Business Observer 1.1.21

JANUARY 1, 2021 - JANUARY 7, 2021 | THREE DOLL ARS

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

Hospitality | Iconic resort’s new GM takes advantage of unique amenities. PG. 8 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

E C ONOM IC F OR E C A S T 2 0 21

The Road Ahead Among the minefields and potholes, businesses across the region face an abundance of opportunities in 2021.

PAGES 6-14

Jill St. Thomas | TAMPA BAY TECH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

MARK WEMPLE

INDUSTRIES INSIDE Manufacturing......................................... P. 7 Health care............................................... P. 7 Tourism...................................................... P. 8 Higher education.................................... P. 8

Hospitality............................................... P. 11 Residential real estate........................ P. 12 Technology............................................. P. 13 Construction........................................... P. 13

PAGE

3 Fight back against collectivism, statism in 2021.

A MUST- HAVE

One - of - a - kind resource for networking, marketing and research on the Gulf Coast of Florida 348711-1

DON’T MISS

Grocery/retail........................................ P. 10 Commercial real estate....................... P. 10 Insurance................................................. P. 10 Banking.................................................... P. 11

DON’T WAIT, ORDER TODAY!

Go to BusinessObserverFL.com/top-500

www.BusinessObserverFL.com

2

BUSINESS OBSERVER | JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021

BusinessObserverFL.com

Vol. XXV, No. 50

A Division of The Ob­serv­er Media Group

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

Editor and Publisher / Matt Walsh, mwalsh@BusinessObserverFL.com Executive Editor / Kat Hughes khughes@BusinessObserverFL.com Managing Editor / Mark Gordon mgordon@BusinessObserverFL.com Commercial Real Estate Editor / Kevin McQuaid kmcquaid@BusinessObserverFL.com Tampa Bay Editor / Brian Hartz bhartz@BusinessObserverFL.com Sarasota-Manatee Editor/ Grier Ferguson gferguson@BusinessObserverFL.com Editorial Design /Jess Eng Contributors / Steven Benna, Beth Luberecki, John Haughey

Associate Publisher / Kathleen O’Hara kohara@YourObserver.com Associate Publisher / Diane Schaefer dschaefer@BusinessObserverFL.com Director of Legal Advertising / Kristen Boothroyd kboothroyd@BusinessObserverFL.com Director of Creative Services / Caleb Stanton, cstanton@YourObserver.com Director of Information Technology / Adam Quinlin, aquinlin@YourObserver.com Chief Financial Officer / Laura Keisacker lkeisacker@YourObserver.com Director of Circulation / Anne Shumate subscriptions@ BusinessObserverFL.com

HOW TO REACH US Hillsborough County

200 S. Hoover Blvd., Suite #135 Tampa, FL 33609 Phone: 941-906-9386 (Legal Notices) Fax: 941-954-8530

POLO SEASON BEGINS

Lee County

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2020

Welcome to the 30th Anniversary Season at the Sarasota Polo Club Polo is a community sport like no other.

For decades the Sarasota Polo Club has been a popular Sunday tradition and part of the Sarasota social scene. An estimated 45,000 Sarasota-area polo spectators will be on hand during our 2021 Sarasota Polo Season.

We invite you to join a select group of organizations that have found partnering with the Sarasota Polo Club is good for their business.

Orange County

661 Garden Commerce Pkwy, Suite 180 Winter Garden, FL 34787 Phone: 941-906-9386 (Legal Notices) Fax: 941-954-8530

Charlotte County

Address: 949 Tamiami Trail, Suite 202 Port Charlotte, FL 33953 Phone: 941-906-9386 (Legal Notices) Fax: 941-954-8530

2021 POLO SEASON EVERY SUNDAY AT 1PM Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020 Sunday, Apr 25, 2021

Pinellas County

14004 Roosevelt Blvd.

Clearwater, FL 33762 Phone: 941-906-9386 (Legal Notices) Fax: 727-447-3944

AVG. ATTENDANCE: 45,000 spectators/season

Sarasota, FL 34230 1970 Main St., Suite 400, Sarasota, FL 34236 Phone: 941-362-4848 Phone: 941-906-9386 (Legal Notices) Fax: 941-954-8530

