graham has held development leadership positions at the Muhammad Ali Center and The Healing Place, both in Louisville, Ky. He is also an entrepreneur who has launched and run several businesses throughout his career, according to a statement from Fort Myers-based Valerie’s House.

Graham will oversee fundraising and donor development efforts, working closely with Valerie’s House founder and CEO Angela Melvin.

Who would be a better U.S. Senator for business interests: Nelson or Scott?

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APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com

CoffeeTalk

5

FLORIDA BUSINESSES:

FROM PAGE 3

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COURTESY

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Nobody’s fool More and more companies are getting in on April Fools’ Day fun, including an area company in an industry not generally known for being tongue-incheek.

St. Petersburg-based Gallagher & Associates Law Firm PA sent out a press release this year about its launch of a holographic “Pocket Lawyer” app.

The release says the app is available through Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store for $15. It comes with a holographic lawyer feature that allows clients’ smart phones to “project a 3-D hologram in order to advocate on specific matters.”

The statement was posted April 1.

Managing Partner Charles Gallagher tells Coffee Talk the idea of a holographic lawyer might be going too far, but he says there could be a need for an app that provides answers for small businesses and consumers with legal questions.

From an April Fool’s standpoint, the post was a hit.

“Everyone tried to go to iTunes and couldn’t find it,” Gallagher says. He says people kept asking him how they could download the app. He had to spill the beans, telling them it was an April Fools’ joke. “The fun part is the responses.”

The firm’s history of publishing April Fools’ Day stories goes back to around 2012. It used to run the stories

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in the firm’s newsletter, but since it stopped publishing a newsletter, the firm shares its April Fools’ messages through press releases, its email list and social media. “The idea was to have a laugh and be humorous with clients,” Gallagher says.

The practice handles cases on behalf of consumers in the real estate, insurance and banking industries.

Over the years, the firm has created several April Fools’ Day stories, both legal-related and otherwise. Past stories include one about implantable cell phones, NFL referees using Segways during football games, trial by combat and one of the firm’s law clerks taking a leave of absence to star in the MTV show “The Hills.”

One April Fools’ Day post from the firm included details about a dress code for lawyers imposed by the Florida Bar. The guidelines said lawyers could only wear suits in certain colors like navy, black and brown and ties only in certain colors, too. People wrote in about that one, Gallagher says. Some liked the change and told him, “It’s about time.” When he told them it wasn’t true, the response was laughter. Then they said, “You got me really good.”

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BUSINESS OBSERVER | APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018

BusinessObserverFL.com

CoffeeTalk

datasnapshot

FROM PAGE 5

Top performers

Grandfather cause Miami entrepreneur Andrew Parker left a steady gig with MDlive.com, the telehealth company he co-founded with his father, to launch Papa, a tech startup that recently expanded to Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota.

But it was another family member, his grandfather, who inspired the new venture. (“Papa” is Parker’s nickname for his grandfather.)

About two years ago, Papa needed assistance with a task and called Parker for help. Parker, now 30, was unavailable, so he hired a college student friend to help Papa, and an idea was born.

Papa, the business, has adopted the tagline “Grandkids on Demand” and makes money by charging seniors a $15 monthly membership fee that gives them access to college student helpers, known as Papa Pals, who in turn earn $15 per hour for providing assistance and/or companionship.

The company also takes a small cut of the Papa Pals’ hourly wages.

“I thought, ‘If I am ever going to do this, I should do it now,’” Parker says.

“The demographic data is pointing to it.”

Parker says Papa is about more than just money. He wants to help bridge

COURTESY

A Papa Pal with a Papa member. the ever-widening gap between two extremely diverse generations. “It’s beneficial to both sides,” he says. “Our priority is combating loneliness.”

Parker emphasizes that Papa is not a caregiving service — “we are a social service,” he says — and that potential Papa Pals are thoroughly vetted with background checks and vehicle inspections.

Parker declines to divulge how many end users Papa has, but says the number doubles every month. The company employs seven people, has raised about $600,000 from investors and is on track to bring in $1 million in revenue in 2018, he says. Jacksonville is its next target market in Florida, he adds.

Correction The cost of tuition at the French American School of Tampa Bay was misstated in an April 13 story. The correct

Three Florida banks, including two separate ones based in Hillsborough County, made a new list from S&P Global Market Intelligence on the Top 100 performing community banks nationwide.

Plant City-based Hillsboro Bank is ranked No. 44, while Tampabased Central Bank is No. 66. Coconut Grove-based Biscayne Bank is No. 96 on the list. All the banks were included on S&P Global’s list of the Top 100 community banks under $1 billion in assets for 2017; Winter Haven-based CenterState Bank made S&P Global’s 2017 Top 100 list of top-performing community banks with assets between $1 billion and $10 billion, ranked No. 21. (See Page 10 for more on CenterState.)

One of the highlights of the rankings is a sign of the economy’s resilience, in that banks are lending more money. Loan growth on an annual basis is up 26.4% at Hillsboro Bank and 23.4% at Central Bank.

S&P ranked the banks using six financial performance metrics: pretax return on average tangible common equity; net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans; efficiency ratio; adjusted Texas ratio, which is loan-quality metric; net interest margin; and loan growth.

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HILLSBORO BANK, PLANT CITY $136.9 BILLION Total assets 16.41% Return on average tangible common equity ZERO Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans 44.41% Efficiency ratio 1.43% Adjusted Texas ratio 4.06 Net interest margin 26.4% Loan growth CENTRAL BANK, TAMPA $143.7 MILLION Total assets 24.45% Return on average tangible common equity ZERO Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans 56.87% Efficiency ratio 1.37% Adjusted Texas ratio 3.87% Net interest margin 23.4% Loan growth Note: Based on 2017 year-end data SOURCE: S&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE

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APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

infocus | strategies |

T

he area’s marketing and advertising sector lost a giant Feb. 16 when Cedar Hames, founder of St. Petersburg-based Paradise Advertising, died at 72.

Hames founded the company in 2002 and quickly grew it into a major player in the destination marketing industry, acquiring clients such as JW Marriott, Space Florida and the Dali Museum in St. Pete.

Battling cancer last year, Hames sought to find a new steward for Paradise Advertising. He ultimately chose a familiar face from his past: Barbara Karasek, a seasoned adwoman whose globe-trotting career includes stints with the U.S. Olympic Committee, SeaWorld Entertainment, the PGA tour and NASCAR, where she was part of the team that helped extend the racecar circuit’s brand to the silver screen in the form of the popular flick “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (you’re welcome, America).

Karasek, 48, spent her formative years in the Tampa region, moving to town with her family when she was 10. While pursuing a master’s degree in mass communications and media studies at the University of South Florida, she interned for Hames. As her career took off, she followed the growth of Paradise Advertising from afar but didn’t stay in regular contact with Hames.

That changed about 15 years ago, when Karasek moved back to the Tampa Bay area.

“It was a nice opportunity to reconnect with Cedar in the industry,” Karasek says. “We would see each other at conferences, meetings, seminars and speaking engagements.”

The forward-thinking Hames “was very specific about who he wanted to continue his legacy,” says Karasek, who now co-owns Paradise Advertising along with her husband Tony, 54.

Tony Karasek is a former professional basketball player who, after retiring from hoops, had a travel-intensive, 20-year career in sales and business development.

“We went through an intense interview process,” Barbara Karasek says.

“Cultural fit was probably the highest on his priority list.”

The transition, despite Hames’ foresight, doesn’t represent a typical succession plan — more like destiny. Over the years, the Karaseks had invested in other people’s companies, but they’d reached a point when they wanted their own business to run. Yet they didn’t want to start from scratch, and they didn’t want to spend so much time apart.

“We were at the stage of our lives where we wanted to exit corporate America and maybe look to do something together and not be on opposite coasts all the time for business travel — how lovely,” Karasek recalls with a laugh. “I said, ‘Hey, I have a concept: Why don’t we put our two skill sets together to benefit one organization?’ So here we are.”

The Karaseks have quickly grown the agency’s roster of clients since formally taking over the business Jan. 30. They’ve added the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau, the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort and the new St. Pete Pier, and they’ve been hiring to keep up with the additional work: Paradise now employs 32 fulltime staffers. It has a secondary office in Naples and satellite employees in Jacksonville and New Smyrna Beach.

Paradise Advertising officials declined to disclose specific revenue figures, but Karasek says the company has experienced year-over-year growth in all but one year since Hames founded it.

Karasek is more concerned about physical growth — saying lack of office space is an up-at-night worry.

