Gulfshore Business May 2023

It’s our business to help grow yours.

Since 1926, Seacoast Bank has maintained a reputation for integrity and stability with a commitment to relationship banking, community outreach, and added value service. Seacoast Bank’s Commercial Bankers share your passion for offering the right products with personalized service and are dedicated to finding the right solutions that meet your evolving needs. We offer solutions for all stages of your business to help you manage, grow and transform — from checking and financing to liquidity management, Treasury Services and more.

Jason.Brewer@SeacoastBank.com

Patti.Byers@SeacoastBank.com

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Mike.Kozak@SeacoastBank.com

Jason Brewer Southwest Florida Market President

Janis Wiebel Commercial Banker

Kozak Commercial Banker

Byers Commercial Banker

NEWS BITES P. 14

ICYMI! Top stories from Gulfshore Business Daily

TRENDLINE P. 18

Putting the ‘more’ in mortgage

SPACES P. 20

Elevated design in a clinic’s expansion

MAKERS P. 26

Two Faced Leather gives luxury goods second lives

IN THE 239

MAY 2023

ENTREPRENEURSHIP P. 30

Ruby Campos on networking and the power of social media

ECONOMIC COMMENTARY P. 36 Building, strengthening relationships with a new generation

Noemi Y. Perez CONGRATULATIONS,

Top 10 Women in Business Honoree

The Immokalee Foundation President and CEO, Noemi Y. Perez is a native of Immokalee, Florida. Having experienced the challenges of growing up in a migrant farming family, and overcoming adversity, she passionately supports the dreams of 1,300+ students whose story is not unlike hers.

For over 31 years, The Immokalee Foundation has been preparing the next generation of leaders through a 100% focus on education, career readiness and professional development for students in Immokalee — from kindergarten through postsecondary education.

Among her many successes, Noemi has led the implementation of The Immokalee Foundation’s Career Pathways Program, an innovative approach to education that prepares students for well-paying, in-demand professional careers in four specific pathways: Healthcare, Business Management & Entrepreneurship, Education & Human Services, Engineering & Construction Management.

The Career Pathways Program led to Noemi receiving the Florida College Access Network’s (FCAN) 2022 College Ready Florida Innovator Award that recognizes those trying new approaches to help students get into and pay for college while inspiring younger students to plan for their futures.

On behalf of The Immokalee Foundation family of staff, students, mentors, volunteers and donors, we congratulate you on this well-deserved honor.

HORSEPOWER P. 96

Inside the sleek, capable BMW iX M60 electric SUV

WELLNESS P. 98

The upsides and convenience of the mini-workout

WEEKEND GETAWAY P. 100

Blowing Rocks Preserve offers some of the state’s most spectacular natural sites

BACKSTORY P. 104

The sect that helped found Estero

MAY 2023

INSURANCE P. 82

Why property insurance premiums are so high—and may soon stabilize

LOCAL GOVERNMENT P. 86

Fort Myers enters long-term agreement to develop and manage yacht basin

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE P. 90

Top sales in Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties

NEW & EXPANDING P. 92

Top leases in Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties

Here’s to All the

Business in Women

In1992,

Teri Hansen founded Priority Marketing – a company that has grown to become Southwest Florida’s largest marketing agency offering the most comprehensive and award-winning marketing, advertising and public relations services. Today, our team of more than 56 savvy creatives and mastermind strategists – the majority of whom are women –passionately deliver the full scope of marketing solutions to achieve outstanding results.

• MARKETING

• ADVERTISING

• PUBLIC RELATIONS

• WEB DEVELOPMENT

• DIGITAL MARKETING

• VIDEO PRODUCTION

• EVENT MANAGEMENT See how we work!

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Heidi Rambo Centrella

Senior Editors Tim Aten, David Dorsey

Digital Editor Adam Regan

Associate Editor Kaitlin Regan

Assistant Editors Katiuska Carrillo, Samantha Roesler

Copy Editor Steve Gill

CONTRIBUTORS

Artis Henderson, Justin Paprocki, James Raia, Aisling Swift, Bill Wasinger

ART

Creative Directors Scott Glick, Jerry Pomales

Photo Editors Elizabeth Bankmann, Stephanie Broad

ADVERTISING

Associate Publisher Chris Renstrom Marketing Consultant Valerie Fluegeman

MARKETING

Director of Marketing and Events Rachel Galante

Digital Media Marketing Manager Brittney Kleis

CIRCULATION

Director of Audience Development Kerri Nolan

PRODUCTION

Production Manager Martha Leavitt

ADMINISTRATION

Advertising Services Manager Subscriptions & Distribution Kathleen Hill

READER SERVICES

Office Address 26101 S. Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs, FL 34134 Call or text 239.498.8500 gulfshorebusiness.com info@gulfshorebusiness.com

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MOMENTS IN THE MAKING

Our perception of time is oddly fascinating. We know exactly how long each second is, each minute, each day—but we can still be caught by surprise at the sudden awareness of how much or how little time has passed without us realizing it.

Locals mired in cleanup and crucial renovations might find themselves feeling that Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida a few weeks ago, or perhaps 90 days, rather than seven months. For others who are waiting for bureaucratic entanglements to be resolved, or availability of contractors and supplies to accomplish their renovations, it might feel closer to a year or two. And with 2023’s season behind us and the area quieting back down following the departure of our annual visitors from cooler climates, it’s probably an unpleasant shock to many to realize that hurricane season is starting again. I know I’m having trouble believing it.

Speaking of which, I hope you’ll be on the lookout for the 2023 WINK News Hurricane Guide, filled with meteorological experts’ advice on what to expect and how to prepare for whatever nature throws at us in the coming months. It will be on newsstands June 1.

Local governments in Lee and Collier counties must be feeling as though no time at all had passed since their last expenditures for beach replenishment—keeping the region’s most visible tourist attractions in primo shape is an ongoing process at the best of times, but a storm of Ian’s

From the editor.

magnitude requires a correspondingly massive special effort to restore the beaches and protect coastal property and wildlife. For example, an estimated 6,000 dump truck loads of sand will be rumbling onto Fort Myers Beach over the next few months, at a cost of about $7.5 million. And the process is much more complicated than scooping a truckload of stuff off the ground at Point A and dropping it at Point B; David Dorsey digs into the details, including logistical requirements and who’s picking up the price tag, in “A Story of Sand” on pg. 38.

Meanwhile, as tourist seasons come and go and residents tackle day-to-day challenges, time keeps passing. It might not seem that long, but before you know it, Collier County will be celebrating its 100th anniversary this month, and Naples its civic centennial in December. We’ve come a long way from the initial cluster of buildings only accessible by sea—the Tamiami Trail wasn’t completed until 1928—but as Tim Aten chronicles in “First Resort” on pg. 46, a great deal about those earliest days wasn’t all that different from our modern city. Locals had to deal with the occasional storm—this isn’t the first time Naples Pier has been rebuilt—but the area still drew people who wanted, for a month or a lifetime, to enjoy a taste of paradise.

Finally, since this is the May issue (even though it feels like the year just started) we’re thrilled to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of our 2023 Women in Business; 10 remarkable businesswomen who are making their mark in Southwest Florida. This is a genuinely inspirational group, and it’s a pleasure to share their stories with you. Happy summer!

HEIDI RAMBO CENTRELLA EDITOR IN CHIEF

ARCHITECTURE JOYCE OWENS

ARCHITECTURE INTERIORS SUSTAINABLE RESILIENT MODERN TROPICAL

THANK YOU

The Resnick-Wynn Family Business Conference would like to thank our keynote speaker, Alan Hassenfeld, and our sponsors and community partners across Southwest Florida for their leadership and support of our local community!

The Resnick-Wynn Family Business Conference, in partnership with Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), was created in 2022 by Billie Resnick, Michael Wynn and John Resnick to support the success and survival of family businesses in Southwest Florida. At each event, a scholarship donation is presented to FGCU to offer tuition assistance for business and entrepreneurship majors who plan to launch or lead a family business. Since 2022, The Resnick-Wynn Family Business Conference has awarded more than $60,000 in scholarships.

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Our Media & Community Partners:

in the 239

MAKERS

SMALL BUSINESS ESSENTIALS

Ruby Campos on networking, the power of social media

p_30

By Artis Henderson

[ LEE COUNTY ] IMPROVING BRIDGES

Lee County Commissioners discussed options for the Cape Coral Bridge and the future of the Sanibel Causeway.

Commissioners want to make it easier for people to get in and out of the city via the Cape Coral Bridge. Once the $218,600,000 work is done, the new bridge will have a 75year lifespan, effectively alleviating traffic and making the bridge safe for everyone.

[

LEE

COUNTY] GOLF DOWNTOWN

The Topgolf brand of entertainment opened in downtown Fort Myers inside a new sports bar. Chips Sports Pub, 2200 Edwards Drive, features two Topgolf Swing Suites. Golf isn’t the only virtual sport patrons can try at Chips, as simulators also include soccer, a quarterback challenge, baseball hitting, hockey shots, zombie dodgeball and a few others. The private game suites can be booked for groups ranging from 11 to 60 people for $35 an hour.

Mark Heiman, executive chef at the Luminary, created Chips’ menu with items ranging from $11 to $23.

For the Sanibel Causeway, commissioners are planning to beef up its resilience and widen bike lanes. The cost for the Sanibel Causeway improvements and adjustments is $285 million; Lee County’s share of that cost is $51,600,000.

[ LEE COUNTY ] RESTORING BEACHES

Fort Myers Beach town council unanimously approved two restoration projects on the island. One project, costing $25 million, will pump sand onto the beach; the other is a longterm, six-foot tall berm that will be built throughout the island and will cost $7 million.

For the berm to happen, all property owners on the beach must sign and agree to it.

[ LEE COUNTY ] WINERY COMES TO FORT MYERS

Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants recently opened its new location at 13671 Olympic Court in Fort Myers. The restaurant on Six Mile Cypress Parkway near Daniels Parkway is the privately owned company’s second Southwest Florida location and its 55th nationwide.

Each Cooper’s Hawk location offers wine tasting, a wine club, a wine shop with wines and accessories and an expansive eating area for both leisurely dining and business meetings. The menu features dishes that pair with Cooper’s Hawk wines.

David Dorsey; WINK News; Brian Tietz; Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant

[ COLLIER COUNTY] BANNING DISPENSARIES

Collier County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted in favor of enacting an ordinance banning the establishment of medical marijuana facilities in unincorporated Collier.

The issue has been discussed off and on since 2018, when the county disapproved the land development code allowing dispensaries in the same zoning district as pharmacies in unincorporated Collier County.

It evolved into an ordinance banning the establishment or location of treatment centers within most parts of the county. A de facto ban had been in place until now, not officially banning treatment centers but not voting to allow them either.

[ COLLIER COUNTY] HOME VALUES RISING

Home values in Naples are up nearly 30% from last year, according to Zillow.

May or June may be the time for a good deal. Around that time, visitors from up north tend to leave the area and a handful choose to offload their properties before heading out of town, Collier County realtor Nick Sweat said. But buyers shouldn’t expect a drastic decrease in prices anytime soon.

The Naples housing market is not very competitive, according to Redfin. Homes in Naples receive two offers on average.

COLLIER COUNTY] HOME DEVELOPMENT

Stock Development is planning a 443-home community east of Collier Boulevard, across from Naples National Golf Club, less than two miles south of Interstate 75 in Collier County.