Collier County

The French Quarter, 501 Goodlette Road N., #D-100 Naples, FL 34102 Phone: 941-906-9386 (Legal Notices) Fax: 941-954-8530

Pasco County

3030 Starkey Blvd.

New Port Richey, FL 34655 Phone: 941-906-9386 (Legal Notices) Fax: 941-954-8530

Polk County

1102 S. Florida Ave. Lakeland, FL 33803 Phone: 941-906-9386 (Legal Notices) Fax: 941-954-8530

AVG. NET WORTH: $1 M AVG. HOUSEHOLD INCOME: $117,900

To send Legal Notices, email to: legal@BusinessObserverFL.com. Name the county of interest in the subject line and attach notice. Deadline for legal notices is noon Wednesday.

For Display Advertising, call (941) 362-4848. Deadline for display advertising space is noon Friday.

COLLEGE GRADUATE: 78%

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Subscription Price

Partnership and Sponsorship Opportunities

One-Year Periodical Rate........................................................................................ $75 One-Year First-Class Mail......................................................................................$107 Two-Year Periodical Rate.......................................................................................$127 Two-Year First-Class Mail.......................................................................................$180

Sarasota Polo offers advertisers and sponsors affordable, fun, and exciting engagement opportunities with a superb local audience of 45,000 Sarasota-area polo spectators with an average net-worth of $1M.

Three-Year Periodical Rate....................................................................................$185 Three-Year First-Class Mail...................................................................................$239 Single copy price: $3 Group rates for five or more corporate subscriptions are available.

To subscribe online: www.businessobserverfl.com If you have a question about your subscription or wish to suspend your subscription temporarily, call Anne Shumate, (877) 231-8834 or contact her by email: subscriptions@BusinessObserverFL.com

Sponsors and advertisers gain valuable promotional exposure while enjoying generous polo ticket packages to entertain clients, employees, and guests. Enjoy memorable afternoons full of exhilarating polo action every Sunday beginning December 13, 2020 through April 25, 2021.

POSTAL INFORMATION

To learn more about Sarasota Polo sponsorships, advertising, events and corporate polo ticket packages please visit: https://www.sarasotapolo.com/sponsor/ or email: Ron@SarasotaPolo.com

The Business Observer (ISSN#2325-8195) is published weekly on Fridays by the Gulf Coast Review Inc., 5570 Gulf of Mexico Dr., Longboat Key, FL 34228; Periodicals Postage Paid at Sarasota, FL, and at additional mailing offices. The Business Observer is circulated in Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties.

POSTMASTER: Please send changes of address to the Business Observer, P.O. Box 15456 North Hollywood, CA 91615-9166.

For information on reprints, visit BusinessObserverFL.com

342777-1

Experience the thrill of Sarasota Polo “the fastest game on four feet!”

Contact Ron Trytek for partnerships, advertising, events, sponsorships, and group tickets information today: Ron@SarasotaPolo.com | 941-704-8379

5570 Gulf of Mexico Dr., Longboat Key, FL 34228 Phone: 941-362-4848 Phone: 941-906-9386 (Legal Notices) Fax: 941-954-8530

Sarasota County

18070 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 11 Fort Myers, FL 33908 Phone: 239-703-7802; Fax: 941-954-8530

Corporate Sponsorships Now Available!

Manatee County

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

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

Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

review and comment

BY MATT WALSH | EDITOR AND PUBLISHER

BusinessObserverFL.com

3

YOUR PARTNER IN PROTECTION™ Protecting Your Home, Business and Family

Word for 2021:

ANTHEM Taken from Ayn Rand’s 1937 novella, it stands as a warning to reject the spread of collectivism.

OFFICE | INDUSTRIAL | RETAIL | MULTI-FAMILY

• State Licensed • All Employees Background Checked • Builder and Realtor Programs • Hard Wired and Wireless Systems

Member of:

341948-1

stood in the great sleeping hall, and we raised our right arms, and we said all together: ‘We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the state. Amen.’”