“I f you c ou ld help me f i nd a 25,000-square-foot space in downtown

BusinessObserverFL.com

7

BY BRIAN HARTZ | TAMPA BAY EDITOR

Paradise

Gained Replacing a star, especially in an ownership role, isn’t for the weak-minded. A globe-trotting power couple gives it a go, with strong results so far.

MARK WEMPLE

Paradise Advertising’s new CEO, BARBARA KARASEK, poses with one of the many awards the St. Petersburgbased advertising agency has won since it was founded in 2002 by Cedar Hames, who died in February.

St. Pete at an affordable price per square foot, that would be helpful because we’re outgrowing our space,” she says.

“That is going to be a big challenge.”

In addition to finding more space in St. Pete, Paradise could open another office elsewhere in Florida or even outside the state. Karasek says the company might also grow by acquisition, “possibly in the digital space,” she says.

“Digital and web technology is an important piece for us from a growth perspective,” she says. “We have our eyes

and ears open for opportunities.”

Although ailing, Hames intended to stay on in an advisory capacity at Paradise for a few months. That all changed with the founder’s death in February.

But the succession strategy remains unchanged.

“We have a plan in place, and it’s still being executed,” Karasek says. “He’s just not there by our side, shaking hands and introducing us to people.”

Instead, Karasek says, those handshakes have become hugs of sympathy.

8 infocus | growth |

BUSINESS OBSERVER | APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018

BusinessObserverFL.com

Build up G

BY GRIER FERGUSON | STAFF WRITER

When Steven Sheardown made a career change, he and his wife, Nancie, didn’t expect it to quickly grow into a thriving, and innovative, furniture business with customers worldwide.

rowing up, Steven Sheardown stayed home sick from school whenever there was an electrician or plumber at his house.

It was a way for him to learn more about what they did. “Dad and I did a lot of work around the house,” he says.

When he was 14, he started building furniture, too.

Later on in life, he was working as a Florida Highway Patrol officer when he met Nancie Sheardown. The stressful job meant regularly risking his life. So Nancie Sheardown asked if he could do something less dangerous. He left his job as a trooper and turned to what he knew — making furniture.

Now the couple is behind a budding furniture empire that’s couched multiple revenue streams, including trade shows, online, wholesale and a retail store. The store, in an innovative twist, is one-part furniture showroom, one-part homemade doughnut factory. Plans are afoot to expand the retail operation outside of Florida, beyond the couple’s Bradenton location.

Steven, who grew up in Sarasota, and Nancie, who grew up in Bradenton, got married in 2011. They started a furniture business that same year. “Everything’s been fast-paced since the day I met him,” she says. “It’s definitely been an adventure.”

Soon, they began traveling across the U.S. to sell the tables and other furniture pieces Steven and his team make in a barn in Bradenton. They went to antique shows and gift markets in places such as Atlanta, Nashville, High Point, N.C., and

COURTESY PHOTO

STEVEN and NANCIE SHEARDOWN run The Farm House in Bradenton, where they sell furniture and serve donuts.

Round Top, Texas. At their first show in Texas, the Sheardowns sold out. Then it happened again. And again. “Out of 100 shows we’ve done, we’ve only not sold out two, which is a blessing,” Steven says.

“You can’t get any better than that.”

How have they been so successful?

“The biggest thing I would say is you gotta be different,” he says. “You gotta be your own self. You have to be confident in what you’re selling.” Plus, there’s his pro show tip: “Treat everybody there like they’re your grandma.”

The shows are hard work and expensive. But the Sheardowns say they’re worth it because of sales and because

they put them face-to-face with potential retail and wholesale buyers. Through show connections, several big-name online retailers started carrying their furniture — Wayfair, Joss & Main and Houzz.

Those companies, along with others, sell the Sheardowns’ furniture to people around the world. The Sheardowns also recently also became an Amazon dealer.

They sell furniture directly, too, using freight shipment companies to ship items to customers from the U.S. to Canada to Dubai. “When we first started, we didn’t know to do it this way,” Nancie says. “We used smaller white glove services with unpredictable delivery times.”

To grow the business locally, they opened a brick-and-mortar store in Bradenton in 2017 called The Farm House, which operates underneath the parent furniture company of SDS Designs. It carries the Sheardowns’ furniture with an added twist — doughnuts. About 50% of customers come in for the furniture and half come for the doughnuts.“It’s a great concept to have both things,” Nancie says.

Walking into The Farm House, fans of HGTV’s hit show “Fixer Upper” might notice some similarities. Nancie says they share the same kind of rustic style with house-renovators-turned-television-stars Chip and Joanna Gaines. The Sheardowns also took a star turn when their pool deck furniture was featured on the show “Insane Pools: Off the Deep End” on Animal Planet.

The Sheardowns considered franchising the concept, but decided against it.

They’re still expanding, though, with another location opening in Clayton, Ga., likely at the end of April. They’re discussing additional locations, too.

The big challenge ahead is balancing what they want to accomplish with having resources. “There’s so much stuff we want to do, but we want to do it without financing,” Nancie says. “We do everything within our means.”

Although he declines to disclose revenue, Steven says the company has grown about 33% every year it has been in business. He says, “I was hoping it would be a substitute for what I was making at the Florida Highway Patrol, and it kind of just blossomed.”

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10 infocus | banks |

BUSINESS OBSERVER | APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018

BusinessObserverFL.com

BY MARK GORDON | MANAGING EDITOR

Triple Threat T

LORI SAX

DAN HAGER, SHAUN MERRIMAN and BRIAN HALL are the three top leaders for CenterState Bank in the Sarasota-Bradenton region.

BY THE NUMBERS

People bank with people, not necessarily brick and mortar buildings. Shaun Merriman | CenterState Bank at Gateway,” says Merriman.

Merriman’s division has about $1.5 billion in deposits, and 40 loan relationship managers. That includes 30 loan officials in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, and a loan production office in Fort Myers.

One of the biggest challenges now, say the bankers, is branding and name recognition in a new market. “We have to get our name to be top of mind,” says Hall.

Other obstacles include a regulatory environment that, while softening, remains cumbersome and costly for full compliance. Hager adds credit unions, particularly ones buying banks, are a

HOW

competitive challenge.

Part of the bankers’ response to these challenges is to outhustle others on the networking circuit. “People bank with people,” says Merriman, “not necessarily brick and mortar buildings.”

Another challenge the trio has overcome is to shelve egos — not necessarily a cinch to people used to having the top title. The bankers talk at least every other day, if not every day, with the big picture in mind. “If you’re not going to be collaborative, you’re not going to be a great fit here,” says Hall. “Ego cannot get in the way at this stage of our careers.”

CENTERSTATE BANK Winter Haven-based CenterState Bank is one of two Florida banks to make S&P Global’s 2017 Top 100 list of top-performing community banks with assets between $1 billion and $10 billion. CenterState was No. 21, while Stuart-based Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida was No. 74.

CenterState’s metrics included the following data: n Total assets: $7.1 billon n Return on average tangible common equity: 19.25% n Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans: -0.02% n Efficiency ratio: 59.49% n Adjusted Texas ratio, loan quality: 6.19% n Net interest margin: 4.31 n Loan growth: 39.7% NOTE: BASED ON 2017 YEAR-END DATA SOURCE: S&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE

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he standard model when a big bank, especially a publicly traded one, buys a smaller, community bank, is to find ways to cut excess and duplicative services and personnel.

Polk County-based CenterState Bank, a publicly traded bank with $7.1 billion in assets, does things a bit differently with its acquisitions. While eliminating some of the redundancies, CenterState — on a decade-long acquisition binge — places a premium on local management.

“It’s a decentralized business model that emphasizes local leadership and decision making from our bankers who are closest to the client,” says CenterState President and CEO John Corbett.

“No one from a headquarters 100 miles away can appreciate the needs of Sarasota or Bradenton better than someone who lives and raises their family there.”

That model is on full display with the former Gateway Financial Holdings of Florida.

CenterState acquired Gateway, including Sarasota-based Gateway Bank of Southwest Florida, in a $142 million deal in March 2017. Veteran area banker Shaun Merriman, who founded Gateway in 2006, was named regional president of CenterState’s West Florida division. Joining Merriman on his senior leadership team is Brian Hall, a Gateway executive who co-founded Sarasotabased Sabal Palm Bank in 2006 and Dan Hager, who helped launch First America Bank in Bradenton in 2004.

(Fort Pierce-based Harbor Community Bank bought First America in 2014; CenterState bought Harbor in 2017.)

The trio has run other banks and divisions, and combined has close to 100 years of industry experience. Hall is CenterState’s Area Executive-Sarasota County, while Hagen is Area ExecutiveManatee County. “We’ve all competed against each other, but in somewhat different markets,” says Merriman. “And we could have worked other places. We all had other opportunities.”