Caymas Naples will feature single-family and estate homes built by Stock Luxury Homes and Stock Custom Homes. In addition, Pulte Homes will offer homes on 52-foot-wide homesites. Consisting of 780 acres, half of which are lakes and preserves, Caymas will be home to homes ranging in size from 2,400 to more than 4,000 square feet. Sales for the lakefront community are scheduled to begin later this year, while work on its infrastructure is underway.

COLLIER COUNTY] NAPLES PICKLEBALL TEAM

Bob Strommen, managing director of Naples Pickleball Center, purchased a National Pickleball League team to be based in Naples.

Made up of six teams, the NPL is a nationwide team competition for Champions Division age-50-and-over professional players. Team owners will build their teams through a live player draft that will include the division’s biggest stars in the first quarter of 2023. The league’s regular season begins in June.

[

[

HIGHER HOUSE PAYMENTS IN SWFL

By Justin Paprocki

The difference of a year is having a major impact on how much Americans are paying for a mortgage.

The combination of rising interest rates and increasing home prices has made affording a new mortgage difficult, and the issue is particularly troublesome here in Florida, according to a study by Construction Coverage.

A monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home in Florida was $1,136 in 2021. In 2022, it was $2,053—that’s up about 80% year-over-year. The study cites Naples as having a 94% increase in monthly mortgage payments—the highest percentage increase in the country.

It’s affecting all Americans, just less so across the country. The average jump in a monthly mortgage payment nationwide is 66%.

A WOODRUFF REWORKING

ELEVATED DESIGN IN A CLINIC’S EXPANSION

By Aisling Swift

When The Woodruff Institute’s partners purchased a former office space for its new flagship Naples location, they wanted a comforting, high-end spa feel for their dermatology and skin care clients.

Working with Coffman Design Group and PBS Contractors, the doctors achieved that—the nearly 10,000-square-foot space at 1333 Third St. S. in the Bayfront Professional Building won the CBIA’s 2022 Sand Dollar Award for Best Healthcare Facility in the $1 million to $3 million range. Now Coffman and PBS are designing a 2,500-square-foot expansion, two suites the doctors had planned to rent out, but will use to expand the call center and exam rooms.

Doctors Jonathan Sonne, Kathryn Russell and Rebecca Lambert, as JKR Bayfront LLC, purchased the second floor of the Bayfront Office Center in December 2019 for $3.9 million and hired interior designer Jerry Coffman to redesign the 42-office administrative center. PBS, which had extensive clinical experience, started the $2 million construction project by gutting it.

“We had a blank template to work with,” says Andy Reed, PBS’s relationship manager for the project. “The space exceeds high-end, high-volume clinical practices. It’s reflective of their patients, the community and what’s expected from a top-tier provider.

“Our strength, especially during COVID, was negotiating good prices with trade partners and giving guidance on the pricing structure,” he adds, noting that many suppliers weren’t local and some were overseas, making them more susceptible to supply-chain constraints.

The practice specializes in medical and cosmetic dermatology, Mohs surgery, laser treatments, body contouring, skin services and spa services. The

Erik Kellar

COMFORTING DESIGN

Andy Reed, PBS relationship manager on The Woodruff Institute project, says the space is reflective of the patients, the community and what’s expected from a top-tier provider.

doctors wanted a grand entrance, as well as retail areas for skin care products, hats and clothing.

“They wanted to highlight the products they have and make them easily accessible for patients to peruse without being exposed to patients entering and leaving,” Reed says, noting that patient privacy was important, and patients can leave after a procedure without going through the waiting room.

The partners also wanted a high level of comfort, high-quality finishes and fixtures and easy access, especially for patients with mobility issues or who aren’t fully healed.

The main reception area features 18 large translucent ceiling lighting panels, four chandeliers and 10 wood beams, a refreshment station and retail space. Seating provides pops of denim blue interspersed with calming grays on the walls, car-

COLOR OF DESIGN

Pops of denim blue, calming grays and warm wood tones are interspersed throughout the space, as well as touches of red, reflective of the company’s logo.

peting and wide-plank floors. Warm wood tones abound.

“We wanted a soothing, spa-like atmosphere to ease patients’ concerns,” says designer Jerry Coffman. “They’d also just reworked their logo and we wanted to work with that.”

As a result, touches of red appear in ceiling baffles, dividers, chairs and shelving.

Lab rooms, where chemicals are used, feature non-slip Sika flooring.

Exam rooms were strategically placed to treat up to 228 patients daily. An aesthetician station, where demonstrations and products can be tested during private sessions, is at the center of 14 exam rooms and is highlighted by a mosaic mural and a copper and silver chandelier.

Grays and pastels were used to create a modern coastal look that was cozy and homey, said Kevin Macatangay, Coffman’s project manager, who ordered the many unusual, contemporary lighting fixtures from Lighting

First in Bonita Springs.

“I wanted something different, decorative and functional,” he says, adding he used LED strips to highlight products on shelves and avoided traditional office lighting throughout.

There are 96 ceiling panels in the triage-administrative spaces, while the main conference room ceiling features 69 wooden slats and 22 leafshaped lighting fixtures arranged like a honeycomb. Fort Myers photographer Jesi Cason’s black-and-white photos of happy faces line a hallway.

Linear wood beams on ceilings are a motif throughout. Armstrong beams

and acoustic baffles absorb noise, as does carpeting, which was crucial in a call center for Woodruff’s four locations. Its large windows provide lots of light, while above, red-and-white acoustic baffles mirror red desk dividers. The area also features four large management offices with floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows.

The designers took the break room ideas a step higher, creating a beautiful cafe and a full-service kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances, including two refrigerators, two microwaves and a Miele espresso machine. Red

MODERN COASTAL

Kevin Macatangay and Jerry Coffman, of Coffman Design Group, led the redesign of the nearly 10,000-square-foot space at 1333 Third St. S. in the Bayfront Professional Building in Naples.

accents, metallic pendant lights and chandeliers increase the wow factor.

“It started to look more like a restaurant, so I rolled with that idea,” Macatangay says of the bar-height seating, tables, benches and chairs. “We wanted two of each appliance so no one was kept waiting.”

Woodruff’s Practice Administrator Rachel Coughlin says it was a long process. “We had a wish list, there were several designs and we narrowed it down to this one,” she explains. “The employees love it.”

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REMADE IN SW FLORIDA

TWO FACED LEATHER GIVES LUXURY GOODS SECOND LIVES

By Justin Paprocki

Two Faced Leather is “bougie on a budget,” says Brian Hilla with a laugh.

Hilla takes used luxury goods and gives them a second life. He’ll take a designer duffel bag and make it into a fanny pack, or turn a purse into baby shoes. “It’s taking something that would be in a landfill and deconstructing it,” he says.

He spent his career working for designer handbag companies, specializing in repairs. But right after COVID-19 hit, he and his husband decided to finally make the move to Florida that they had long fantasized about. They were in their dream locale; Hilla just needed to figure out what to do with himself.

He had once reconstituted an old Louis Vuitton bag for a friend’s wife back in his native New Jersey, restyling it with new zippers, pockets and a new strap. It went from something that wasn’t getting much use anymore into one of her favorite accessories. “It was a great feeling; I was able to take a sentimental piece and make it into something new,” Hilla says.

Brian Tietz

BOUGIE ON A BUDGET

Brian Hilla, owner of Two Faced Leather, gives used luxury goods a second life. He’ll take a designer duffel bag and make it into a fanny pack, or turn a purse into baby shoes.

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MAKING THE MOVE

Brian Hilla spent his career working for designer handbag companies, specializing in repairs. Once COVID-19 hit, he and his husband decided to finally make the move to Florida.

A SECOND LIFE

Brian Hilla buys luxury goods and repurposes them into something new, reusing as much as possible, even zippers, so nothing goes to waste.

For Two Faced Leather, he started by going to auctions and buying up pieces of luggage for leather he could use in new products. He’d cut and stitch in his home workshop. He’s careful to reuse as much as possible, even zippers, so nothing goes to waste. (And for legal purposes, he makes it clear in his branding that he’s not affiliated with the original manufacturers.)

Hilla started selling online, but had a hard time finding traction. Then he came across Franklin Shops in downtown Fort Myers, a quirky emporium that features a variety of vendors. He got space inside, and he’s had steady demand ever since. The price tag is typically far less than what the products originally sold for. Hence, “bougie on a budget.” twofacedleather.com

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SMALL BUSINESS ESSENTIALS

RUBY CAMPOS ON NETWORKING AND THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA

By Artis Henderson

May is Small Business Month, and Ruby Campos understands the power of small businesses in Southwest Florida. In fact, since launching her vegan skincare line Cleansing Essentials in Bonita Springs in 2018, she’s benefited from an upsurge of local support for small businesses, especially during the pandemic.

“People were stuck at home during the lockdown, and they were on social media a lot,” Campos says. “That’s when my business really grew, and I heard the same thing from other small businesses that did really well during the shutdown. People were very supportive of small businesses online. It wasn’t just Amazon.”

Most entrepreneurs agree that launching a business isn’t easy, and small businesses in particular face a daunting set of challenges. But Campos has made those challenges work for her. Her line of all-natural skincare focuses on soaps, body butters, scrubs and oils that she hand-

POWER OF SMALL BUSINESSES

Since launching her vegan skincare line in Bonita Springs in 2018, Ruby Campos benefited from an upsurge of local support for small businesses.

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crafts in small batches in Bonita Springs. Over the last five years, she’s developed a loyal following of clients and has become a champion networker within the small business community. She regularly connects with other entrepreneurs across Southwest Florida, and seeks out women-owned small businesses in particular. “We share our connections and help each other out,” Campos says. “You never know who they know.”

One way that Campos brings small, women-owned businesses together is by hosting pop-up events at her brick-and-mortar shop in Bonita. “I have a small store, but we’re still able to put great events together,” she says.

LOYAL FOLLOWING

Ruby Campos’ all-natural skincare focuses on soaps, body butters, scrubs and oils that she handcrafts in small batches. Over the past five years, she’s developed devout clients and has become a champion networker.

“We Make It Our Business to Suppor t Women in Business. ”

Like Thomas Edison, we believe there is always “a better way.” Supporting women in the banking profession is one way we’ve followed this advice from the beginning. With bank founder and president Robbie Roepstorff at the helm, we began Edison National Bank/Bank of the Islands with many strong businesswomen on board in 1997, and we have continued to value and support our female banking staff ever since. Most importantly, we’re proud to say many of our customers are strong female business owners and professionals in the Southwest Florida community!

Edison National Bank/Bank of the Islands customers enjoy:

•free online and mobile banking

•no-fee access to their account funds at any Publix® Presto! ATM

•free bill pay services for personal account holders

•courier and cash management services for business clients

•streamlined processing for all loans including commercial and residential mortgage loans

The other key element of her success has been using social media astutely, though she admits a learning curve in terms of what’s effective online. “It can be hit or miss,” she says. “Sometimes a video does really well, but a similar video posted a few days later doesn’t get anything.” It’s frustrating, she acknowledges, but she understands that there’s no exact formula. “If I knew the perfect answer, I’d give it to you.”

When it comes to social media, Campos said, the key is showing up. “Don’t get discouraged. Sometimes you post every day, you don’t see any traffic, and then one day you post a video and you get a lot of traffic.” It’s partly luck, but mostly it’s consistency. More than anything, it’s important for entrepreneurs to keep playing the social media game.

SOCIAL MEDIA GAME

Part of the business’ success has been using social media consistently. Ruby Campos says it is important for entrepreneurs not to get discouraged and continue to make those social posts.