This is essentially what we hear every day coming out of Washington, our own Palace of the World Council — that the state is the supreme. It will solve all woes, create wealth and jobs, take care of our health, wipe away our debt, give everyone free education and regulate every aspect of our lives.

We are seeing increasing assaults against free speech, assembly and religion and constant pressures to restrict and eventually eliminate the right to bear arms. We hear repeatedly that the free enterprise system is the evil root of inequality, that those who succeed through their own efforts should “pay their fair share” to the state, that everyone must be more equal, that everyone should be given guaranteed income.

As in “Anthem,” the individual today is increasingly subservient to “We,” the collective state.

In novels, the writers can craft happy endings, as Rand did in “Anthem.”

Equality 7-2521 eventually escapes beyond the forbidden Uncharted Forest with his girlfriend, Liberty 5-3000.

They cross through the forest and up a mountain range, landing and settling at an abandoned house from the Unmentionable Times.

At the end of the book, standing on the summit of the mountain, Equality 7-2521 embraces what he knew all along and proclaims: “I am done with the monster of ‘We,’ the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame. … I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs … I am. I think. I will.”

That was Rand articulating a constant theme in all her writing: that every man and woman has the right to exist for his or her own sake. Moreover, by extension, she argued, there is only one socioeconomic system in which that can happen: capitalism.

“America’s abundance was not created by public sacrifices to ‘the common good’ but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes,” she wrote. “They did not starve the people to pay for America’s industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented.”

These are the lessons to be inculcated in the minds of Americans, especially our youth: Reject the spread and destructiveness of collectivism, and fight for the principles that made the U.S. exceptional — individual freedom, the right to exist for our own sake, free-market capitalism.

That is our anthem for 2021.

PARTNER. We’re in this together.

Ensuring peace of mind.

Building strong communities.

Realizing your best future.

Let’s ensure your money meets its full potential.

Whether you are planning for your dream retirement or preserving your legacy for future generations, Busey Wealth Management can help develop a strategy for your needs.

Busey’s experienced wealth management team, Brent Crawford l Executive Vice President, Executive Managing Director, Susan Chicone l Vice President, Private Client Manager and Charles Idelson | Executive Vice President, Regional President will ensure your dreams become reality.

busey.com/wealthmanagement 239.267.6655 Member FDIC

348646-1

Amid the pandemicdriven lockdowns in cities and states nationwide; governors and mayors arbitrarily destroying businesses and the families that depended on them; Big Tech censorship becoming its own lethal, tyrannical virus; while watching the surreal and bizarre events surrounding November’s elections; and hearing over and over how the Biden administration will issue 100-day decrees and exponentially widen the scope and reach of Big Brother Washington: All of that has brought to mind one word: anthem.

That’s it. That’s the word for 2021.

That word symbolizes what has been and is occurring in the U.S., and it stands as a word of warning, especially to those who truly cherish liberty and who reject being subservient to the state and those who wield its power.

This is our annual tradition. At the end of one year and beginning of another, we try to think of a single word to live by, to guide our direction and actions in the new year, to help inspire us and serve as a guidepost for what we do in the new year.

As we observed the distressing events of 2020, Ayn Rand’s 1937 novella, “Anthem,” came to mind as a symbol of what is occurring before us. Like George Orwell’s “1984” and Alduous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” Rand’s “Anthem” is an allegory about the rise and spread of collectivism before World War II. And like all classics, “Anthem” is as relevant today as it was then.

Rand describes a dystopian world ruled from the Palace of the World Council, “the body of all truth.” No one has a name. Everyone is a number: Equality 7-2521, Similarity 5-0306, Unanimity 7-3304, Collective 0-0009.

These identities are written on iron bracelets that everyone wears — an earlier form of contact tracing.

It is a crime in this world to utter the word “I.” “We strive to be like all our brother men, for all men must be alike,” says Equality 7-2521, the narrator. “Over the portals of the Palace of the World Council, there are words cut in the marble, which we are required to repeat to ourselves whenever we are tempted: “We are one in all and all in one.