But the pull to stay with CenterState, at least early on, was twofold: The chance to work together and the ability to have lots of freedom, under CenterState’s local-first culture. “They have given us a lot of opportunity to use our knowledge and skills,” says Hall. “That’s more uncommon than common” when a big bank buys a smaller bank.

Merriman, who also ran Sarasotaarea divisions of AmSouth and SouthTrust prior to founding Gateway, says autonomy like that at this stage of his career is a big deal. “I have more lending authority at CenterState than I had

A group of bankers — all longtime CEOs and previous bank founders — have joined forces at one bank. Their focus: market penetration.

APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

infocus | banking |

11

BusinessObserverFL.com

BY GRIER FERGUSON | STAFF WRITER

LORI SAX

RAPHAEL BOSTIC, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, recently spoke in Sarasota at a financial literacy event.

Bank On It

Raphael Bostic — at the helm of the Atlanta Fed — shares his thoughts on interest rates, Florida business and what’s ahead in 2019.

P

resident Donald Trump might be quick on the Twitter trigger, but a least one federal official takes a more measured approach.

“For every policy, every tweet that comes out, we’re not running a new model,” Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President and CEO Raphael Bostic says. Bostic was a keynote speaker at a Financial Literacy Day event held April 5 at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee.

The tweets, he says, come out too fast to keep up with them, and Bostic wants to protect his team’s limited resources. Instead they wait for policies to be signed before running economic models.

Bostic, assistant secretary for policy development and research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 2009 to 2012, was appointed to his position at the Fed in June. The Atlanta Fed covers the Sixth Federal Reserve District — Florida, Alabama and Georgia as well as portions of Louisiana, Mis-

sissippi and Tennessee. Bostic is the first African American to serve as a Federal Reserve Bank president. “I approach the job every day as if it isn’t a big deal,” he says, “but it is a big deal.”

During a question-and-answer session before attendees at the event as well as during a small gathering with media afterward, Bostic shared his thoughts on a variety of issues related to the Fed, the economy and Florida business. Edited excerpts: n Housing market: “I’m always worried,” Bostic says. “I get paid to worry.” The worry stems particularly because of the events of the last decade, he says. Part of the problem during the last economic crisis? Borrowers weren’t as financially literate as they could have been, he says. n Affordable housing: “I’m struck with how consistently I’m hearing concerns about affordability,” Bostic says. Even some smaller towns across the country are facing housing cost challenges, he says. People in several places he’s visited have expressed these concerns, in-

cluding Knoxville, Tenn., Nashville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Ala., New Orleans, Jacksonville and Sarasota. Says Bostic: “It is widespread in a way I didn’t expect.” n Housing market shifts: “Flipping houses was considered predatory lending,” he says.

“Now we have TV shows called ‘Flip This House.’” n The Fed’s role in economic bubbles: “There’s risk in any policy,” Bostic says. “There’s going to be uncertainty in policy.” His team regularly talks to business and community leaders, he says, asking them about their challenges and what they are seeing in the economy.

“That’s valuable intelligence for us.” n Importance of interest rates: Bostic says businessmen and women should be looking at the Fed’s forward guidance.

“Businesses need to be mindful of the environment,” he says.

He suggests looking at the trajectory interest rates are likely to take and seeking additional information from a variety of sources.

What’s ahead in 2019 for Florida businesses: Bostic says his team is trying to ascertain how businesses are changing plans in the wake of the tax overhaul and other economic changes. A survey, Bostic says, revealed most business owners aren’t planning to increase capital expenditures. Some small businesses are still determining the impact. He says there’s a lot yet to be written about the business response. n Heard on the street in Florida: “People are very excited about tax changes,” Bostic says, adding people are expressing that the new tax plan give them the opportunity to invest in their businesses. His team is also hearing that employers are experiencing challenges with hiring enough workers that have the skills they’re looking for. Business leaders in Florida also tell his team they’re concerned with trade policies and other policies originating in Washington, D.C. Policy surprises and rapid changes are creating uncertainty, he says, making people nervous. n

12

BUSINESS OBSERVER | APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018

BusinessObserverFL.com

LEADERSHIP

BY MARK GORDON | MANAGING EDITOR

MARK WEMPLE

ALEX SINK is chairwoman elect of Tampa Bay Wave, a startup support organization.

Raised Profile Alex Sink turned a statewide election defeat into a new career: startup sage.

T

he journey from highlevel banker to one of the state’s top elected officials to budding tech entrepreneur and startup rainmaker, for Alex Sink, started out at a quiet moment at home.

It came eight years ago, soon after Sink, onetime Florida president for Bank of America and the state’s elected CFO from 2007-2011, lost a grueling election to now-Florida Gov. Rick Scott. A Democrat, Sink came within 60,000 votes of becoming Florida’s first female

governor.

“I took a bit of a breather and licked my wounds. I went through lots of ups and downs,” says Sink of the time she spent at her family’s home in Thonotosassa, in east Hillsborough County. “Then I told myself, ‘so, you’re not governor. What can you do now?’”

There were opportunities to get back into banking, and politics too. She eventually did get back to banks, at least from a board level, joining the board of St. Petersburg-based C1 Bank in 2013, for example.

And she’s been active politically, advising and mentoring

candidates.

But starting about five years ago, Sink, who grew up on a hog farm in Mount Airy N.C., began to find her new career passion: helping tech startups grow and prosper.

She’s been a senior adviser for Hyde Park Capital Investments, a prominent Tampa firm, and she founded a nonprofit that supports entrepreneurs in several communities statewide, the Florida Next Foundation.

Her latest gig, and her highestprofile post since she ran for governor, is chairwoman-elect of Tampa Bay Wave, a nonprofit dedicated to helping entrepre-

START ‘EM UP Tampa Bay Wave has helped more than 200 tech startups build, launch and grow businesses, and has helped those companies raise about $130 million. The list of companies Tampa Bay Wave has supported at some level includes: n Pikmykid.com; n Washlava; n Priatek; n SavvyCard; n Lilypad; and n Peerfit

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Executive. Alex Sink

Trend. Former banker now supports tech entrepreneurs

Key. Uses her wide sphere of influence and connections.

APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

NEXT LIFE Sink has two core reasons for diving into Wave, at which she’s been on the board since 2016.

One motivation can be traced back to her gubernatorial campaign vision.

She was a big booster for small business interests back then, she says, promoting the idea of homegrown successes. “I’ve always said I’d rather have 100 small businesses hire three or four people each and keep growing than have one business make one big splash with 400 jobs,” says Sink. “Florida does not have a lot of Fortune 1,000 companies. We have a lot of small and midsize businesses.

We are the land of dreams.”

Sink honed that philosophy during her 26-year banking career. With Bank of America, Sink became something of Florida pioneer, opening the office in Miami. That’s when the bank was NCNB, which became NationsBank, and later Bank of America. Working under legendary BofA executive Hugh McColl Jr., Sink grew the Miami operations into a statewide powerhouse: while she was president, the bank’s branch network grew to 800 and deposits more than tripled, from $13.7 billion to $43 billion.

The employee side was her other passion, particularly in guiding young bankers. So much so Sink’s daughter Lexi would often joke that in her mom’s next life she would come back as a high school guidance counselor. “I’ve always considered myself to be something of a mentor,” says Sink, the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce’s 2017 H.L. Culbreath Jr. Profile in Leadership Award winner. “I like being able to share my knowledge and experience to help others be successful.”

Her pupils from Bank of America form a top-notch roster of Tampa area business executives, people Sink mentions like a proud parent. The list includes Jamie Harden, who now runs Creative Sign Designs, an $18 million company with 130 employees; Steve Raney, the president and CEO of Raymond James Bank, a Raymond James Financial subsidiary; Gordon Johnson, co-owner of Highway Safety Devices and a board member at Raymond James; Pilot Bank President Rita Lowman, the 2017 Florida Bankers Association chairwoman; and Penny Parks, founder and president of Links Financial.

COMPANY CONNECTOR Sink says her goals at Wave include utilizing both her mentoring skills and her large base of contacts to connect young entrepreneurs with investors, potential investors and customers. “I’m very blessed to be in a position financially where I can pay it forward,” Sink says.

That includes working with a Wave company like Harness, which created a software app that helps nonprofits,

13

POLITICAL PLAY This is no joke: People ask Alex Sink to run for office again so much, that even on a recent night out at a comedy/ improve club in Tampa’s Ybor City, a stranger encouraged her to run for something again.

Sink, who lost a Florida gubernatorial election to Rick Scott in Florida in 2010, balks at getting back into that game — at least on a ballot. Now the chairwoman-elect of Tampa Bay Wave, a startup support organization, Sink has mentored others in political office, and encouraged others to run.

