SEPTEMBER 20 - SEPTEMBER 26, 2024 | THREE DOLL ARS
FLOR IDA’S NE WSPAPER FOR T HE C - SUI T E
Keep on swimming | Pool company owner finds novel ways to grow business. PG.10 PASCO • H ILL SBOROUG H • PIN ELL AS • P OLK • M A N ATEE • SA R ASOTA • C H A R LOT TE • LEE • COLLIER
HANDLE WITH CARE Landowner Laura Starkey embraces a go-for-it-and-seewhat-happens spirit, which led her to an unusual land conservation strategy: green burials. PAGE 14
inside DATA SNAPSHOT
Rough Road
New national report finds that smallbusiness owners’ uncertainty is the highest it has been since the pandemic. PAGE 6
DEVELOPMENT
Boxed Out
An organized group of east Manatee County residents successfully pushed back against a Home Depot project. PAGE 7
STRATEGIES
Testing, Testing
Tampa medical research firm emphasizes customer service in ongoing quest to grow market share. PAGE 8
EXECUTIVE Q&A
Buyer’s Market
The co-CEO of the Hoffmann Family of Companies, Geoff Hoffmann, details the Naples-based firm’s acquisition strategy. PAGE 12
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Air Supply
New luxury downtown Tampa apartment tower will use its connection to the arts to woo tenants. PAGE 16
REAL ESTATE Blackstone buys Clearwater resort and spa for $137 million. 18 West Bradenton shopping center sells for $6.15 million. 19
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DON’T MISS 3
Tervis cuts payroll by half, from 129 to 59 employees.
LAURA STARKEY | Heartwood Preserve
PHOTO BY MARK WEMPLE
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A Q&A WITH JOSH MUTCHLER, PROJECT EXECUTIVE AT MOSS: CONTRACTOR FOR THE ST. REGIS LONGBOAT KEY See Page 3