There are no men but only the great WE. One, indivisible and forever —” Equality 7-2521 describes his world as “Everything which comes from the many is good. Everything which comes from one is evil. Thus we have been taught with our first breath.”

The world before this collective uniformity came about is known as “the Unmentionable Times.” If anyone speaks of these times, he is sentenced to three years in the “Palace of Corrective Detention.”

When the children of “Anthem” are 5 years old, they are sent to the Home of the Students. “Before we removed our garments,” Equality 7-2521 said, “we

4

BUSINESS OBSERVER | JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021

BusinessObserverFL.com

CoffeeTalk Gimme shelter

MELANIE HAMRICK, a former ballerina with American Ballet Theatre and current girlfriend of Rolling Stones frontman MICK JAGGER, has bought a home in The Lake Club.

You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well, you might find the perfect house in Lakewood Ranch.

Melanie Hamrick, a former ballerina with American Ballet Theatre and the longtime girlfriend of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, has bought a home in The Lake Club. The luxury neighborhood is part of Lakewood Ranch, a masterplanned community in Manatee and Sarasota counties.

Tina Ciaccio, a real estate agent with Sarasota-based Michael Saunders & Co., represented the property at 15809 Clearlake Ave. The fourbedroom estate is in a gated community on a 0.35-acre peninsula lot with lake views.

It sold for $1.98 million Oct. 28.

Christine Spelman, of Re/Max Alliance Group in University Park represented the buyer.

Ciaccio tells Coffee Talk the property’s privacy was a key element that attracted Jagger and Hamrick. Aerial shots showcased the peninsular lot, and a security detail came over to vet the property, she says.

“When they come, security is an issue,” Ciaccio says, adding that the couple has a 4-year-old boy together. “They needed the

COURTESY PHOTOS

The property’s privacy was a key element that attracted celebrities.

TINA CIACCIO, a real estate agent with Sarasota-based Michael Saunders & Co., represented the property. right layout and lot. This house solved both issues for them.”

The layout allows Jagger to enter and exit the property without being seen, she says.

“Couple that with the privacy of the lot,” Ciaccio says. “The way it’s positioned, it’s very secure, and The Lake Club is so private.”

Another plus? There was no golf course outside their door.

If there had been, golfers could peek inside the house, something Ciaccio says the couple definitely wanted to avoid.

The deal has been in the works since the fall, and since

then, privacy surrounding the transaction has been paramount. “We kept this under wraps since September,” Ciaccio says. “Discretion was key.”

That changed when celebrity news website Page Six from the New York Post and other outlets reported the sale, purchased in Hamrick’s name. At that point, there was no way to keep the purchase private.

The Lakewood Ranch area is on their radar screens be-

cause Hamrick’s mother lives in Bradenton, Ciaccio says.

The proximity to family was a driving force behind the buy.

During the pandemic, Ciaccio has given several potential buyers virtual tours, and this sale was no exception. “They did do a FaceTime appointment to see the home itself,” she says.

This wasn’t the first luxury home she’s sold virtually, either. In recent months, Ciaccio sold a listing in The Concession in Bradenton, without the buyers making an in-person visit. The 3D photos of the property helped seal that $1.8 million deal.

For buyers of every level, including luxury buyers and celebrity clientele, buying a house virtually isn’t necessarily a less favorable option. “I’ve been told that sometimes you get more information through the virtual,” Ciaccio says. “You can see through nooks and crannies. You can get more dialed in and specific. And it keeps everyone safe.”

According to Ciaccio, Jagger and Hamrick have already spent some time at their Lakewood Ranch home. “Lakewood Ranch definitely has a broader appeal,” she says. “It’s a nice getaway.”

A NEW YEAR A FRESH START

It’s a good time to freshen up your air conditioning system and indoor air quality.