She does that informally and also with Tampa-based Ruth’s List, which supports pro-choice Democratic women running for state, city and county offices across Florida. Named after Ruth Bryan Owen, the first woman elected to Congress from the South, the group is modeled after Emily’s List, a national organization.

Sink, in a recent interview at Tampa Bay Wave’s offices, says she supports several current Democratic candidates running for state House and Senate seats. One candidate is St. Petersburg personal injury attorney Carrie Pilon, running for state Senate District 24 against Republican Jeff Brandes. Another is former Tampa Bay Technology Forum CEO Heather Stahl, running for state House District 64, which includes Safety Harbor and Clearwater, against Republican Jamie Grant and other potential candidates.

Sink also supported Margaret Good, a Sarasota attorney who won a special election for state House District 72 in February against Republican James Buchanan, son of U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key. She especially admired Good’s ability to overcome polls and odds in a widely followed election, and uses that as a model for mentoring other candidates.

Says Sink: “We need 50 Margaret Goods.”

Will Sink ever put her own name atop a ballot again? She pays attention to national politics, too, and hasn’t totally closed the door. “I’ve learned to never say never, but I don’t think it will happen,” she says. “Maybe if I get mad enough.”

— Mark Gordon

schools and other organizations improve fundraising campaigns. One of its features is a roundup part of the app, similar to Amazon smile, where people can donate leftover change to groups.

Founded in October 2015 by Miraj Patel, 27, and Andrew Scarborough, 26, Harness has nine employees and had about $250,000 in revenues last year. “We want to disrupt the fundraising space by bringing these new tools to donors,” Patel says.

Patel and Scarborough met Sink at a Wave breakfast event late last year.

The young entrepreneurs and the veteran businesswoman connected over a shared passion for helping nonprofits while also building a business. Sink has since connected Harness with a bevy of nonprofits for potential business, including the board of the United Way. Says Patel: “She’s opened doors left and right at some of the biggest groups in town.”

Sink has also mentored the co-founders on everything from the nuances of targeting nonprofits to constructive criticism on elevator pitches. “Alex even called me on a Sunday morning once to talk about a presentation I had just given,” Patel says. “She’s just a genuine human being.”

Olson, at Wave, agrees that Sink’s sincerity is both what draws people to her and will also be an ally for Wave going forward. “She has a true passion for this, and she just gives and gives and gives,” says Olson. “And her attitude is infectious.”

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neurs build, launch, and grow breakout tech businesses. Sink’s chairwomanship begins in November. Says Sink: “Our goal is to get these companies investor-ready.”

Sink, 69, joins several others in getting behind the area’s startup scene, from Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik to a dozen or so co-work spaces and incubators that dot the town. “I really believe we are at a tipping point,” says Sink, adding while a corporate headquarters is nice, local companies are the lifeblood of a community.

Tampa Bay Wave is celebrating its 10year anniversary in 2018, having grown from a peer group for local entrepreneurs to a thriving tech hub that supports more than 200 startups. Tampa Bay Wave President Linda Olson says the organization, like Tampa, is bubbling over with never-before seen opportunities, including interest from outof-state investors and partnerships with national entities.

“If you haven’t been here in the last six months,” says Olson, of the downtown Tampa digs on Kennedy Boulevard, “you wouldn’t recognize this place.”

BusinessObserverFL.com

14

BUSINESS OBSERVER | APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018

BusinessObserverFL.com

BANKING

BY GRIER FERGUSON | STAFF WRITER

Generational

FOCUS A trio of independent trust companies face some significant challenges connected to a ‘good’ problem: rapid growth.

Editor’s Note: The west coast of Florida is home to three of the largest trusts in the state, each with more than $1 billion in assets under management. This story examines how these firms have grown — and will continue to manage the growth.

CALDWELL TRUST CO. Caldwell Trust Co. recently surpassed $1 billion in assets under management.

During the firm’s first 10 years, its assets grew to $200 million. Over the following 10 years, it reached nearly $700 million.

The company’s grow th is partly due to employees, says R.G. “Kelly” Caldwell Jr., CEO, president and senior trust officer of Caldwell Trust. “We hired good people and they brought in good clients,” he says.

Caldwell Trust, with offices in Sarasota and Venice, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. As it has grow n, Caldwell says the firm has taken stock in itself and asked two key questions: “What do we have to change to grow?” and “What do we not change?”

One of the company’s values that remains constant is a forward-looking approach. “Our focus is generationally, not today,” Caldwell says.

Caldwell Trust has increased its client base through recommendations from current clients as well as referrals from law yers a nd accou nta nt s.

The company advertises, but Caldwell says those marketing efforts are more of an awareness campaign. “No one wakes up in the morning and says, ‘I want a trust.’ It’s not a sports car. You either have a need for it or you don’t.”

As the company has grown, it has focused on attracting the right employees and building a strong infrastructure, including information technology.

“We spend a great deal of time, energy and money on the IT side,” Caldwell says. “The No. 1 thing our people need to do is talk to our clients.” Technology helps employees focus on that priority and works to make aspects of their jobs easier. “We have to be productive so we can talk more to our clients.”

That investment in technology is ongoing. The company’s Venice headquarters, built in 2014, includes a large conference room where employees host video conferencing sessions with clients as another opt ion be yond i n-per s on meetings.

The company also writes its own software — an unusual move in the industry. But the software helps integrate the different steps required to complete tasks for clients. “We

TRUST US

LORI SAX

R.G. “KELLY” CALDWELL JR. is CEO, president and senior trust officer at Caldwell Trust Co.

A trust company is a corporation or a legal entity that serves as a fiduciary, or trustee, for a person, family or business. A trust can manage an estate and also transfer benefits.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Industry. Trusts Companies. Caldwell Trust, Sabal Trust and Sanibel Captiva Trust Key. Firms seek to integrate more technology into strategy.

APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

felt tech was the saving grace to staying profitable and productive,” Caldwell says.

Caldwell Trust’s IT employees are always working on improving and streamlining internal processes, he says, to make them faster, quicker, cheaper and better. “We’re not trying to make tech people trust people or trust people tech people.”

The company has 34 employees, making the seven to eight full-time, dedicated IT employees a significant portion of the staff. “We got to a critical mass where we could afford IT people,” Caldwell says. “It’s been the best thing.”

Future growth, he says, will mean expanding out from serving clients in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties to serve clients in other geographic areas. “If you don’t grow,” Caldwell says, “you’re dying.”

SABAL TRUST CO. With around $2.1 billion in assets under management, St. Petersburg-based Sabal Trust Co. is the largest independent trust company in Florida.

“We’ve been ver y JONES pleased w it h t he growth, really with all of our markets over the last few years,” says Bryant Jones, CEO of Sabal Trust Co. “Our approach is one where we’re pretty laser-focused on who we are and what our target markets are.”

FASAN The company has offices in The Villages, Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota.

“We’re fortunate to be in four geographic markets that are really good markets for the business that we’re in,” Jones says.

The classic Sabal Trust client, he says, values a high-touch relationship, and the company’s marketing efforts reflect that. “We want to get our people out in the community, participating in the greater activities of the community.

We tell folks, ‘Do what you’re passionate about.’”

When hiring employees, the company looks for someone who can be entrusted with clients. Larry Fasan, managing principal and executive vice president, says, “We run into our clients at the grocery store, getting gas and at different social functions. It really is a very personal relationship.”

Jones says the company has done a good job of looking forward toward a period of time and building capacity to handle expected growth. “When you do your planning,” he says, “a critical component of that is, ‘What will my infrastructure needs be?’”

A few years ago, Jones says, the company made the decision to increase the size of its team by 25% in anticipation of revenue growth so it could maintain the level of service it wanted clients to experience. “In our business, you don’t have proprietary technology,” he says.

“The source of value for a firm is two things — your reputation and the quality of people you have. Once you sacrifice one of the two, it’s very hard to get that back.”

Employees at Sabal Trust — now numbering 42 — work in teams of five or six people, so clients don’t have just a single person serving them. The teams include people diversified by gender, age,

BusinessObserverFL.com

15

knowledge and credentials, Fasan says.

The whole team works with a client and is available when they have questions or concerns. “We don’t want someone to call and get voicemail,” Fasan says.

“They have a warm voice and someone who knows who they are.”

THE SANIBEL CAPTIVA TRUST CO. Terry Igo, CEO of The Sanibel Captiva Trust Co., says the company is seeing growth across the areas it serves, including Sanibel-CapTERRY t iva, Naples-Ma rco Island, Tampa Bay and Winter Haven.