HOT TIP: IS SOCIAL MEDIA NECESSARY?

“Absolutely,” Campos says. “When you launch a business, you have friends and family who spread the word, but let’s be honest. How much can they help you? Yet if you post a video that gets 10,000 views—mostly from strangers—and those views drive traffic to your website, that helps a lot. For me and a lot of other small businesses like me, it’s crucial.”

BUSINESS MENTORS MATTER

BUILDING AND STRENGTHENING RELATIONSHIPS WITH A NEW GENERATION

By Christopher Westley

Scanning a newspaper recently, I came across a positive business story. It was about a recent Edelman Trust survey on global perceptions of institutions, which found businesses are the only institutions in society seen as being competent and ethical. On a scale of one to 100, business now holds a 53-point lead over government in competence and is 30 points ahead on ethics.

One concludes that in the age-old friction between state power and market power, or the public and private sectors, the market side is winning in the arena of public opinion.

Why? The reasons are complex, but they have a lot to do with the

quality of relationships in business compared to other institutions. Business firms have incentives to cultivate good relationships with customers, employees, suppliers and investors. When they suffer, the level of trust undergirding any market transaction diminishes, along with the business’s bottom line and ability to meet payrolls and invest in the future. Consumers also have strong incentives to maintain good relationships with those who provide what they need to have full and happy lives.

Outside the market, these relationships are weaker. Good people are working at the Department of Mo-

tor Vehicles, but I have never felt as welcomed there as I do at Publix. Or consider the U.S. Postal Service—people who don’t rely on it may consider it simply a government program that delivers physical spam to our houses six days a week. Our relationships with the DMV and post office do not lead to improving outcomes.

Mentorships are relationships, too. To encourage them, the Florida Gulf Coast University Lutgert College of Business launched a new mentorship program to help ease our students’ transition into full, productive careers. Now in its second semester, the program has already fostered more than 50 student-mentor relation-

ships. Given the needs of our students and the wealth of talent in our region, there’s no reason we can’t reach 200 students within a few years.

There are reasons for my optimism. We live in Southwest Florida with an abundance of highly skilled business people, many of whom I hear from weekly, asking how they can help and be part of our college’s mission. Aside from the retired professionals, CEOs and other leaders moving here every month, we are blessed with many extremely accomplished people in mid-career, living out vocations, many of which did not even exist in Southwest Florida 20 years ago.

Our mentorship program creates a new layer of relationships in the region, letting our students tap into this

vast resource of human capital. Gulfshore Business readers can support this program by volunteering as mentors and encouraging the business students they know toward mentorships. Our mentors often volunteer because they had mentors and want to pay them back to a new generation.

Our recent mentees are a gritty bunch, having pushed through a pandemic and then a major hurricane while keeping their eyes not just on their degrees but also on the opportunities those degrees make possible. If the economy of the 2020s and 2030s requires smarts and resilience, then the disruptions of the past few years have served as an unintended master class simply by studying business in Southwest

Florida. To the extent that their mentor relationships help ease the transition to meaningful, productive careers, their mentors will help influence our region and state for years to come.

Business is about risk and reward, relationships and service, and mentorship programs are about establishing intentional and strategic connections between our students and the productive class. To paraphrase Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, the Lutgert College of Business’ new mentorship program is fomenting some beautiful ones.

PAYING BACK

Florida Gulf Coast University launched a mentorship program that creates a new layer of relationships, letting its students tap into a vast resource of human capital.

Christopher Westley, Ph.D., is dean of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Lutgert College of Business.

A STORY

Materials

OF SAND

REPAIRING DAMAGE TO SWFL BEACHES

BY DAVID DORSEY

Less than a year after governments in Lee and Collier counties spent millions on restoring their beaches from the effects of erosion, they’re going to have to do it again. Hurricane Ian devastated the Southwest Florida coastline Sept. 28. Like a child trashing a sand castle, the hurricane laid waste to ongoing beach restoration efforts. That means thousands of truckloads of sand will be hauled to the coast and poured up and down beachfronts throughout the rest of this year and beyond.

A secondary project, renourishing Estero Island’s beaches, was ordered before Hurricane Ian’s impact and is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of this year at an estimated cost of $23 million. On Fort Myers Beach, though, the first order of business will be building an emergency berm, elevating the north-south island’s beach by about six feet.

“We’re replacing 90,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach,” says Chadd Chustz, the environmental project manager for the Town of Fort Myers Beach. An estimated 220,000 cubic yards of sand was lost, he said. “It’s from Margaritaville Resort’s construction site all the way down to the south end. The purpose of that is to provide protection to properties from a five-year storm.”

Hurricane Eta was the “five-year” storm used to model the beach erosion in preparation for future storms. Eta didn’t even make landfall in Southwest Florida, but its Category 1 level winds offshore stirred up and swallowed enough sand in November 2020 to devastate the area’s beaches.

LOADING SAND Stewart Materials is supplying sand from Immokalee this year to both Fort Myers Beach and Collier County. Owner Nick Stewart's mine has been operating there for 19 years.

An estimated 6,000 dump truck loads of sand will be rumbling to various points across the beach over the next few months, at a cost of about $7.5 million.

“The entire beach lost elevation,” Chustz says. “A lot of it washed onto Estero Island and into the canals and the back bay to some extent. Just looking at the beach, you can tell there are areas where we lost two, three, four feet vertically of sand.”

The berm also would benefit the endangered sea turtles, “and hopefully prevent them from crawling out to Estero Boulevard for nesting season,” Chustz says.

The ongoing project will bring in the sand from a mine in Immokalee, said Gary Grubbs, the project manager and owner of the Tampa-based Grubbs Emergency Services.

“We’re using local people and local contractors to help us assist,” Grubbs says. “We’ll get this thing back quickly. Building back beaches is my specialty. I’ve got loaders, I’ve got cranes, you name it. We can bring in whatever we need. My primary goal is to tap into local resources before we bring in outside stuff. I’m just distributing sand. We’ll start on the Gulf side in the middle. We’ll work our way north and south.”

One cause of confusion might be the berm’s height of six feet. There most certainly will not be a visible six-foot wall of sand, Grubbs said. That’s now how it looks.

“If you’re sitting on your back porch, you’re not going to see a six-foot berm,” Grubbs says. “It might be two or three feet. You’ll still be able to sit on your

back porch and look at the ocean.”

About 45 miles due east of Fort Myers Beach, heavy equipment digs and processes tons of sand in Immokalee, while loaders fill dump trucks with it. Since 2004, about 600 acres of land there has been the heart of a sand mine owned by Stewart Materials. It is supplying sand this year to both Fort Myers Beach and Collier County.

“It’s coarser than normal sands are in Florida,” says Nick Stewart, owner and founder of the company. “Supposedly, the geologists claim that during the Pleistocene era, when the glaciers melted, it pushed the original Florida peninsula south. The coarser material is basically within four or five miles of Highway 27, as you go up the state. We happen to be on what I feel is the very southern tip of that formation. That’s why we ended up being in Immokalee.”

Stewart Materials supplies most of the sand to southwest and southeast Florida, Stewart said, as well as to the state Department of Transportation for infrastructure improvements, such as bridges and concrete projects, and to golf courses.

“We compete with the offshore dredging,” Stewart says. “Their business, the state and the counties will go offshore. They do drilling activities to try and find a sand source offshore. The dredging companies then offer the sand to the beaches.”

Whatever gets dredged gets placed on a beach, Stewart said. But from

the sand mine, all of the material gets processed, and only the best part gets taken to the beach.

“We try to maintain a minimum of a 20-year supply in front of us,” Stewart says. “We’re currently adding some reserves. We’re also building another sand mine that will be able to serve the west coast. We have probably a 30-year supply with the new mine.

“Most people think we just go and dig it out of the ground and haul it to the beach. But this material is processed. It’s put to a spec gradation. We’re actually matching the gradation as requested—and we have for years—from Collier County as to what the original beach was. We’re putting back in the lifetime sand as it originally was on the beach. There’s much more to it than what people realize.”

In Collier County, the Hurricane Ian-caused beach devastation could have been worse if an emergency berm hadn’t already been built there, said Paul Beirnes, Collier’s executive director of tourism. The county devotes 42% of all tourist taxes to coastal zoning, which includes restoring beaches.

“We are the single largest contributor [compared to] any other county when it comes to our beaches,” he says.

In Lee County, 26.4% of tourist development taxes go toward restoring beaches and shoreline improvements.

“Hurricane Ian certainly impacted the entire coast and did a lot of erosion to the coastal berm, which goes along the entire coastline,” Beirnes

BUILDING BACK Gary Grubbs, owner of Grubbs Emergency Services, said the ongoing project will be bringing in sand from a mine in Immokalee. "We're using local people and local contractors to help us assist," he says. "Building back beaches is my specialty."

Lee County Beach Projects

In Lee County, there have been three beach restoration projects over the past five years. Here’s a look at where they happened, who facilitated them and how much they cost.

Gasparilla Shore Protection Project

Construction: U.S. Army Corps

Dimensions: 141,972 cubic yards of sand

Cost: $3.7 million, all from federal funds

Source: Sand dredged from offshore

Gasparilla State Park

Construction: U.S. Army Corps

Dimensions: 139,666 cubic yards of sand

Cost: $2.8 million, funded by the state

Source: Sand dredged from offshore

Lynn Hall Park, Fort Myers Beach

Construction: Lee County

Dimensions: 5,700 tons of sand

Cost: $175,000, funded by Lee County tourist development taxes

Source: Sand trucked from Ortona in Glades County

THE COASTAL BERM Collier County devotes 42% of all tourist taxes to coastal zoning, which includes beach restoration. In Lee County, 26.4% of tourist development taxes go toward restoring beaches and shoreline improvements.

says. “It would have been even worse had we not had such a robust berm. There was a request for funding to be able to very quickly rebuild that berm.”

That project cost just under $25 million and spanned from the now wrecked Naples Pier north to Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park.

“That’s really critical to ensure that, forbid another storm comes this next year, that we protect our beaches,” Beirnes says.

Another project is slated for Tigertail Beach on Marco Island.

“It’s an important one—not only for navigational purposes for boats, but anybody who’s been down there knows it’s a fragile area with nesting birds,” Beirnes says. “And it’s where dolphins and sea life come in. None of that takes into account what I call beautification, which is the typical beach renourishment. I’m a beachgoer. It’s a different beach than it was the second weekend of September 2022. We know how pristine that coastline was. That requires some beautification.

“But there are priorities. The berm is No. 1. Tigertail Beach is No. 2. Then attention will turn to the beautification of the beach. It’s definitely on the to-do list, but we can’t do it all at once; it would certainly hamper the budget.”

Collier County invests—and will continue to do so—in its beaches, because they are the county’s top tourist attraction, Beirnes said.

“We’re in a very good position to respond very fast to that berm, well before the start of the next hurricane season,” he says. “We’ll bring it back up to the level we all know and love. We do know that beaches are the No. 1 thing people come to this destination to enjoy.”

FIRST RESORT

ROOTED IN PARADISE RETREAT

FIRST RESORT

BY TIM ATEN

ROOTS OF MODERN-DAY

The local economy has always featured a tourism component, drawing visitors to the area’s natural beauty and remote existence between the bountiful Gulf of Mexico and the Everglades swamps. The destination’s earliest businesses—a hotel, real estate office, retail stores and fishing guides—are still as important in today’s economy as they were 100 years ago, as Collier County and Naples celebrate their first century of incorporation this year.