License# CAC1819590, CAC1813219, CPC1459449

•

conditionedair.com

100% Satisfaction Guarantee 348638-1

No High Pressure

239.643.2445 1.888.COLD.AIR

JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

CoffeeTalk

BusinessObserverFL.com

5

SELL INVESTMENT PROPERTY

Out east

TAX FREE

Learn about 1031 exchanges

VISIT OUR WEBSITE > www.US1031.com Jefferson F. Riddell

COURTESY

President Phone: (941) 366 -1300 Fax: (941) 366 - 6973 E-mail: jriddell@rlglawfirm.com

Rendering of the new Coastal Orthopedics headquarters project, an 88,000-squarefoot facility on a 17-acre parcel on State Road 64, just east of Interstate 75 in Manatee County. to put a total projected value of the project because they were still bidding out work through mid-December. The building will be designed in the style of Sarasota modern architecture — openplan structures and large panels of glass that fit with the surrounding area.

Albany, N.Y-based BBL Construction Services will oversee construction.

Plans for the facility include clinical services, an ambulatory surgery center, a physical therapy department, administrative offices and diagnostic imaging services. There will also be a six-room surgery center to help address increasing demand for outpatient surgery, particularly joint replacement and spine surgeries. Coastal plans to move into the building in spring 2022.

Founded in 1973 and now with nearly 300 employees, Coastal has four other Manatee County locations.

Some 150 to 200 employees will be based out of the new facility. “It’s going to be our largest clinic location,” Valadie says. “And obviously, it’s going to be a large surgery center. We’d like to have our administrative offices under the same roof so that there’s more seamless operations.”

datasnapshot Month end

As 2020 wound down, a new report highlighted what could remain a glaring issue in 2021: the difficulties small businesses nationwide face in paying rent, stemming from the pandemic and COVID-19 related shutdowns.

One of the more startling findings in the report, from small businesses data analytics firm Alignable, is with restaurants, where 61% of survey respondents report not being able to pay rent in December. That’s up from 42% in November. Beauty salons, at 46%, and travel/hospitality businesses, at 43%, round out the top three most-affected businesses.

Overall, 35% of small businesses owners nationwide reported they couldn’t pay rent in December, up 3% from November, the report shows. Minority-owned businesses have the highest rate of difficulty,

at 49%, followed by women-owned businesses, at 38%. The report’s findings are based on the most recent Alignable rent poll, conducted among 9,204 small business owners in late November.

The poll also found that in some ways, rent hardships are geographical, based on the level of lockdown in a particular state. States with the highest levels of business owners struggling to pay rent, for example, include No. 1 New York at 43%, and Oregon and Illinois, both at 42%.

Those are all states that have taken significant measures to curb activity in restaurants and hair salons, among other sectors, which increases rent payment anxieties. Florida and Texas, on the other hand, known for a more open environment for most categories of businesses, have a 35% and a 34% rate, respectively. Missouri has one of the lowest rates in the country, at 20%.

BUSINESSES STRUGGLING TO PAY RENT

Travel/hospitality Gyms Retailers Massage therapists Entertainers Construction/ home services

21ST CENTURY REAL ESTATE INVESTING

U.S. 1031

EXCHANGE SERVICES, INC.

available on Amazon 3400 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida 34239

Court Appointed Receiver, Property Management and Specialty Oversight

excellent experience working with lenders, attorneys and court supervised assignments.

Kenneth P. Saundry, Jr. brings 42 years of business and real estate management experience to each Court Appointed Receiver assignment.  Foreclosure, or ‘Workouts’ Litigation Support  Bankruptcy  Property Oversight and Supervision  Divorces  Family Disputes  Estates and Guardianships

61%

Restaurants/bars Beauty salons

Board Certified Real Estate Attorney has been facilitating 1031 exchanges for over 30 years.

Learn how a 1031 exchange may help you defer taxes, save money and maximize your investment dollars. Visit our website or call for a FREE consultation.

348644-1

A Manatee County orthopedic practice recently announced plans to build a new headquarters and medical facility — in what could be one of the largest construction projects of 2021 in the Bradenton area.

The project, for Coastal Orthopedics, calls for an 88,000-square-foot facility on a 17-acre parcel on State Road 64, just east of Interstate 75. Coastal has had a large presence in east Manatee County for 16 years, and this move, Coastal Orthopedics President Dr. Arthur Valadie says, recognizes that and the area’s continued rapid population surge.