Today, the firm has $1.8 billion in assets under management. “We’ve been able to grow by focusing on the big picture in the relationship, not just the investment piece,” Igo says. “I don’t think anyone should choose a trust company with their top priority as investment management only. The goal should be to preserve the asset and pass it on and have a prudent return.”

New clients, he says, come almost exclusively through word of mouth and referrals from other clients and attorneys.

The company, founded in Sanibel in 2001, will open an office in the Clearwater area this year. It also has plans to open a Fort Myers office in 2019 and is thinking about opening a Bonita Springs office in 2019 or 2020.

Igo says the decision to open a new office involves a combination of three elements — enough people in the marketplace who meet the company’s profile, knowing the market is underserved and a gut feeling. “The most important thing to us when expanding,” he says, “is we ask ourselves, ‘Can we maintain ourselves, our corporate culture?’ If it doesn’t fit our culture, that really dictates what we do.”

The overall growth strategy, Igo says, is to stay on the west coast of Florida where there’s additional opportunity for growth. “We don’t need to get big, we just want to be great at what we do.

We have no desire to be some national mega trust company.”

The firm, with 34 employees now, has never used a headhunter, Igo says. “We have experienced people calling us.”

Its employees are crucial to expanding its client base. “When we meet with prospects, they sense our culture, and that’s why we’re able to grow,” Igo says.

“We have really good people, and we do the right thing for the client and our employees.”

Within three days of Hurricane Irma hitting the area last year, he says the company had $2,000 transferred to every employee’s checking account to defray costs of home repairs and other hurricane-related expenses. The Naples office was hit pretty hard, he says, and didn’t have electricity for two weeks. But the money went to employees in all of the company’s offices. “We just knew people were dealing with taking care of parents and their homes. We felt it was the right thing to do.”

Moving ahead, Igo says, the company will have to face managing a finite resource. “The demand for what we do is pretty high. I think the challenge is prioritizing our time. We could open a market here or there, but it’s staying in our lane, doing what we do best. The biggest challenge is to recognize that when you’re in a growth phase like we are to resist the temptation to grow for growth’s sake.”

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MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS: BANKING AND FINANCE

TO TAX OR NOT TO TAX A high-level battle between banks and credit unions is heating up in Washington, D.C.

Editor’s Note: The squabble between banks and credit unions regarding taxes has been going on for years — banks pay them, credit unions are exempt. Some bankers are making a concerted effort for change, hoping the Trump Administration is more receptive. Two industry leaders weigh in on the issue.

Keep the exemption

W

e are disheartened that banks continue to use misinformation in their rhetoric against nonprofit member-owned credit unions.

C r e d i t u n ions a re t a x- e x e m p t based on their structure and t heir mission. They are structured as BERGER not-for-profit financial cooperatives and they have been given a mission by Congress to promote thrift and provide access to credit for provident purposes.

Ba nk ing lobby ists would like the tax status to be limited based on the products or services credit unions offer; the size of credit unions individually and as a sector of the financial services industry; their efforts to support their community and raise overall awareness; and other factors.

But these factors have nothing to do with why Congress originally conveyed the tax status, nor why it continues to be extended. The fact is credit unions’ structure has not changed, and they continue to fulfill their mission. Still, the

banking lobbyists continue to propagate misinformed and downright misleading information about credit unions that we feel we must address.

Credit unions comprise a small percentage of the financia l ser v ices industr y and, unlike banks, are statutorily restricted in their powers with limited fields of membership (FOM). Credit union FOM are anything but generous and expansive. We continue to hear from our members that current FOM rules and regulations unnecessarily inhibit their ability to serve their communities. Additionally, our members believe that the federal credit union charter must keep pace with changes in state laws, technology and the progressiveness of the financial services industry.

Even with these restrictions and the limited market size of credit unions, they have managed to consistently pass on savings to their memberowners through better rates and member service. This is because, as nonprofit cooperatives, credit unions focus on the member and not the shareholder. Perhaps banks should spend more time and effort working to improve their own industry, rather than writing letters attacking credit unions.

See UNION page 17

End the exemption

M

any want to make this a bank versus credit union debate. Not so fast. It is not. The banking profession has no quarrels with the credit union industry. This debate is all about one question: Why should a family of four pay more in state and federal taxes than a $90 billion financial institution like Navy Federal Credit Union?

Nav y Federal has more t ha n 14,0 0 0 employees worldw ide, with a college campus style SANCHEZ headquarters in Virginia and another massive office in Pensacola. It sponsors the NFL Draft television coverage for millions of dollars. As a military veteran, I do appreciate their mission statement, but they hire actors to play soldiers in their television commercials. Navy Federal Credit Union does not help pay for the needs of our nation such as the war on terror, the needs of our military, our children, our veterans or our seniors.

Why should a family of four

pay more in state and federal taxes than a $90 billion dollar credit union? Ridiculous, isn’t it? Yes! Our national debt is now approaching $21 trillion. Our national debt stood at $5 trillion in 2000. (President Bush added $5 trillion in two terms, and President Obama added $10 trillion during his tenure.)

Totally unacceptable! Our nation needs revenue and if credit unions, like other responsible companies, paid t heir fair share of ta xes, t he impact would be $32 billion. That is significant.

A small business of 20 employees — the heart and soul of our nation’s economy — should not be paying more in state and federal corporate income taxes than Tampa-based Suncoast, an $8 billion credit union.

Super-sized credit unions, such as Mid-Florida (a $3 billion financial institution), are sponsor i ng na m i ng r ig hts to amphitheaters and sports arenas while Florida families are working to balance their household budgets and make disciplined financial decisions.

It just doesn’t make sense.

These largest of credit unions often use their tax savings for commercial sponsorships and high executive salaries.

See BANKS page 17

APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

UNIONS from page 16

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BANKS from page 16

TAXES PAID IN 2016

Even with the outsized regulatory burden placed on the credit union industry, credit unions have continued to provide a tremendous value to our members and the economy. In previous communications to Congress and the Administration, (we) have shared the results of rigorous studies that show the broad and deep economic impact of the credit union tax status. It is clear from this research the value that credit unions provide to consumers and the greater economy because of their tax status is greater than its cost of the government.

It is important to point out that credit union spending, including executive compensation and advertising budgets, is not only carefully watched by the boards of directors of a credit union (volunteers: from its membership), but also the National Credit Union Administration, a federal agency. Credit union examiners are diligent in ensuring credit union member-owner funds are being spent in a prudent manner that best serves membership.

Finally, we know if the banking trade associations would partner with us on creating meaningful regulatory relief for the entire financial services industry, rather than attacking us in frivolous letters, we could truly advance access for financial services to all Americans Dan Berger is the president & CEO of the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions. This column, co-written with Credit Union National Association President and CEO Jim Nussle, was adapted from a letter sent to U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, Chairman of the Committee on Finance. The organizations represent the nation’s 5,500 credit unions and their 111 million-plus members.

FL Credit Unions

FL Banks*

$0

$718,670,000

*INCLUDES ALL APPLICABLE FEDERAL,STATE AND LOCAL, AND FOREIGN INCOME TAXES SOURCE: FLORIDA BANKERS ASSOCIATION

CREDIT UNION & BANK CONSUMER BENEFITS BY PRODUCT 2006-2015 $50 billion

KEY

Bank

$40

Credit union

$30 $20 $10 $0

Vehicle Loans

Unsecured Real estate loans & credit loans cards

17

CDs, IRAs, Checking, KEOGH savings, MMF

SOURCE: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FEDERALLY-INSURED CREDIT UNIONS

NUMBER OF BILLION-DOLLAR CREDIT UNIONS $200 billion $150 $100 $50 $0 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013*

Golden One Credit Union in California paid $150 million to obtain the naming rights to the Sacramento Kings’ billion-dollar NBA arena. Is that what non-for-profits were intended to do?

Sponsor the NFL draft and have stadium-naming rights? No! This tax loophole is outdated and needs to be eliminated; each day, the idea receives more support. Recently, in the Credit Union Journal, the CEO of a small credit union wrote that the “large” credit unions should pay taxes.

In fact, any credit union, no matter the size, that wants to offer bank-like services and build multimillion branches should pay taxes.

So, this debate is not about banks versus credit unions, but about ending corporate welfare for the credit union industry. It is about bringing fairness to our nation’s tax code so that a family of four struggling to pay their taxes is not paying more in taxes than a credit union that can afford to purchase stadium-naming rights, pay CEOs high salaries and build multimillion-dollar branches. Credit unions say they contribute monies in sponsoring community groups. Banks do that too…and also pay taxes to support the needs of our nation.