Basically, Naples’ pristine location along the beach created a quiet winter resort spot for wealthy families from some of the nation’s coldest northern states. The steamship Fearless ferried them to the Naples Pier, which connected the Gulf to the area’s original tourist accommodations: the Naples Hotel, off Third Street between Broad Avenue and 13th Avenue South.

“In the early years, it was really seasonal,” says John Telischak, education manager for Naples Historical Society. “It did start out as a resort—a hotel, ini-

tially—and people came here for various reasons. They came here for their health, because the climate was supposed to be good for certain ailments. A lot of places in the United States in the late 19th century, if you were wealthy and you could afford to, you’d go to certain places for respite if you had a certain ailment.”

Guest stationery at the former hotel promoted the healthy climate of Naples on the Gulf, "a beautiful little city on the west coast of Florida,” continuing: “It is in the healthiest part of the healthiest county (Lee) in the United States. Entire freedom from malaria, climate perfect, rain but one day a month during the winter,

THE

NAPLES BEGAN AS A RESORT DESTINATION, A PRECEDENT THAT FORMS THE BASIS OF THE REGION’S LIFEBLOOD EVEN 100 YEARS LATER.

EARLY DOWNTOWN Built in 1919, the Mercantile Building near the original Naples Hotel (inset) was initially home to the Seminole Market. It is now Campiello Ristorante on Third Avenue South in Naples.

GATEWAY TO NAPLES First built in 1888, the iconic Naples Pier has been rebuilt many times over the years after being destroyed by a fire and a few hurricanes.

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the finest surf bathing on a beautiful beach absolutely free of undertow, and the best hunting and fishing in Florida right on the spot.”

Although the area had long been inhabited by indigenous tribes and later in the 1870s by its first white homesteaders, it wasn’t until the late 1880s that Naples was created.

The city did not exactly come about by chance. In the mid-1880s, two Kentuckians, Walter N. Haldeman and Sen. John S. Williams, sailed along the Gulf in search of the perfect spot for a winter home and a utopian place to create a town—and what eventually would be a real estate boom after the railroad reached the area in the late 1920s.

The personal beachside homes built by Haldeman, the editor of the Louisville newspaper, and Williams, a former Confederate general and U.S. senator, were the original frame houses in what would become Naples, named because of its comparison to Naples, Italy. They created the Naples Town Improvement Company, later shortened to the Naples Company, which built the pier and the hotel and plotted streets and lots.

The wooden pier, first built in 1888, became the iconic link from the land to the Gulf and served as a dock for unloading supplies and people. The pier was the gateway to Naples then and led to the area’s first hotel. It also was the site of the area’s post office until a fire

destroyed it in 1922, a year before the town of Naples was incorporated.

As it has been many times since then, the pier was rebuilt in 1924 and lengthened from 600 feet to 1,000 feet. This addition pleased fishermen, who could reel in sports fish from a depth that otherwise would require a boat.

Built in 1889, the Naples Hotel was the center of it all, and was the only ho-

tel until the 1930s. Of course, Paradise Coast wasn’t widely promoted then as it is now. Word about the sunny retreat on the Gulf was mostly spread by wealthy friends and an occasional newspaper article. It didn’t take long for many folks to buy a seasonal slice of paradise sight unseen.

Rose Cleveland, the sister of President Grover Cleveland and First Lady during her brother’s first term, was the first guest to register at the Naples Hotel when it opened on Jan. 22, 1889. The southernmost hotel on Florida’s mainland was proclaimed to be the

COLLIER

“Grandest Winter Resort in America,” notes The Founding of Naples, written by Ron

Jamro and Gerald L. Lanterman.

“Enchanted, wide-eyed travelers picking their way around packing crates and piles of unused planks on the just-completed pier, instantly lost their hearts to Naples and its simple diversions—sport fishing, boating, surf bathing and snoozing on the hotel’s shady porch,” the authors note. “Fanned by gentle breezes, beachcombers delighted in gathering pretty shells and wandered for miles over a glinting white shoreline as powdery as sugar, yet ‘so smooth and firm that a buggy scarcely makes a track.’ For the more adventurous, bored by surf and sand, there were added thrills hunting for bear and panther in the pine forests nearby.”

The area’s breathtaking, subtropical scenery always was the initial attraction, of course. “People also came here too because it was warm,” Telischak says. “Fishing and hunting were a huge draw. People would go to the beach and walk on it and look for shells.”

Outside of tremendous growth in the population and development in the last century, especially the last decades, not much has changed. People still come to get away, have fun and relax.

“That’s one of those things that make this area a wonderful place to live,” Telischak says. “We still have people that come here because it’s a beautiful place, and they come here to enjoy the beaches and

May 8, 1923

Collier County was created when Florida

Gov. Cary A. Hardee signed a Senate bill to officially create Florida’s 62nd county, named for pioneering businessman Barron Gift Collier

July 7, 1923

Collier County’s new Board of Commissioners held its first meeting at the Rod & Gun Club in Everglades City

Dec. 1, 1923

Town of Naples was incorporated

Courtesy of the Collier County Museum

MILESTONES

Jan. 7, 1927

The Orange Blossom Special, the flagship locomotive of Seaboard Air Line Railway, was the first passenger train to arrive in Naples

April 26, 1928

Tamiami Trail officially opened to traffic in Everglades City, completing the first paved highway between Tampa and Miami

April 24, 1938

The ferry boat to Marco Island was replaced by a bridge and highway across Marco Pass

Dec. 23, 1943

The U.S. Army activated a military base at Naples Army Air Field to train pilots for aerial combat during World War II

March 20, 1944

A 5,600-acre tract on Tamiami Trail East was deeded to the state for preservation as Collier-Seminole State Park

Dec. 6, 1947

President Harry S Truman dedicated Everglades National Park in Everglades City

Feb. 15, 1949

The Bank of Naples, the town’s first bank, opened on Fifth Avenue South

May 25, 1949

Florida Legislature approved the Naples charter, changing it from a town to a city

Feb. 22, 1936

Cory Osceola and other Seminole and Miccosukee Indian leaders met with Florida Gov. David Sholtz near Monroe Station to exchange messages of peace and friendship

June 13, 1949

Town of Naples charter was abolished, and the City of Naples was created as a municipal corporation

BUSINESS HUB Third Street South was the first main street in Naples and was home to its first grocery store and movie theater before Fifth Avenue South became the center of the downtown district.

Courtesy of the Collier County Museum

they come here to go fishing. It’s got a charm to it.”

Paul Beirnes, executive director of Naples, Marco Island & Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau at Florida's Paradise Coast, is a history lover who made it a point to know as much as he could about Collier County’s colorful past when he relocated to Naples in 2020 after 30-some years in Orlando.

“I just was new to the destination, but in reading about the vast difference from then to now, they were talking about how there were really only two ways to get down to Naples from Fort Myers. One was on a very rickety road that would take pretty much the whole day through a horse and buggy, or a steamship that was four hours down to the pier. Yet, certainly, the trek was treacherous on the Gulf depending on the weather,” Beirnes says. “But, basically, it was just a dot on the map, and they had a pool that was dug into the ground behind the hotel. The pier itself had almost like railroad ties that went all the way from the end of the pier right to the hotel.”

Beirnes notes how fast the destination has grown when one considers that they used to ring a bell every evening just before the generator would turn off power to the hotel, signaling it was bedtime. The hotel, of course, was the business hub then

and the center of everything.

“It's quirky, it's fun, and yet it's really endearing to know that it wasn't that long ago,” he says. “It’s fascinating to connect the history that we drive past almost every single day.”

Although 100 years is a long time, at the same time, it doesn't feel that long ago, Beirnes said.

“You have to really admire someone who saw the rawness of what was this region and realize just what it could be," he says. “I don't think they ever had the vision of what it has become, but certainly they had the unfiltered appreciation of what paradise could be. That's for sure.”

Florida developer Ed Crayton bought Haldeman’s holdings in 1914 and further developed the town, while businessman and county namesake Barron Gift Collier spurred wider development in the region and bankrolled the completion of the Tamiami Trail, connecting Naples to

FIRST RESORT

Tampa and Miami.

“By the 1920s you had a growing yearround population here, but it wasn’t that big,” Telischak says.

Third Street South was the main street then. The two-story Naples Mercantile building, built in 1919 near the hotel, housed Naples’ first store, the Seminole Market, where Campiello Ristorante & Bar is today on Third Street.

“The storefront wasn’t flat like it is now. You could actually kind of drive underneath it. When I was a kid, it was kind of a portico,” says Jean Walker Humphries, whose family moved from Marco Island to Naples in 1921, when the population was only 125, and developed the luxurious Aqualane Shores neighborhood of Naples. Her uncle, the late James Lorenzo Walker, was a lifetime local resident, a Collier County commissioner, a state representative and the namesake for Lorenzo Walker Technical College in East Naples.

The Olde Naples Building, across the street at Broad Avenue and Third Street, was built in 1921 and was Naples’ first town hall and courthouse. It’s also remembered as the town’s first church, doctor's office, pharmacy, movie theater, playhouse, library and real estate office.

Now a rustic shopping and tourist destination, Tin City’s legacy began in the 1920s when commercial fishing pioneers built docks and tin-roofed buildings along the Gordon River, to service fishing fleets and operate a clam and oyster processing plant.

SIMPLER TIMES Historic Palm Cottage, Naples' oldest home, was built in 1895 a block east of the Naples Pier; an early movie theater (left) on Third Street South is pictured in the early 1970s.

NAPLES ON THE GULF Founded along Florida's subtropical coast on the Gulf of Mexico, the natural beauty of Naples has attracted seasonal visitors for more than a century.

of Naples Marco Island Everglades

Courtesy

FIRST RESORT

The nearby Naples Depot was established in 1928 just across Tamiami Trail.

The main street in town eventually became Fifth Avenue South, which created Four Corners where it met the Tamiami Trail. “The first traffic light we got in Naples was on the corner of Third and Fifth, but then after a while that actually got taken down. And then, the first one that stayed was the one on Four Corners, and then Third and then the one that would be on Eighth,” Humphries says.

Texaco and Standard Oil operated gas stations at Four Corners. The Rexall drug store was where Caffe Milano is today on the corner of Eighth Street South and Fifth Avenue South. The Bank of Naples was where Starbucks is today on Fifth, while the Wynn family had Sunshine Super Market, the predecessor of Wynn’s Market, where Yabba’s Island Grill is today.

Humphries eventually had a clothing store, Dor-Len shop, where Aqua restaurant is today on Fifth. But it was the second-oldest clothing store in town. The oldest was Dyke’s, across the street.

Naples didn’t extend very far north at that point. “When I was a kid, we used to camp out with the Girl Scouts on the property where the [downtown] Naples hospital is now. That was the woods,” Humphries says.

“My grandpa used to tell me all the time that someday we would be all connected between Fort Myers and Naples, and everybody thought he was nuts, of course,” she says. “But it happened.”

WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2023

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN TIETZ

WOMEN BUSINESS

WHETHER THROUGH PROFESSIONAL DESIRE, PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OR SOME COMBINATION OF BOTH, THE 2023 GULFSHORE BUSINESS WOMEN IN BUSINESS HAVE ALL FORGED THEIR OWN CAREER PATH. WHILE EACH OF THOSE PATHS HAS BEEN UNIQUE, THEIR PASSION AND PERSEVERANCE HAVE LED THEM ALL TO PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS.