“We’ve made a huge commitment to East County by putting our largest location, to include all of our administrative offices, out there,” Valadie says in an interview with the East County Observer, sister paper of the Business Observer. “We think that’s going to allow us to provide care for that whole corridor, all the way from Parrish and Ellenton, all the way down to that huge amount of growth in Lakewood Ranch and south down to Sarasota County. ” Construction is expected to begin in January. Coastal officials declined

46% 43% 41% 40% 40% 36% 32%

239.348.1114 RealEstateAdvisoryServices.co 348656-1

Kenneth P. Saundry, Jr.

6

BUSINESS OBSERVER | JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021

BusinessObserverFL.com

E C ONOM IC F OR E C A S T 2 0 21

PREP WORK T

he word pivot was thrown around so much in 2020 that it’s enough to make an entrepreneur puke.

Then again, shifting, changing and all-around adapting, whether it’s to chase new markets or capitalize on unexpected customer needs, is the hallmark of a good business owner and executive. Lucy Costa, the president of Fort Myers-based Promotional Incentives, likes to say she’s been staying on the move like that for 30 years. Between multiple recessions, global fuel price hikes, tariff wars and now, of course, the pandemic, Costa, selling logoed promotional products to businesses since founding the firm in 1990, says flexibility is essential.

Promotional Incentives, Costa says, has been “substantially challenged” because trade shows are a primary source of business and leads. Her shift?

Work with companies that now have large home-based workforces, providing new products. That, and continue to maintain low overhead, rebuild internal systems and

MARK GORDON MANAGING EDITOR

be ready for the eventual comeback — whenever that is. “We hope to come out of this in much better shape,” Costa says, echoing a sentiment many entrepreneurs say when looking at 2021.

The be-in-better-shape philosophy might be 2021’s version of the 2020 pivot. At least half of 12 executives interviewed for this economic forecast issue have taken, or are about to take, steps to be better prepared in 2021, for whatever direction the economy goes in. Phoenixbased specialty grocery chain Sprouts Farmers Market, for example, to meet the surging demand grocers are experiencing, plans to go from 23 Florida stores to 34 in 2021 — a 47.8% increase.

At State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, meanwhile, preparation involves figuring out how to make virtual higher education a regular, revenue-producing part of the college’s model. Its Go Live program, where students and instructors gather virtually in real time, is one of the most significant upgrades to how the school connects with students in years, school officials say.

“I think, for us, the biggest opportunity is taking advantage of this creativity and innovation,” SCF President Carol Probstfeld says.

Sarasota-area insurance executives Keith Mercier and Patrick Wright, with Cbiz West Florida, are preparing for 2021 not with a technology innovation but with an old-school approach: They are sending out handwritten notes, blanketing clients and business leaders they hope become clients with personal gestures. “We’ve gone retro,” Mercier says. “We have a whole new way of looking at prospecting.”

The preparation theme only goes so far — in that the uncertainty of the pandemic has made preparing datadriven economic forecasts

Preparation — of the unknown — might be the biggest challenge businesses face in 2021.

a considerable challenge for many businesses. Brian Rist, the founder of Fort Myersbased hurricane protection products installer and manufacturer Storm Smart, says that issue hit him hard this year. He and his leadership team normally do the next year’s forecasting in September and October. In 2020 they didn’t do forecasting until late November. “We are taking a little bit longer with our planning,” Rist says, “and thinking about what could possibly go wrong.”

Ditto for Jen Whyte, cofounder of Fort Myers Brewing, who says the preparation challenge has been especially

acute. In recognizing that, Whyte also offers valuable words for any business owner or executive stuck in the mire of navigating the pandemic: Hyper-focusing on how you react to any challenge goes a long way toward determining the outcome.

“Everything from how do you staff the bar to how much equipment to buy — everything is unpredictable,” Whyte says. “It’s a very odd and difficult time for businesses. What 2020 has really shown us is how little is really in our control.”

Everything from how do you staff the bar to how much equipment to buy — everything is unpredictable.

It’s a very odd and difficult time for businesses. What 2020 has really shown us is how little is really in our control.