Alex Sanchez is president and CEO of the Florida Bankers Association, which has a membership base of small, regional and large financial institutions that together employ tens of thousands of Floridians, safeguard more than $500 billion in deposits and extend more than $135 billion in loans.

*2013 DATE AS OF FIRST QUARTER SOURCE: FLORIDA BANKERS ASSOCIATION

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Knott Realty to begin work on Fort Myers apartments Timonium, Md.-based development firm Knott Realty Group is preparing to start work on a highK.L. end apartment MCQUAID complex in Fort Myers, a little more than a year after buying a 38-acre site at 9851 Ben C. Pratt/Six Mile Cypress Parkway for $5.2 million.

Construction of the 435unit Decorum Apartments project will be managed by Naples-based DeAngelis Diamond, from a Forum Architecture design, the construction management firm says.

In addition to Class A units, Decorum is expected to contain amenities ranging from a swimming pool to tennis courts and garages. The community also will contain walking trails, DeAngelis Diamond notes.

Knott Realty officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The company’s plans for Decorum come as Lee County’s population is surging, amid job growth and the perception that it is more affordable than neighboring Collier County and contains more amenities than does Charlotte County, to its north.

Knott is also developing Meridian Center in Fort Myers, a two-building industrial complex on 27 acres near Southwest Florida International Airport.

In all, the project — the land for which Knott paid $2.1 million — is slated to contain 350,000 square feet when completed.

Starwood Capital completes Urban Centre deal Starwood Capital Group has completed a $143.1 million deal to acquire the twobuilding Urban Centre office complex in the Westshore business district of Tampa, according to Hillsborough County property records.

Affiliates of the Miamibased investment giant finalized the purchase of the 4830-4890 W. Kennedy Blvd. property on March 13, records show.

Starwood bought the twin nine-story complex, whose office tenants include American Momentum Bank, Tribridge and Colliers International, from Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America. Urban Centre is also home to the Westshore Grand Hotel, the Centre Club and Shula’s See COLUMN page 19

COURTESY PHOTO

Core Development Inc.’s planned BLVD condo tower will contain 49 upscale residences. To date, 24 have been pre-sold.

The Return of the

CONDO Sarasota has had ample hotel and apartment development this growth cycle, but condos are now back in favor.

F

or years, development in Sarasota meant condominiums.

The “highest and best use,” as the reasoning went, was almost always fee-simple residential.

Even the vaunted Ritz-Carlton Sarasota hotel, for all its panache, came into existence in 2001 primarily on the back of condo sales associated with the luxury Marriott International brand.

It helped that Sarasota’s business base of users occupying office space was relatively scant, of course, and that selling a downtown condo once was a lot easier for a developer than the arduous process of renting a hotel room 365 nights a year or an apartment annually.

But since Southwest Florida slowly emerged from the past decade’s economic recession beginning in 2013, development has been decidedly different.

In place of condo towers, developers have built a handful of new lodging properties containing nearly 1,000 keys, and upwards of 2,000 new apartment units — fueled largely by

a city overlay district that boosted density to encourage multifamily rentals.

By comparison, and by historical average, condos were nonexistent.

The few projects that were conceived or delivered between 2012 and 2017 contained fewer than 25 units.

“What we’ve seen this cycle has been very unusual,” says John Harshman, president of Harshman & Co. Inc., a Sarasota commercial real estate brokerage firm.

“What’s been unique this recovery is that apartments have been first to be developed in this cycle,” Harshman adds. “That was largely the result of financing; there were more funds available from lenders, and condo developers couldn’t get financing.”

Now, however, thanks to a combination of availability of financing, supply constraints — especially for newer product with more modern amenities — and buyers from previously untapped geographic areas, Sarasota is experiencing a condo renaissance for the first time in more

than a decade.

In all, new for-sale projects completed within the past year, under construction or approved and ready to commence could add nearly 1,000 new residential units to the city’s downtown and surrounding area, according to a city report issued in early April.

By comparison, just 250 new condo units were completed during the past four quarters in downtown, city data show — and more than half of those units were contained in a single project.

But unlike previous cycles, the new condo developments being built or planned today are trending toward smaller projects, largely the result of zoning rules that dictate unit numbers.

The 18-story Jewel condo tower at 1301 Main St., for instance, which largely kickstarted the current wave of condo development downtown, contains 20 residential units, accordSee CONDO page 19

APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

CONDO from page 18 ing to city information.

Echelon, another 18-story tower at 624 S. Palm Ave. being developed by Naples-based Ronto Group, contains 17 residences.

“Sarasota is running out of quality sites for condo projects, especially those with 18 stories,” says Kevin Daves, president of Core Development Inc., which plans to break ground next month on the 18-story BLVD condo tower, on North Tamiami Trail just north of downtown. “That’s why we’re seeing a lot of projects with fewer units.”

Daves says another, larger shift is occurring, as well, a re-urbanization that is driving residents off barrier islands like Siesta Key and Longboat Key — both traditional hot spots for condo development — to Sarasota.

“We’re seeing this movement occur downtown because of traffic congestion and because downtown has more services and amenities to offer,” Daves says. “Sarasota has become a more walkable community over the past decade, too.”

At the same time, Daves and others note that Sarasota condos are today attracting buyers from New England, New York and Mid-Atlantic states. Historically, Southwest Florida buyers migrated from the Midwest.

“We never had those buyers before, from New York or Boston,” Daves says. “I think it’s a combination of tourism marketing, the impact of Baltimore Orioles Spring Training (in Sarasota) and air traffic routes we hadn’t had previously.”

“New England has really discovered Southwest Florida,” says Bob Vail, president of Kolter Urban LLC, a division of the West Palm Beach-based firm that earlier this year completed the 141unit Vue Sarasota Bay condo tower together with a 255-room Westin Hotel downtown.

Kolter also has begun work on a 157unit, mixed-use condo, retail and office complex downtown called The Mark that is slated for completion at the end of next year, and is selling units in a 73unit, luxury condo tower connected to the Ritz-Carlton brand on a one-acre tract within the Sarasota Quay adjacent to the luxury hotel.

Quay master developer GreenPointe Communities also has received city approvals to build an additional 622 residences within its 15-acre project, though some of those units may ultimately be rented apartments.

Vail and Harshman say that buyers represent a considerable difference between the condo developments being proposed and built this cycle as compared to those of a decade ago.

Unlike in 2007 and 2008, when banks provided flimsy loans to prospective buyers or investors who often aimed to “flip” contracted units for profit, today’s buyers tend to be owner/occupants.

That lack of speculation, in turn, has kept the number of developments in check.

“We’ve not seen overheating,” Vail says. “The condo market in Sarasota in an St. Petersburg has been steady, and consistent.”

Moreover, well-planned and positioned condo projects are banking reservations and converting them to sales.

At The Strand on Whitaker Bayou, a two-building, waterfront project being built north of downtown, developer Jebco Ventures has 58 pre-sales out of 152 units, says Jebco President Jim Bridges.

BLVD has two dozen of its 49 units committed, Daves says, and Kolter’s Vail says reservations are in the “high nineties” for the 157 residences within the 11-story Mark project.

At its Ritz-Carlton Residences tower, the one-acre tract for which Kolter paid $19.3 million and where units will cost upwards of $5 million each, Vail says 43 of the total 73 units have been reserved.

“Sarasota has experienced pent-up demand from the recession of the last decade, and changes in zoning that promoted apartment development and the development of projects with a mix of uses, such as the One Palm apartment and hotel project, and the Vue,” says Steve Horn, a partner in the Sarasota commercial real estate brokerage firm Ian Black Real Estate.

“Added to that, I think we’re rewriting the definition of what a cycle is in Sarasota now,” Horn adds. “It shows the strength of our market now, and the demand by those who want to live and work and visit here.”

transactions |

HILLSBOROUGH Buyer: 1801 Nagel Road LLC, RB South Shore LLC, and GL South Shore LLC Seller: South Shore Corporate Park LLC Address: 2353 Richwood Pike Drive, Ruskin Property Type: Pasture Price: $9,000,000 Previous Price: $27,924,600, May 2007

CHARLOTTE Buyer: Real Sub LLC Seller: Fund VIII Punta Gorda Crossing LLC Address: 2310 Tamiami Trail, Punta Gorda Property Type: Retail center Price: $11,468,644 Previous Price: $10,750,000, August 2007

Buyer: Jen Florida 27 LLC Seller: TC Venture 1 LLC Address: 12615 Big Bend Road, Riverview Property Type: Pasture Price: $8,524,800

Buyer: Pulte Home Corp.

Seller: Olde Florida Golf Club Inc. Address: Naples Property Type: Vacant land Price: $2,310,000 Buyer: SD on the Roof LLC Seller: FCC Marsh LLC Address: Malaga Lane, Naples Property Type: Vacant land Price: $1,080,000

COLUMN from page 18 Steakhouse, among others.