IN ADDITION TO THEIR PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS, ALL OF THESE WOMEN HAVE ALSO DEMONSTRATED THEIR PASSION FOR GIVING BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITY. AND AS YOU READ THE STORIES OF THESE 10 WOMEN, WE HOPE YOU’LL BE EQUALLY PASSIONATE IN PURSUING YOUR OWN PATH TOWARD SUCCESS.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

MICHELLE AVO LA-BROWN Naples Pathways Coalition Executive Director

Working as the executive director of Naples Pathways Coalition, Michelle Avola-Brown advocates for safer roads; educates motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and law enforcement; and works with local officials to improve Collier County's infrastructure. As the organization’s only paid staff member, she also manages event planning, fundraising, community service, grant writing, marketing, public speaking and social media, all while working to establish a local trail system.

“My goal is to see the completion of the Paradise Coast Trail, which will be a 70mile paved trail that is separated from the road connecting Naples to Bonita Springs, Collier-Seminole State Park, Ave Maria and other destinations within and beyond Collier County,” she says. “I was hit by a car while biking, and it happens far too often here, often with deadly results. This trail will save lives and finally bring Naples what it’s been missing!”

In addition to her advocacy work, Avola-Brown also led a community-wide bicycle drive to help residents in East Naples who lost nearly everything in Hurricane Ian, including their means of transportation. The effort provided 250 bicycles to affected residents. But more importantly, it restored their ability to get to work, go grocery shopping or make other needed trips.

MISSY LAMONT Naples

Children & Education Foundation Healthcare Director

As the health care director for the Naples Children & Education Foundation, Missy Lamont serves as a resource for each NCEF Healthcare Initiative partner, including vision, oral health and mental health. Given the ever-changing landscape of health care services, Lamont also works constantly to gain new understandings of the partnering organizations and the programs that fit within the initiatives, while also seeking ways to increase efficiencies and leverage existing resources.

“It is an honor for me to work with the NCEF’s Healthcare Initiative partners through a unique approach that emphasizes collaboration between organizations,” she says. “I love that I am helping to bring people together to facilitate the discussions on innovative, strategic and deliberate ways to access high-quality and comprehensive health services.”

During her nonprofit career, Lamont has remained passionate about giving back, helping others and volunteerism. She is a 2015 graduate of the Associate Leadership Collier Program and a 2019 graduate of the Leadership Collier Foundation, and is currently an active volunteer for the Youth Leadership Collier Program Committee. In 2019, Lamont earned a certificate in nonprofit strategies from the Harvard Business School which, she said, has fueled her drive to discover new ways to execute nonprofit strategy.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

NOEMI Y. PEREZ

The Immokalee Foundation President & CEO

As the president and CEO of The Immokalee Foundation, Noemi Perez works to support the student population and next-generation leaders of Immokalee. In fact, as one of nine children who grew up in Immokalee, she knows firsthand the challenges faced by the students she passionately supports. For that, Perez cites inspiration from her parents.

“My father’s advice to me was, ‘We all have something to learn from an experience, whether it was good or bad.’ My mother came to the U.S. to find a better life and worked hard to make sure that I never lacked anything throughout my childhood,” she says. “I witnessed how she had to take over our household when my father's accident left him bedridden. She is the reason I became who I am today; strong and determined.”

At The Immokalee Foundation, Perez implemented the organization's Career Pathways Program, an innovative approach to education designed to prepare students for well-paying, in-demand professional careers in business management and entrepreneurship; education and human services; engineering and construction management; and health care. She has also spearheaded the building of an 18-home subdivision in Immokalee to serve as a hands-on professional career experience for Foundation students.

REBEKAH BARNEY Alzada Company Owner & President

Rebekah Barney is the founder, owner and president of the Alzada Company, a Southwest Florida-based real estate development company. While she’s one of the few women working in real estate development, she says her larger focus is on simply developing relationships to give back to the community.

“In my profession, I get to create and leave behind a tangible legacy, not just for my own children to be proud of, but for the enjoyment of many generations to come,” Barney says. “For me, true success can’t be quantified in dollars earned. I find fulfillment in time spent, in care given, in nurturing meaningful relationships, in living and working with integrity and passion and in cultivating and contributing to the community I love.”

Barney currently serves on the board of the Lee County Pace Center for Girls and on the Hope Hospice Shine committee. She is also co-chair of the 2022-23 SWFL American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign committee, and was recently named to the Hodges University Board of Trustees. In addition, as she was an award-winning college athlete and ballroom dancer, Barney continues to champion athletic, creative, educational and professional opportunities for women of all ages.

DEANNA WALLIN

Naples Soap Company

Founder & CEO

Deanna Wallin’s personal journey in dealing with psoriasis and eczema led her to launch Naples Soap Company in 2009 in a 300-square-foot location in Tin City in Naples. Though opening after a recession, Naples Soap Company is now a publicly traded $11 million skin care company with 10 locations in Florida and a product line that is available nationwide. But Wallin said there have still been some bumps along the way.

“Someone once told me, ‘As long as you’re breathing, you’ve got options.’ True statement, but it’s when times are tough that I am truly inspired to work harder, get more creative and give it everything I’ve got,” Wallin says. “Through more hurricanes than I can count, COVID and other knocks and bruises along the way, I made the decision to stay positive, stay strong and put my efforts toward brighter days ahead.”

For her efforts to grow and expand Naples Soap Company, Wallin has been recognized by numerous entrepreneurial, retail and business organizations. However, she said her greatest pleasure continues to be helping others, whether it’s finding a product to solve a problem for a customer or creating a fun, educational and inspiring work environment for her team members.

SAMIRA BECKWITH Hope Healthcare President & CEO

Over more than three decades as president and CEO of Hope Healthcare, Samira Beckwith has guided the not-for-profit through plenty of growth. Along the way, she also created an innovative model of service delivery that integrates hospice into a broader continuum of care that serves more than 3,000 Floridians daily and has been adopted by health care organizations nationwide.

“We strive to empower people to have choices, even during a time of adversity. We provide care to improve quality of life for people during serious illness, aging and times of loss and grief,” Beckwith says. “We are passionate about providing dignity, empathy and compassion to relieve suffering for people of all ages in the closing chapter of life. My goal is that Hope continues to grow so that no one ever has to be without comforting, compassionate care when it’s needed most.”

As a champion for palliative care, Beckwith has served as chair for both the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the National Hospice Foundation, and as vice chair of the National Partnership for Hospice Innovation. She is also the founding president of the Florida PACE Association and a founding director of the National Hospice Work Group.

JOYCE OWENS

Architecture Joyce Owens Founder & Principal Architect

Joyce Owens, FAIA, RIBA, founder and principal architect at Architecture Joyce Owens LLC | Studio AJO, said her firm is unique because it’s one of the few female-owned architectural practices in Southwest Florida and the only one offering full interior design services. And, while Owens is justifiably proud of being the first female architect ever awarded the Gold Medal of Honor by the Florida chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), she takes even more pride in designing every building specifically for Southwest Florida.

“I continually harp on about sustainability and resiliency and always look to the past to learn for the future. I think that’s a priority we should all take very seriously. We design our buildings to withstand hurricanes and we ensure they’re stronger and smarter,” she says. “Intuitively, we incorporate loads of daylight, use colors and patterns that blend with the local environment and materials that tolerate our harsh climate and salt air. I call myself a ‘Coastal Architect’ and stand behind that claim.”

Owens received the 2020 AIA Florida Medal of Honor for Design, and in 2018 was elected to the College of Fellows at the national level of the AIA, its highest membership honor.

SHERYL SOUKUP Soukup

Strategic Solutions President

Sheryl Soukup founded Soukup Strategic Solutions in 2012 to provide nonprofit organizations with expertise in fundraising and management. However, though she’s always considered herself an entrepreneur, her path to owning her own business was hardly traditional.

“I had been working in microbiological research when I got married. Our first child had a lot of medical difficulties right off the bat. As I was reaching out, trying to find help for my child, I started learning a lot about different types of services and I started getting involved in volunteering to help other families,” she says. “I decided that going back to work in microbiology wasn't what I really wanted to do—and my career just took a different path because of everything that I had learned from my daughter.”

Today, Soukup Strategic Solutions assists nonprofits in strategic planning, fundraising, grant writing, marketing and board development. In addition, she has acted in multiple nonprofit leadership roles, including serving on boards and committees at the local and statewide levels. Soukup also volunteers for causes close to her heart, including serving with the Collier County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, Collier County Public Schools, Collier Resource Center, Family Café and many more.

JULIE KOESTER

Veedor Holdings LLC

Co-founder

As the co-founder of Veedor Holdings, Julie Koester assists in the oversight and management of Dragon Horse Agency, a marketing firm, children’s book publisher Dragon Horse Publishing and lifestyle retailer Moxie Creed. But owning multiple companies was never part of her grand plan.

“I never intended to own an ad agency; I’d planned to become a private practice psychologist. A few key realignments in the universe placed me in situations that created major shifts in my thinking about what I had to offer, what problems I could solve and simultaneously, why solving those problems would matter,” she says. “Life experiences are unique and powerful. I like to think I've used my personal experiences to shape some positive results.”

In addition to her business interests, Koester was also the founding board chair of the Golisano Children's Museum of Naples, as well as a founding ambassador for the Blue Zones Project, which is dedicated to healthier communities and has now been widely adopted in Southwest Florida and across the country. In addition, Koester was recognized by the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce as a Women In Business finalist and by the Industry Era Women Leaders as a top global female professional.

SYLVIA DORISME

Zeal Technical Institute Founder

At age 14, Sylvia Dorisme migrated to the U.S. without her parents. She then became the first member of her family to earn a college degree, and added a master’s degree, too. At age 25, she established Zeal Technical Institute to provide education, training and certification in medical and technical areas to aid students in obtaining entry-level employment.

“I believe in hard work, but I also believe in working smart. My inspiration for being an entrepreneur is my family. When I migrated to the United States, my mission has always been to break down barriers and pave the way for my siblings, and my family in general. I am proud to say that I’m halfway there,” she says. “Being an entrepreneur is not easy, but I’m thankful every single day for the opportunity to change lives. I’m also very proud that I can create opportunities for women to excel.”

In addition to helping students earn valuable job skills and growing the local workforce, Dorisme also volunteers her time with several local nonprofits, including Dress for Success, Junior Achievement, Bonita Springs Elementary School, Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council, Millennium United Foundation, Kiwanis Young Professionals and more.

WHO’S WHO IN COMMERCIAL

CONRACTORS

PBS CONTRACTORS

Since 1986, PBS Contractors has been at the forefront of the area’s most iconic and significant commercial projects. The Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center, Champions for Learning, The Shelter for Abused Women & Children, Golden PAWS Assistance Dogs, Bonita Springs Poker Room, The Woodruff Institute, and most recently, the completion of PJK Neighborhood Chinese in downtown Naples, are among the most recognized.

They also happen to be comprised of 31% women.

As Naples’ only Concierge Builder®, PBS specializes in luxury custom homes and state-of-the-art commercial construction while providing exceptional service from concept through completion. PBS Contractors fosters lifelong relationships and delivers expectations above and beyond.

WALTBILLIG & HOOD

Waltbillig & Hood General Contractors, LLC is a full-service General Contracting and Construction Management firm based in Naples, FL. Waltbillig & Hood has earned a reputation as one of Southwest Florida’s leading and most trusted general contractors. The firm specializes in various types of healthcare and commercial construction projects ranging from medical offices and acute care hospitals to multi-family and senior living developments, storage facilities, automotive dealerships, retail, office, and industrial facilities.