Teachers Insurance had owned the 576,000-square-foot property since paying $105.5 million for it in 2005.

“It’s a good price, and roughly what we anticipated,” says Clay Witherspoon, a principal and managing director with commercial real estate brokerage firm Avison Young, in Tampa.

“It’s good for Westshore, too, and shows the maturity of the market,” he adds. “And Starwood is a strong institutional owner, one that’s been in this market before.”

Urban Centre’s sale marks the largest office deal in the Tampa or St. Petersburg market since December 2015, when Banyan Street Capital and Oaktree Capital Management teamed up to buy the 42-story Bank of America Plaza tower in downtown Tampa for $193.5 million.

Urban Centre is expected to be one of the largest office sales in the Tampa Bay area in 2018. Witherspoon notes that at a purchase price of $260 per square foot, the sale is roughly $65 per square foot, or 20%, below the amount that would be required to develop a new Class A office project.

Starwood, one of the most active commercial real estate investors in the nation, owns dozens of major properties along the Gulf Coast.

Two years ago, for instance, it paid $95.25 million to acquire the 936-unit Gulfstream Isles Apartments in Fort Myers, one of the largest multifamily rental transactions ever executed along the Gulf Coast.

Even with the sale, Teachers Insurance will continue to have a major presence in the region. Most notably, the firm owns a half-interest, together with a Dutch pension fund, in the 1.2 million-square-foot

19

International Plaza mall, also in Tampa’s Westshore area.

Commercial real estate brokerage firm JLL represented Teachers Insurance in the transaction.

Neither officials from Starwood nor JLL returned telephone calls for comment on the sale.

Tampa REIT buys second property In advance of an anticipated initial public offering later this year, Generation Income Properties Inc. is working to expand its portfolio of net-leased retail properties.

The Tampa real estate investment trust earlier this month closed on its second property, a new Starbucks coffee shop at 1300 S. Dale Mabry Highway, for $3.46 million.

David Sobelman, GIP’s founder and president, says the purchase price represents a 15% discount to the property’s market value. He describes the property as “stabilized.”

The REIT acquired its first property, a newly built and corporately owned 7-Eleven convenience store in Washington, D.C., last June for $2.48 million.

In February, the REIT, which Sobelman formed in September 2015, announced a joint venture with Chicago-based Oak Street Real Estate Capital.

Oak Street agreed to provide Generation Income with $15 million, in the form of preferred equity capital, to acquire additional properties.

Generation Income intends to begin selling shares to the public this summer on the Over The Counter stock exchange, and hopes to have a market capitalization of roughly $50 million by the end of this year, Sobelman has said.

BY STEVEN BENNA | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

DEEDS/MORTGAGES The following real estate transactions more than $1 million were filed in Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota county courthouses. The information lists the seller, buyer, amount of sale, previous price and date, mortgage and lender, if available, address and book and page of the document.

COLLIER Buyer: Pulte Home Corp.

Seller: Golf Club of the Everglades Ltd. Address: Naples Property Type: Vacant land Price: $6,370,000

BusinessObserverFL.com

Buyer: 3010 Azeele Partners LLC Seller: Chapters Health System Inc. Address: 3010 W. Azeele St., Tampa Property Type: Office building Price: $5,600,000 Previous Price: $1,333,200, November 1989 LEE NONE MANATEE Buyer: Coastal Medical LLC Seller: Coastal Center 64 E LLP Address: 5201 4th Avenue Circle E., Bradenton Property Type: Vacant commercial land Price: $6,650,000 Previous Price: $280,000, May 2017

PASCO Buyer: Meopta Properties LLC Seller: Photonics Drive LLC Address: 7826 Photonics Drive, New Port Richey Property Type: Manufacturing plant Price: $2,185,000 Previous Price: $1,700,000, March 2017

POLK Buyer: TPAF VI Hungtington LLC Seller: PRG Huntington Associates LP Address: 300 Heartland Blvd., Mulberry Property Type: Multifamily units Price: $37,000,000 Previous Price: $21,150,000, October 2010

PINELLAS Buyer: CRP NRP Allure Gateway Owner LLC Seller: Huntley Properties LLC Address: U.S. Highway 19 N., Pinellas Park Property Type: Vacant industrial land Price: $5,700,000 Previous Price: $16,486,800, February 2007

Buyer: Florida & Pipkin LLC Seller: MG3 Casablanc 1 LLC Address: 4717 S. Florida Ave., Lakeland Property Type: Discount stores Price: $10,500,000 Previous Price: $7,100,000, December 2012

Buyer: Snug Harbor Gardens I LLC, Snug Harbor Gardens II LLC, Snug Harbor Gardens III LLC Seller: CSC Properties LLC and DD 49th Street LLC Address: 3934 49th St. N., St. Petersburg Property Type: Vacant commercial land Price: $2,200,000 Previous Price: $600,000, August 2017 Buyer: Law Ventures LLC Seller: Lustra LLC Address: 4300 Duhme Road, Madeira Beach Property Type: Office building Price: $2,050,000 Previous Price: $2,000,000, December 2004

Buyer: 2018 LWII Davenport LLC Seller: Diocese of Orlando Address: Davenport Property Type: Vacant commercial land Price: $2,310,000 SARASOTA Buyer: M/I Homes of Sarasota LLC Seller: Thomas Ranch Land Partners Village I LLLP Address: Sarasota Property Type: Vacant land Price: $5,838,000

commercial real estate

20

BUSINESS OBSERVER | APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018

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Secondary No More Lantower Residential says Tampa is now on the radar of the large institutions it competes against.

Philippe Lapointe has long considered the Tampa multifamily rental market to be a kind of best-kept secret, from an investment perspective.

Many investors, he says, have long considered it a secondary location as compared to “sexier” locales like Miami and overlooked the city.

As a result, the chief operating officer of Dallas-based Lantower Residential managed to complete a trio of acquisitions in the Tampa area without arousing much notice from the much larger institutions it typically competes against.

Those deals came despite steady job growth and other fundamental economic gains over the past four consecutive years.

Its three purchases — of the Seneca at Cypress Creek complex in Lutz, the Brandon Crossings community outside Tampa and apartments in Westshore — added more than 1,150 units at a cost in excess of $220 million.

But the ability to operate relatively clandestinely ended abruptly earlier this year, Lapointe says.

“The cat’s out of the bag about Tampa, and Orlando,” says Lapointe, whose company is a subsidiary of Toronto-based H&R REIT. “There’s just too much good news about Tampa now. It’s not considered a secondary market anymore by anyone we know.”

Instead, Lapointe now compares Tampa and Orlando to other hot

multifamily destinations for investment.

“Tampa and Orlando are no different than Austin, or Dallas, or Raleigh, they share a lot of the same attributes and they really are no different as a competitive landscape, either,” he says.

As a company, Lantower focuses almost exclusively on markets that include Tampa and Orlando in Florida, Austin, Dallas and Houston in Texas, and North Carolina cities.

Since its formation in 2014, Lantower has acquired more than a dozen properties in all containing nearly 4,600 units, according to its website.

“At the end of the day we just operate with a ton of integrity, and we think our reputation and ability to close deals when we say we will goes a long way,” he says.

Lantower’s analysis of deals also differentiates it from other investment firms, he says.

“We typically receive dozens of deals every day to look at, and I’d say that for every 500 or so potential transactions we consider, we probably do less than 1% of them,” Lapointe says.

“And that may be because of a property’s vintage just isn’t for us, or sometimes the price we just can’t reconcile, but in every case, we really drill down into a property, the competition, potential competition, and we want to know a lot about the community in general,” he adds.

February 2018 advisory

Financed by co-investor

COURTESY

Lantower Residential’s 300-unit Westshore apartment community is one of three Tampa-area projects it owns.

“We do a lot of analysis. It’s one of our hallmarks.”

Nor is Lapointe concerned Lantower’s target markets are reaching supply saturation — despite the recent addition of thousands of new units in and around cities like Tampa and Orlando.

“Frankly most of the markets that we’ve chosen to be in, we today consider them to be, in our view, undersupplied with apartments,” Lapointe says.

Lapointe notes, as well, that some areas that have been deemed oversupplied are actually underrepresented with new rentals when a full analysis is considered.

“Take a look at Dallas,” he says.

“A lot of people, and reports in the media, say Dallas is oversupplied, and we understand why they on the

surface might think that. But the reality is, Dallas and other cities are actually comprised of many submarkets. There are say 10 different submarkets in Dallas.

“Of those, maybe two have supply issues, while the other eight are actually quite healthy. But in the media, the conclusion based on those two is, oh, Dallas is oversupplied with apartments.

Lapointe, likewise, calls Tampa a “solid acquisitions market.”

“It’s my hope and belief that we’ll continue to grow our position there,” he says. “We’ve purchased three properties in the Tampa area, and if we can find a fourth and a fifth and a sixth and a seventh that make sense for us and fit our criteria, we’ll definitely go for them.”

— K.L. McQuaid

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APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

corporatereport | TAMPA BAY

Proposed $87 million bank merger wins approval from shareholders Shareholders of Tampa-based HomeBancorp’s holding company, HomeBancorp Inc., approved a deal that would see Raleigh, N.C.-based-First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquire HomeBancorp.

According to a press release, the merger, an $87 million deal initially announced late last year, will be effective as of April 30, subject to regulatory approvals. After the merger, HomeBanc branch offices will initially operate as HomeBanc, a division of First Citizens Bank, the release states, with HomeBanc customer accounts being converted to First Citizens Bank’s systems at a later date.

“We’re very pleased by the vote and to be joining with First Citizens Bank,” states Jerry Campbell, chairman and CEO of HomeBancorp, in the release.

“It’s an excellent opportunity for our shareholders, customers and employees. Our cultures are a good match for one another.”

First Citizens Bank has 15 branches in Florida, primarily in the northeast and southwest parts of the state, plus a commercial and business banking office in Sarasota.

LEE-COLLIER

Ad agency targets more clients with new senior creative executive Fort Myers-based Spiro & Associates named Andy Kelly senior creative director.

BusinessObserverFL.com

21

BY BUSINESS OBSERVER STAFF

Kelly will lead a department responsible for developing advertising, marketing, public relations and branding campaigns for clients in nearly every industry throughout Southwest Florida, according to a statement.

“Andy’s credentials speak for themselves — diverse, national campaigns in cities both big and small,” says Spiro & Associates CEO and Chief Creative Office Chris Spiro. “As we move into the next phase of award-winning ideas, we look forward to seeing his impressive work on our client advertising and branding.”

SARASOTA-MANATEE

Neal Communities sells 123 homes in February, a 20% increase over last year Lakewood Ranch-based homebuilder Neal Communities sold 123 homes in neighborhoods from Hillsborough to Collier counties in February.

According to a press release, the number represents a 20% increase from February 2017.

Neal’s four fastest-selling communities were Grand Palm and Milano in Venice, Boca Royale Golf & Country Club in Englewood and Silverleaf in Parrish.

“Florida is expected to outpace almost every state in the country when it comes to positive economic growth in 2018,” says Neal Communities CEO and Chairman Pat Neal. “People are voting with their dollars and moving south for favorable tax rates, job growth and weather conditions.”

COURTESY

Doctors Hospital of Sarasota opened a new emergency room in Lakewood Ranch.

Hospital opens new $10 million emergency room in east Manatee County Doctors Hospital of Sarasota has opened a new emergency room in Lakewood Ranch.

The new facility is on State Road 70, near Interstate 75. It has 24/7 boardcertified emergency physician coverage as well as X-ray, CT scan, ultrasound, laboratory and pharmacy services.

According to a press release, all treatment rooms are private, and there’s a separate area for pediatric patients.

“We saw a need for high quality and efficient emergency care in this area,” says Doctors Hospital of Sarasota CEO Robert Meade in the statement. “There

is tremendous growth in Lakewood Ranch and along the I-75 corridor.”

The new 11,000-square-foot emergency room will add about 40 full-time jobs to the area. It cost approximately $10 million to build and equip.

The new facility will also feature the work of local students, the release states.

Students in the digital photography program at Manatee Technical College, for example, created all the artwork.

Doctors Hospital also recently appointed three new board members: CareerEdge Executive Director Mireya Eavey; Venice orthopedic surgeon Dr. Michael Jaquith; and Florida State University medical student Alexandra Johnston.

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22 taxtalk

BUSINESS OBSERVER | APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018

BusinessObserverFL.com

BY PAM SCHUNEMAN | CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST

It’s time to dust off those partnership agreements Small partnerships could be spared the toughest of the new IRS audit rules, or partners could take an alternative approach.

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 changed the IRS partnership audit rules. These rules became effective January and could significantly shift audit adjustments to partners who may not have received the benefit, or paid tax, on an original tax assessment.

The BBA significantly changes how the IRS collects tax underpayments.

Under the new rules, tax underpayments, including assessed interest and penalties, computed at the highest individual tax rate (with a few exceptions), will be collected directly from the partnership.

While the shift away from collecting tax from individual partners simplifies tax collection for the IRS, it also shifts the obligation to pay the tax, from the partners in the audited year, to the partners in the collection year. A new partner could indirectly be stuck with a large tax bill by way of a current year partnership tax assessment related to a period before ownership.

The new law allows for two elec-

tions:

n Section 6221: The small partnership

election

n Section 6226: The alternative elec-

tion.

THE SMALL PARTNERSHIP ELECTION The small partnership election allows a partnership to elect out of the new rules. For purposes of this section, a small partnership is defined as a partnership with 100 or fewer partners and no flow-through entity partners (other than S-corporations and estates of deceased partners). The partnership must not have any foreign partners (unless taxed as C-corporations under U.S. tax law).

The small partnership election is made annually on the partnership income tax return and includes a list of partner names and taxpayer identification numbers.

THE ALTERNATIVE ELECTION This election allows for tax to be levied on the audited year partners.

The election must be made within 45 days from the date of the notice of final partnership adjustment. The partnership must issue a statement of the partner’s share of adjustment to income, gain, loss, deduction or credit to the IRS, and to each partner of the audited year. The income adjustments

are then reported on each partner’s current income tax return.

For example, in January 2019, Joe purchases a 50% interest in BadBooks, LLC from Alphonse. BadBooks had reported a loss on the 2018 partnership return of $1 million. Alphonse’s share of that loss was $500,000. The IRS selects the 2018 partnership return for audit, and after adjustments, the previous partnership loss turned into $200,000 of profit, an increase of $1.2 million. Under the new audit regime, BadBooks will pay $444,000 of federal income tax ($1,200,000 x 37%). The underpayment is taxed at the highest individual federal rate.Shirley, the BadBooks managing partner, did not make the small partnership election on the 2018 return and does not make an alternative election within 45 days after the notice of final partnership adjustment. The tax must be paid out of the assets of BadBooks.

If Shirley had made the small partnership election on the 2018 return, or if she had made a valid alternative election within the specified time, Alphonse would be required to pick up an additional $600,000 ($1,200,000 x 50%) of income on his current tax return. The failure to make either election cost Joe $222,000.

All existing partnerships should determine eligibility to elect out of the BBA audit regime, and if eligible, de-

Pamela Schuneman, C.P.A., is a practicing tax accountant in Sarasota. She has 34 years of experience helping her clients navigate the vast federal tax system and has worked with businesses as varied as Fortune 500 companies to small sole-proprietors. Contact her at pam@schunemancpa.com.

cide to make the election or abide under the new audit rules. If not eligible, could a change in partners accomplish eligibility?

For example, trusts (including grantor) are not eligible partners. If a partnership has a grantor trust as a partner, distribution of the LLC interest out of the trust to the owner would enable the partnership to elect out of the BBA audit regime. If the partners want to remain eligible, the partnership agreement could be amended to prohibit a transfer of interest to an ineligible party.

Ownership changes highlight the importance of making an election under this new tax law. A new partner will assume the liability of future tax assessments without either of the elections. Before buying a partnership interest of an existing partnership, all new partners should perform due diligence to determine if any tax surprises could arise.

While the effects of the BBA audit regime will not be felt until 2020, partnership agreements should be amended to consider all relevant elections. The new elections could have a financial impact on current and past partners.

infocus | insurance Keep up with the latest trends in the industry … and how they affect your business.

Read It: May 4 Advertising: April 26

For advertising information contact Kathleen O’Hara at 941.366.3468 x326 kohara@yourobserver.com

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APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

“

BusinessObserverFL.com

23

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Horst Schulze is so right. We see that every day at the Observer Media Group — happy colleagues who are striving to create excellence.

Don’t believe the fake news you hear about newspapers. Our family-owned company — 13 newspapers, eight websites, three community lifestyle magazines and multiple social media channels around Florida — is growing.

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If you understand marketing and sales; if you thrive in an innovative and entrepreneurial environment; if you are looking for a rewarding opportunity — financially, professionally and personally; and if you want to be around happy people dedicated to creating excellence, we have the place for you on our multimedia advertising team.

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BUSINESS OBSERVER | APRIL 20, 2018 - APRIL 26, 2018

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