The company’s strong reputation and consistent growth can be traced to groundwork laid in 2016 by its founders, Jay Waltbillig and Brian Hood. Veterans of the Florida construction industry, both shared the vision of creating a company that would excel beyond the highest levels of professionalism and integrity. Founded on the principles of Humility, Innovation, Leadership, and Trust, Waltbillig & Hood believes that serving the people around them will inspire and deliver the best results possible for everyone involved.

For over six decades, B&I has been Southwest Florida’s trusted partner for commercial and institutional mechanical, plumbing, and electrical construction and service. Equipped with the latest technology in the construction industry and state-of-the-art fabrication facilities, B&I delivers superior quality and value to our customers which include hospitals, schools, government buildings, and manufacturing facilities. B&I has been able to cultivate a strong customer base guided by its belief in relationships, not jobs. This principle supports B&I’s vision of “Building Systems to Empower the Future.” By nurturing long-term relationships and combining industry knowledge, strengths, and experience, B&I offers value that helps its customers as well as its employee-owners succeed.

(239) 332-4646

www.bandiflorida.com

Our services cover a wide range, including project planning and modeling, budget estimating, cost management, project scheduling, and construction.

As a leader in sustainability, we are dedicated to the communities we serve. We’re passionate about the work we do because the structures we build provide opportunities to learn, train, heal, grow, and lead.

(239) 204-2016

www.cppi.com

Charles Perry Partners, Inc. (CPPI) is a professional general contracting, design-build, and construction management firm proudly serving Florida since 1968.

As one of Florida’s largest contractors, with over 100 construction professionals in the Gulf Coast Region, KAST provides our clients unmatched service. Our focus on preconstruction, quality assurance and project delivery provides consistent, high-quality results for our clients. KAST is proud to contribute to the growth, vibrancy and resurgence in the Southwest Florida region

(813) 421-7373 www.kastbuild.com

CONSIDER ONE BROKER FOR ALL YOUR NEEDS AND POLICY CONSOLIDATION

When searching for an employee benefits broker, it’s essential to understand how your partnership can ensure a cohesive and solid employee benefits program.

Garrett Gardi, Senior Partner 239.284.1495

Janette L’Heureux, Partner 239.332.0247

Jake Bowman, Senior Advisor 239.324.0673

By David Dorsey

A RASH OF RAISED RATES

Why property insurance premiums are so high—and may soon stabilize

By David Dorsey

The high spiraling, inflated property insurance policy premiums in Southwest Florida were set into motion long before Hurricane Ian formed in September. Many months prior to Sept. 28, insurance market forces began churning, much like how warm waters fuel hurricanes, said Brian Chapman, the owner of Chapman Insurance Group.

“In the past, for every dollar you spent on insurance, about 25 cents went to what’s called reinsurance,” Chapman says, explaining that insurance companies carry insurance themselves in the event of a natural disaster striking. It’s the reinsurance, not the insurance, that pays for most of the damages. “That cost alone has just about doubled. Now, when you spend a dollar on insurance, 40 to 50 cents goes to reinsurance.”

The cost of reinsurance has been passed on to homeowners. The rising costs also have driven many insurance carriers out of business. And in addition, those costs have prevented new carriers from taking the risky plunge of doing business in Florida and other battered coastal regions.

Most homeowner policies have spiked by 40% to 50% above a year ago, insurance experts said. Business owners are seeing even larger increases, said Chase Mayhugh, an associate broker at May-

hugh Commercial Advisors, based in Fort Myers.

“It’s not in a good position to be right now,” Mayhugh says of owning commercial property. “It’s a perfect storm of events that have caused this. We’re seeing anywhere between 50% and 100% increases on premiums.”

Mayhugh said he has been cautioning investors against buying certain properties, an irony given that his livelihood depends on the commissions he receives from selling them.

“There’s a lot of things happening,” Mayhugh says. “We’re more of a conservative office. We do watch all of these things. I talk more clients out of buying properties than of buying assets, because we work with people for life. We are concerned.

“We might have a major credit crunch. These are things we are all keeping a close eye on. It is Fed induced. It’s not like in 2008—the Fed is trying to stop inflation. The problem is, it takes a while for the train to get running. It’s going to take a lot of time to slow it down, too.”

Chapman and fellow insurance company owner Brian Culbertson each said they saw signs that there could be an end in sight to rising homeowners insurance premiums—eventually.

“There has to be,” Culbertson says. “The cost of property insurance in Florida right now isn’t sus- Brian Tietz

Brian Chapman Chapman Insurance Group

RISING TIDES

Rising costs have driven many insurance carriers out of business, and prevented new carriers from doing business in Florida and other coastal regions.

tainable. Florida has been an infamously unfriendly insurance environment for decades, dating back to pre-Hurricane Andrew (in 1992), but certainly worsening since that point. And again after the influx of major hurricanes in 2004. There isn’t one thing to blame; it’s a perfect storm, if you will, of problems.”

The abundance of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance policies has almost doubled in the past two years.

“My agency had only a handful of our 10,000 homeowner policies with Citizens a year ago,” Culbertson says. “By the end of this month, more than 2,000 of our cus-

tomers will be insured by Citizens, because we have no other options. Two of our largest carriers were declared insolvent in recent months.”

Chapman said there was only one way for the prices to stabilize, if not go down.

“The way it gets better is to have new carriers come into the market with no trail of losses,” he says. “They’re coming, because the opportunity is here, because the cost of insurance keeps going up. But I would say there’s going to be six to eight new carriers in the next two to three years.”

It’s going to take some time, he said.

Brian Culbertson Culbertson Agency

“You can’t unwind five years in 12 months,” Chapman says of the market forces that created the current spike in premiums. “Competition is the No. 1 thing to bring pricing down.”

The commercial insurance increases have put some landlords into business binds, Mayhugh said.

“We talk about investment properties,” he says. “Your retail strip centers. Your industrial buildings. Gross and triple net leases. The tenant pays a set amount of rent every month. The landlord out of that amount pays all the operating expenses. In that case, when the premium goes up, the landlord takes the brunt, because they can’t pass that expense on to the tenants.”

Triple net leases favor the landlords, because the tenant is responsible for insurance, the rent and the upkeep of the property. With gross leases, the tenant only pays the rent, and the landlord takes care of the rest—including rising costs.

But because insurance costs continue to rise, landlords could be more inclined to grant gross leases … if that’s all they can get.

“In bad times, you see more gross leases,” Mayhugh said. “Because it’s more of a benefit for the tenant. When there’s a lot of supply and not a lot of demand, the tenants are going to be able to get gross leases.”

The forces of inflation are vast, the experts said, and they were not limited to the recent rash of named storms,

Car Premiums Climbing, Too

A quick internet search will show the cost of auto insurance in Florida is among the highest in the nation, and many residents are facing substantial increases to their premiums. Reasons for higher rates in the Sunshine State include environmental factors and driver profiles, among a host of other contributing factors such as the state’s no-fault auto insurance laws.

Lee County resident Vicky Bowles said her six-month premium for two vehicles was $799.55. After retirement, she and her husband decided to downsize to one vehicle, and in less than three years, the sixmonth premium to insure one 2022 Hyundai Veloster was $812.14, slightly higher than she previously paid for two vehicles.

“We all know that there's inflation and increased costs for everything, but that does seem really extreme,” she says. “I know that there are people out there with one car who are probably paying twice as much as we are because they don't have the discounts available to them; I don't know how they do it.”

Brian Chapman, CEO of

Chapman Insurance Group, said he recommends a baseline of coverage to his clients, and it's never the minimum required by the state.

“Most of our clients are buying the coverage that makes sense financially for them, not an expense or the cost, but to protect them financially,” he says. “Ultimately, when they buy that policy, they're also paying for the people that are buying the minimum coverage or aren't buying enough coverage.”

The litigious component is a huge factor in auto insurance rates, Chapman said. And the rising cost of auto insurance is one that affects the community as a whole. Ask Bowles, who has had two claims from incidents that she said were the other drivers’ faults, but they were uninsured.

More than 20% of drivers in Florida are on the road without coverage, which is one of the highest rates in the country, according to a 2021 report from the Insurance Research Council. Mississippi had the highest rate of uninsured drivers at 29.4%, New Jersey had the lowest at 3.1%.

—Katiuska Carrillo

including Ian last year and Hurricane Irma in 2017.

“Florida has 8% of the country’s property insurance but has 78% of the litigation,” Mayhugh says. “That’s another reason why these premiums are going up. So there’s a multitude of reasons. And it’s all happening at the same time. Inflation, storm events, litigation. People need to be protected. You don’t want to find out that you don’t have enough to

'A PERFECT STORM'

Chase Mayhugh says commercial property owners are experiencing anywhere between 50% and 100% increases on premiums. And "a perfect storm" of events has caused it.

build your building back.”

But it’s not all doom and gloom for the economy and for investors, Mayhugh said.

“This will also create a lot of opportunity for people who have cash,” he says. “There’s always an opportunity to strike—that happens with every crisis. Things are still moving. We’re busy.”

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THE FUTURE IS SUNTEX

Fort Myers enters long-term agreement to develop and manage yacht basin

By Katiuska Carrillo

After a year-long process, questions about the future of the Fort Myers Yacht Basin were answered in late February when Fort Myers City Council approved its ground-lease agreement with Dallas-based Suntex Marinas in a 5-2 vote. But the decision leaves some residents uncertain about their future.

Suntex is an owning, managing and investing company with an extensive network of saltwater and freshwater marinas in the United States.

“We are proud to be in Fort Myers and look forward to getting to work to bring the city the world-class marina it deserves,” says David Filler, principal of Suntex. “Working with city leadership to get here was a pleasure, and we look forward to building on that relationship and creating many more within the community.”

The agreement came in response to a Request for Proposal issued by the city Jan. 3 for redevelopment and

management of the yacht basin property and its associated land parcels.

The 30-year initial lease term has two optional renewals for 25 years each. The investment in infrastructure and improvements will be as much as $45 million, subject to the addition of demised premises, but no less than $30 million.

Within six years, Suntex must spend at least $17.5 million on docks, wet slips, seawalls and related infrastructure.

The minimum annual base rent is $400,000 for the first five years, and then an additional $100,000 for the next two five-year periods. After that, every five years the base rent amount will increase by 10%.

With the yacht basin now in new hands, proposed changes include 350 to 382 slips with floating docks and approximately 2,600 linear feet of new seawall, hospitality, retail and restaurant uses. Amenities include a boat club, day boat and watersport

rentals, captain’s lounge, marine store, an in-slip pump-out service, fuel facilities, 24-hour security and approximately 40,000 square feet of upland buildings.

While many residents anticipate a world-class marina downtown, it seems to be the end of a long fight for yacht basin residents.

From red signs and shirts that read “STOP SUNTEX” to waiting hours to speak by the dozens at multiple city council meetings, residents nearly exhausted every form of protest against the company.

“My biggest fear is having nowhere to go,” resident Ashley Harris said at one of those meetings. “Having a place to dock, electric and water; we still need those things in order to survive. I just feel like I’m going to come home from work one day and have nothing.”

Harris is a mother of three and has lived at the yacht basin for about four years. She said the best-

Katiuska Carrillo; Fort Myers Government

case scenario would be for the city to retain ownership, fix up the existing marina and raise the rates to be more compatible with the market rate. “We’re a community,” she says. “We came together and said, ‘The more we push it, the more we show up, maybe it’ll make a difference.’”

Even after their homes felt Hurricane Ian’s fury as it moved through the river district in downtown Fort Myers, residents remained united in their message.

About two weeks after the storm, the yacht basin was deemed unsafe and uninhabitable by Fort Myers building officials, and was closed due to storm damage until safe conditions

returned to the facility.

Shortly after, council member Liston Bochette brought the cancellation of the yacht basin RFP forward as an item for consideration given the damages, but the motion failed due to lack of a second.

Residents said they felt left out of the solicitation process since its inception, at one point prompting a public forum in August hosted by Wilbur Smith Law Firm, representatives of Suntex throughout negotiations with the city.

The issue of where live-aboards would go during and after construction was a looming question residents had.

“Many of the concerned citizens here are concerned mostly because of where they’re going to be if construction starts, what’s going to happen and how much rates are going to go up,” said Ruth Diaz, a six-year resident at the yacht basin and fouryear employee at the marina, at a council meeting. “Are you guys going to work with all of us to try to make this work?”

Six months later, after the agreement was approved, residents had their answer.

All existing slip licenses were terminated or will be terminated by the city within 30 days after the effective day of the agreement. However, the

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

After a year-long process, the future of the Fort Myers Yacht Basin was determined when Fort Myers City Council approved its ground-lease agreement with Suntex Marinas in a 5-2 vote.

MOVING FORWARD

With the yacht basin under new ownership, proposed changes include 350-382 slips with floating docks and new seawall, hospitality, retail and restaurant uses.

Katiuska Carrillo; Fort Myers Government

time frame has flexibility, City Manager Marty Lawing said. He added the city would develop a plan to notify the current boat owners regarding vacation of their boats from the facility.

Long-term leases for marinas by municipalities is a common practice with numerous examples in the state of Florida, Lawing said. As part of the city’s due diligence during negotiations, Council visited Sarasota, which has a contract with Suntex to operate the Marina Jack facility there.

Sarasota’s city manager and attorney reported a positive working relationship with Suntex, Lawing said. City officials also spoke with Fort Lauderdale’s city manager and a city commissioner, who also reported positive relations with Suntex for the development of Las Olas Marina.

“Suntex has proven throughout the state of Florida that it has the ability to deliver something we have needed for a long time,” says attorney Sawyer Smith. “An active, vibrant waterfront open to all of us who call Fort Myers home.”

TURNING IDEAS INTO IMPACT

Nearly half of our graduates stay in SWFL

FGCU alumni stay in SWFL and start businesses, work in our hospitals, teach our children, build our community and mentor the next generation of students.

Donate to the continued success of the FGCU community at FGCU.edu/impact

Andre Green BS in Entrepreneurship, ‘23

By Adam Regan

COLLIER COUNTY

Young Family Ventures LLC purchased 5,699 square feet of office space at 2240 Venetian Court, suites 5A and 5B, in North Naples from Richard L. Armalavage and Geraldine Alice Fitapelli for $2,325,000. Clint L. Sherwood, CCIM, and David J. Stevens, CCIM, of Investment Properties Corp. represented the buyer and seller.

Architectural Builders Supply Inc. purchased 3,546 square feet of commercial space at 2805 S. Horseshoe Drive, suites 8 and 9, in Naples from Barry J. Bentley for $1,435,000. Christine McManus, CCIM, SIOR, of Investment Properties Corp. represented the buyer and seller.

Anna Louise Properties LLC purchased a 5,795-square-foot building on 0.68-acre parcel in Naples Industrial Park, 4651 Mercantile Ave., in Naples from Nelson Brown Properties LLC for $1.3

CHS 14500 Fort Myers LLC purchased a 13,128-square-foot multi-tenant office on 12.67 acres in Southwest International Commerce Park, 14500 Global Parkway, in south Fort Myers from Prospect Enterprises LLC for $8,358,976. Adam Bornhorst, Derek Bornhorst, SIOR, CCIM, Bob Johnston, SIOR, and Jerry Messonnier, SIOR, of Lee & Associates Naples-Fort Myers represented the buyer and seller.

million. Brock Rasmussen of Lee & Associates NaplesFort Myers represented the buyer and seller.

Architectural Builders Supply Inc. purchased 962 square feet of commercial space at 16131 Performance Way in North Naples from Craig M. & Virginia B. Bradley for $415,000. Christine McManus, CCIM, SIOR,

of Investment Properties Corp. represented the buyer, and Claudia Sotolongo of Coldwell Banker Commercial represented the seller.

LEE COUNTY

Bayside Holdings on Hickory LLC purchased 2.4 acres of vacant land at 4612, 4640, 4654, 4696 and 4752 Bonita

Beach Road SW in Bonita Springs from Gordon Henke for $4.8 million. Patrick Fraley, CCIM, and Rob Carroll, CCIM, of Investment Properties Corp. represented the seller, and Barry DeNicola of Barry DeNicola Realty represented the buyer.

H2 Management LLC purchased 4.15 acres of vacant land on Old 41

Road, a mile southeast of Bernwood Parkway, from JCRE LLC for $3,525,000. Christine McManus, CCIM, SIOR, of Investment Properties Corp. represented the buyer and seller.

Lennar Homes LLC purchased a 40-acre residential property at 9710 Bayshore Road in North Fort Myers from

9710 Bayshore LLC for $2.65 million. Randy Thibaut, ALC, and William Rollins, CCIM, ALC, of LSI Companies Inc. represented the buyer and seller.

Cavanaugh Holdings Inc. purchased 8880 Gladiolus Drive, Building C, in Fort Myers from Avalon Office Park Developers for $1.65 million. Gary Tasman and

John Albion of Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Property Southwest Florida represented the seller.

6460 Topaz LLC purchased a 7,334-squarefoot industrial condominium in Pyramid Commercial Park, 6460 Topaz Court, in Fort Myers from OAR Equities LLC for $1.4 million. Derek Bornhorst, SIOR, CCIM,

and Brock Rasmussen of Lee & Associates NaplesFort Myers represented the buyer and seller.

GOPM Realty LLC purchased 2.77 acres in Alico Trade Center, 9011 Alico Trade Center Road, Lot 1A, in Fort Myers from Seagate Alico North LLC for $1,085,951. Adam Bornhorst, Derek Bornhorst, SIOR, CCIM, Bob Johnston, SIOR, and Jerry Messonnier, SIOR, of Lee & Associates NaplesFort Myers represented the lessor and lessee.

Ten-8 Fire & Safety LLC purchased 1.83 acres in Alico Trade Center, 9011 Alico Trade Center Road, Lot 1C, in Fort Myers from Seagate Alico North LLC for $777,546. Adam Bornhorst, Derek Bornhorst, SIOR, CCIM, Bob Johnston, SIOR, and Jerry Messonnier, SIOR, of Lee & Associates NaplesFort Myers represented the seller, and Gary Fluharty of B.I.G. LLC represented the buyer.

Bryer Properties LLC and Bryer Investment Properties LLC purchased the 12,601-square-foot Commons on Collier retail center at 6654 Collier Blvd. in East Naples for $6,275,000. Matt Stepan, CCIM, and Jeffrey Clapper of Premier Commercial Inc. represented the buyer; Louie Granteed of Tobin Real Estate Inc. represented the seller.

By Adam Regan

COLLIER COUNTY

International Hotel Renovations LLC leased a 5,795-square-foot office/warehouse at 4651 Mercantile Ave., in East Naples from Anna Louise Properties LLC. Thomas Webb, CCIM, MSRE, and Brock Rasmussen of Lee & Associates Naples-Fort Myers represented the lessor and lessee.

Annesser Armenteros

PLLC leased 1,128 square feet of office space at 801 Anchor Rode Drive, Suite 303, in Naples from Florida Coastal Professional Center. Rob Carroll, CCIM, SIOR, and Lauren A. Griswold of Investment Properties Corp. represented the lessor and lessee.

Breslow Forsythe Group LLC leased a 1,022-square-foot space at Galleria Plaza, 9180 Galleria Court in North Naples from Heart Partners LLC. Matt Stepan, CCIM, and Jeffrey Clapper of Premier Commercial Inc. represented the lessor.

Prestige Worldwide Partners of Naples LLC leased 954 square feet of office space at 1020 Eighth Ave. S., Suite 10, in Naples from Wety Holdings LLC. Rob Carroll, CCIM, MAI, and Lauren A. Griswold of Investment Properties Corp. represented the lessor and lessee.

Cookson, Peirce & Co. Inc. leased 659 square feet of office space at 1020 Eighth Ave. S., Suite 5, in Naples from Wety Holdings LLC. Rob Carroll, CCIM, MAI, and Lauren A. Griswold of Investment Properties Corp. represented the lessor and lessee.

Youngquist Brothers LLC leased a 2,612-square-foot space in Charleston Square, 1400 Gulf Shore Blvd., suites 136 and 142, in Naples from Charleston Square of Naples LLC. Bill Young and Biagio Bernardo of Lee & Associates Naples-Fort Myers represented the lessor and lessee.

LEE COUNTY

Lee Memorial Health System leased an 8,000-square-foot office space in Metro Commerce Center, 11220 Metro Parkway, suites 29-32, in Fort Myers from Metro Commerce Center LLC.

Randal Mercer of CRE Consultants represented the lessor and lessee.

Eglise Universelle De Jesus-Christ Tabernacle De Louange Inc. leased 5,400 square feet of retail space at 3110-3134 Cleveland Ave. in Fort Myers from City Center 41 LLC. Gary Tasman and Gretchen Smith of Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Property Southwest Florida represented the lessor.

Chapman Insurance Group LLC leased a 2,274-square-foot office space at 1326 Cape Coral Parkway E., Suite 1, in Cape Coral from Doc Edge of Cape Coral LLC. Randal Mercer of CRE Consultants represented the lessor and lessee.

One Blood Inc. leased a 2,210-square-foot space at 6810 Shoppes at Plantation Drive, Suite 5, in Fort Myers from Summus Property Owners LLC. Matt Stepan, CCIM, and Jeffrey Clapper of Premier Commercial Inc. represented the lessor.

Flutterbuy Books and More LLC leased 1,800 square feet of space at 840 SW Fourth St., Unit 7, in Cape Coral from Pine Island Partners LLC. Abigail Kesslak, ACP, and Michael J. Frye, CCIM, with Re/Max Realty Group/Frye Commercial Group represented the lessee, and Phil Deems Real Estate represented the lessor.

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. leased a 1,781-square-foot office space in University Park, 12800 University Drive, Suite 300, in Fort Myers from Uccello University LLC. Enn Luthringer, CCIM, of CRE Consultants represented the lessor, and Shawn Stoneburner of CPSWFL represented the lessee.

Highspans Engineering Inc. leased a 2,226-square-foot office space at 13850 Treeline Ave. S., Suite 11, in Fort Myers from 13850 Treeline Commerce LLC. Randal Mercer of CRE Consultants represented the lessor and lessee.

By James Raia

after hours

POWERED UP

By James Raia

A year after BMW debuted its iX electric sport utility vehicle, it one-upped itself. For 2023, BMW iX M60 joins the two-car stable. It has the same interior beauty, superior performance and front grille resembling a set of flared nostrils.

Competition at the high end of the electric SUV segment includes the Tesla Model X, Mercedes EQS, Audi e-Tron, Cadillac Lyriq and the Rivian R1S. The Polestar 3 is scheduled for a 2024 debut. The BMW is the only vehicle in the group without third-row seating, but that distinction is a minor inconvenience considering the M60’s upside.

The new iX features 610 horsepower and 811 foot-pounds of torque. Standard also are a 1-speed direct drive transmission and all-wheel drive. Both vehicles are propelled with liquid-cooled lithium-ion batteries located under the floor. According to BMW, DC fast charging from 10% to 80% can be completed in 35 minutes, and 90 miles of range can be charged in 10 minutes. With an 11-kilowatt home system, a full charge takes slightly longer than 10 hours.

Advanced technology complements the BMW’s mechanics. The infotainment system, called iDrive 8, is offered on a 12.3-inch driver display and a 14.9-inch touchscreen. Driving conveniences include adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance and a remote parking function.

Acceleration, braking and steady, comfortable driving are the iX M60’s fortes. The sub-four-second power allows confidence in all traffic scenarios. Need to maneuver through traffic? It’s never an issue.

The signature BMW trait is highway speed driving. The flagship SUV complies, with a caveat. The vehicle advances so smoothly that cruising far above the speed limit is an unintentional likelihood. It takes a determined effort to keep the car’s wont to power down the road in check.

Air suspension is standard, further adding to the SUV’s superior maneuvering around traffic, when negotiating corners and in all other driving situations.

FACTS & FIGURES

Acceleration: 0-60 mph, 3.6 seconds

Airbags: 8

Fuel economy: 77 mpg equivalent

Range: 288 miles

Horsepower: 610

Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $105,100

Manufacturer’s website: bmwusa.com

Price as tested: $109,270

Warranty:

Bumper to bumper, 4 years/50,000 miles; Powertrain, 4 years/50,000 miles; Electric components, 8 years/100,000 miles; Roadside assistance, maintenance: 3 years/36,000 miles; Corrosion, 12 years/ unlimited miles

Inside the sleek, capable BMW iX M60 electric SUV

One-pedal driving is increasingly available on high-end vehicles, and it’s included on the BMW iX M60. The braking system has three levels of energy regeneration; ease off the throttle and the vehicle slows. The feel requires an adjustment from conventional braking. But driving without having to remove your right foot to brake unless it’s suddenly needed is a welcomed, simplified process.

The 2023 BMW iX M60 has a plush, simple interior design that complements the SUV’s superior driving traits.

The dash, console, hexagonal steering wheel and overall cabin areas are attractively stark—the exceptions being the glass seating levers located on the door panels. It has a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) roof. Brake calipers are painted the well-known BMW blue. The seat belts match. For audiophiles’ pleasure, the Bowers & Wilkins surround-sound system is top-line with its 30-speaker/1,615-watt presentation.

Back-seat passengers have 38.9 inches of legroom. Behind the 40/20/40 split/folding rear seats are

35.5 cubic feet for cargo. With the seats folded, the cargo volume extends to 77.9 cubic feet.

Quiet, smooth, powerful driving in a simple, posh environment catapults the new BMW to the top of the carmaker’s offerings. Brand enthusiasts will further praise the manufacturer, while new owners will rejoice at their first-time purchase.

Nothing BMW does comes cheap. But for new car buyers with budgets approaching $110,000, this new electric SUV is a high-end value.

BRIEF BUT BENEFICIAL

The upsides, convenience of the mini-workout

By James Raia

Dave Scott is an endurance sports practitioner and ambassador who first excelled at the combined discipline of swimming, cycling and long-distance running more than 40 years ago. The former collegiate swimmer and water polo player won many triathlons, including the Hawaiian Ironman World Championship six times.

Scott, now 69, thrived on all-day training seasons. And he still coaches and espouses the benefits of endurance workouts. But he’s also a realist. The Colorado resident was also an exercise pioneer in making good use of time. He often said, “If you only have 30 minutes, do something for 30 minutes and feel good about it.”

Often called mini-workouts, short durations of exercise—as brief as a minute and often practiced in 7-minute or 15-minute sessions— are beneficial.

“I’ve always been a big believer in

‘Every little bit counts,’” says Lisa Reed, owner of Lisa Reed Fitness in Naples. “If you have a lunch break when you can go walk for 30 minutes, great. Even if you can do 10 push-ups at your desk, it keeps you in a healthy lifestyle.”

A fitness, performance and strength and nutrition expert for more than 25 years, Reed was the strength and conditioning coach at the University of Florida and at the United States Naval Academy. She was also the personal trainer of Monica Seles, the retired two-time U.S. Open tennis champion.

Reed, who relocated to Naples in 2019, combines form, function and foundation of movement to strengthen the body. She stresses “training smarter, not harder.”

Smart training is optimal for all workouts, but it’s tantamount to the success of mini-workouts.

“You can do any exercise at any

age and you can start to exercise at any age,” says Reed, who has a Master of Science in exercise physiology. “I am a big believer—and my whole business is making sure you warm up correctly. It’s integral to anyone starting an exercise program.”

She continues, “Don’t just jump on a treadmill. It may improve your heart rate, but it’s not going to do anything to activate your muscles. What’s important is agility, mobility, flexibility and muscle movement. You do the right form, so you feel the muscle when you do a squat.”

Reed’s enthusiasm for fitness benefits in restricted but efficient time capsules was recently further quantified in a study by researchers at the University of Sydney. The data details that three to four one-minute bursts of intense activity per day can improve overall health and reduce the risk of premature death by up to 40%.

According to medical experts, in-

corporating daily brief bursts of exercise may be inconsequential, but the exertion provided oxygen and nutrients to parts of the body not otherwise serviced. As such, toxins, debris and stagnant blood are eliminated and the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer is reduced.

Mini-workouts gained considerable attention a decade ago in the Health and Fitness Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. It recommended a 7-minute workout combining strength, endurance and aerobic training to support weight loss and improve metabolic health. The workout is a quick and convenient full-body workout that targets all major muscle groups while also raising a practitioner’s heart rate.

The best practice, according to the organization based in Indianapolis, is a high-intensity workout

that alternates between 30 seconds of high-intensity exercise and 10 seconds of rest. It includes 12 key exercises that target major muscle groups using only body weight, a chair and a wall.

From the initial work, numerous varieties of the 7-minute workout have been developed including availability on several apps. If properly practiced, among other benefits, it promotes strength development in all major muscle groups and can easily be modified to increase or decrease the intensity.

Other fitness advocacy groups throughout the country also stress the benefits of mini-workouts. Shorter time frames of exercise are conducive to practitioners maintaining exercise commitments.

Exercise also produces endorphins, the chemical signals in the brain that block the perception of

pain and increase feelings of well-being. Several daily boosts of endorphins can balance an exerciser’s mood throughout the day.

Common brief exercise routines such as running, jumping jacks, jumping squats, jumping rope, pushups and bodyweight squats are among popular mini-workout exercises. Various studies, in a report from the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland, noted there’s no difference between continuous and accumulated patterns of exercise in terms of effects on fitness, blood pressure, lipids, insulin and glucose.

Further, the organization emphasizes that adults are likely to accrue similar health benefits from exercising in a single time frame of exercise or accumulating activity from shorter bouts throughout the day. So make the most of the time you have, even if it’s only a few minutes.

EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS

Lisa Reed, owner of Lisa Reed Fitness in Naples, has been a fitness, performance and strength and nutrition expert for more than 25 years and believes even mini-workouts keep you in a healthy lifestyle.

UNSPOILED BEACH BEAUTY

BLOWING ROCKS PRESERVE OFFERS SOME OF THE STATE’S MOST SPECTACULAR NATURAL SITES

By Artis Henderson

On Florida’s east coast, north of Palm Beach, sits a rare and remarkable stretch of coastline. Blowing Rocks Preserve (574 S. Beach Road, Home Sound; 561.744.6669; nature.org) features 73 acres of lovingly restored land on a barrier island just across from Jupiter Sound. The preserve is owned by The Nature Conservancy and provides a natural habitat for native plants and animals, many of them endangered. The land includes salt marshes, mangroves, coastal strands and tropical hammocks. Sea turtles frequent its beaches, and rare shorebirds nest along its coast.

The preserve gets its name from the limestone shoreline that winds around its perimeter. During high tide on days with rough seas, water breaks against the limestone in dramatic spouts. It’s a site unlike any other in the state of Florida.

A SITE LIKE NO OTHER A rare and remarkable stretch of coastline sits on Florida's east coast, north of Palm Beach. Blowing Rocks Preserve features 73 acres of restored land on a barrier island just across from Jupiter Sound.

HISTORY

The preserve was founded in 1969, when a group of Jupiter Island residents saved the acreage from the plans of developers who had purchased the land to build high-density apartments and hotels on the rock ledges along its shore. Citizens rallied together and pressed the developers to abandon the project. It worked; the developers eventually sold the land to the residents, who donated it to The Nature Conservancy.

PLAN A VISIT

Blowing Rocks Preserve is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. It’s closed on some holidays, so check the website before scheduling a trip. Complimentary parking is available on-site, but take note—the preserve’s gates are closed and locked at 4:30 p.m. It’s free to visit the preserve, though visitors are invited to give a $2 per person donation to help defray the costs of maintenance.

Visitors can swim, snorkel or relax on the beach. Blowing Rocks has five short trails that make for easy and scenic exploring. Don’t miss the beach trail, which winds through a shaded maritime hammock and has benches for resting. The dune trail offers sweeping views of the beach and sea, and the mangrove boardwalk allows for a stroll through the mangrove forest. The preserve regularly hosts public events including beach cleanups, nature walks and a lecture series.

SAVING THE PRESERVE

Founded in 1969, Blowing Rocks was created when a group of Jupiter Island residents purchased it from developers and donated it to The Nature Conservancy.

WHERE TO STAY

The best places to stay close to Blowing Rocks are in nearby Palm Beach. The historic Breakers (1 S. County Road, Palm Beach; 877.797.1393; thebreakers.com) offers a luxury hotel experience with turn-of-the-century glam. Its 1926 remodel brought in the same designers behind New York City’s Waldorf Astoria, who pulled their influences from the Villa Medici in Rome. Today The Breakers has been updated with modern amenities, yet it still projects the same opulence that appealed to tycoons and socialites in another era.

The Eau Palm Beach Resort and Spa (100 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan; 561.533.6000; eaupalmbeach.com) prides itself on bringing relaxed luxury to Palm Beach. The resort is stylish and chic with all the amenities of a topnotch hotel, but the vibe is more cool than stately at this luxury hotspot.

FROM COMMUNE TO COMMUNITY

The sect that helped found Estero

By Justin Paprocki

In 1894, Cyrus Teed and his followers made their home within the swampy wilderness of Southwest Florida. A self-proclaimed messiah, Teed called himself Koresh and settled his Koreshans near what today is Estero. They believed in reincarnation, strict celibacy and, among other things, that the Earth is a hollow sphere that contains the universe.

They came looking for an escape from the religious persecution they faced up north. Ultimately, they ended up helping shape the development of Southwest Florida.

The Koreshans made their home on a 300-acre plot given to them by a German homesteader and eventual member of their commune. But they didn’t seek to isolate themselves. They established a general store that became a major retail hub in Lee County (pictured). Their bakery at its peak

produced 300 loaves a day. An arts hall hosted concerts and performances that attracted the likes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. A printing press produced both Koreshan literature and commercial work from the nearby community. In 1904, they were instrumental in forming the town of Estero. At its peak, the commune had more than 200 members— and certainly had a host of detractors from the outside community; Teed himself was once beaten during an altercation in Fort Myers.

After Teed’s death in 1908, the number of Koreshans dwindled. In 1961, the remaining members donated their land to the state. Koreshan State Park features a historical site that gives visitors a glimpse at the brief time when the commune was thriving.

Interior view of the Koreshan Unity general store, 1908.