Jen Whyte | Fort Myers Brewing

Member FDIC

L to R: Bryan Boudreaux-Manatee County Market Director, Scott & Bea Spoerl Owners of Finecraft Custom Cabinetry

What is a relationship?

“Over the years and throughout our careers, we have worked with many financial institutions, and we have found that the true test of a banking relationship is working through challenging times. Your team has gone above and beyond, time and time again, when it mattered most. We truly value our relationship and hold you and your team in the highest of regards. We look forward to many more years working together.”

813.872.1220 thebankoftampa.com

PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM $393 MILLION FUNDED I 2,215 LOCAL BUSINESSES ASSISTED I 40,495 JOBS POSITIVELY IMPACTED

348639-1

-Scott and Bea Spoerl, Owners, Finecraft Custom Cabinetry

JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com

7

E C ONOM IC F OR E C A S T 2 0 21

MANUFACTURING

products. And with more people than ever moving to Florida, a whole new segment of customers is on the horizon.

“I’m extremely optimistic,” Rist says, with those factors at the forefront. “I think 2021 will be a great year.”

Brian Rist Founder Storm Smart

COMPANY: Brian Rist founded Storm Smart in 1996.

He’s since helped grow the company, which manufactures and installs hurricane protection products, into one of the largest businesses in its field in Florida. With some 200 employees, it had record sales in 2018 and 2019 — $50 million and $49 million, respectively. That’s up from hovering between $22 million and $38 million in the previous five years. Part of the increase stems from a new line of Storm Catcher wind abatement screens, in addition to other innovations.

Storm Smart posted strong growth again in 2020, Rist says, up 46%. That growth came with some whiplash, and pandemic-led challenges. “To say 2020 was the craziest year of all time is putting it lightly,” Rist says. “Early on we thought the phones were going to stop ringing. All of us thought there would be no business in March. Then all of the sudden the phones went on fire. Everyone was

HEALTH CARE

David Verinder President and CEO Sarasota Memorial Health Care System

ORGANIZATION: This year, the first week of March was the busiest week in the 95-year history of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, which operates an 839bed flagship hospital and has some 7,000 staff members.

“We had 600 cars we couldn’t find parking spots for,” President and CEO David Verinder says. “Two weeks later, our volumes were down in half because the pandemic hit. We had to make a lot of changes very, very quickly in a very dramatic way.”

Despite the many challenges the public health system has faced since March, officials remain excited about some developments coming in 2021, what Verinder says will be “the

FILE

Storm Smart Chairman JOHN BOLAND and Founder BRIAN RIST are leading the company through a growth surge. staying home and they wanted to do work in their house.

“The problem was no longer how would we stay in business but how would we be able to keep up with all the business.”

OPPORTUNITIES: One of the keys to handling the surge in demand in 2020, Rist says, was a decision made in 2019 to improve its internal sales and processes with a new program from Salesforce. That investment helped the firm track and close work during the

biggest year in the 95-year history of our growth.” One big example: The community’s new hospital in Venice, now under construction, is expected to open in the fourth quarter. “It’s the first hospital we’ve built since the main campus,” Verinder says. “It brings a whole new market to us, and it brings a whole new service to a community.”

In the year ahead, SMH will also open a new cancer institute at its main campus in Sarasota. Breaking ground on a new behavioral health hospital, possibly in summer 2021, could be on the docket as well.

The organization, Verinder says, has doubled in size in employees, revenue and volume of patients over the past five years. “I think we’ll do it again over next five years,” he says.

main a main theme. “I think, unfortunately, the pandemic is going to dominate it for the next year,” Verinder says. “I think health care in general has learned a lot during the pandemic. It’s learned how to do telemedicine better and research quicker. At end of the day, we will be better off for those lessons learned.”

OPPORTUNITIES: For the health care industry as a whole, the coronavirus will re-

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System’s hospital in Venice is expected to open in late 2021. Construction photo is from May.

THREATS: One of the biggest challenges ahead for the industry, Verinder says, will also be pandemic-related: distributing the COVID-19 vaccine.

“My biggest fear is people not taking it,” he says. “If we have a big part of the population that’s going to be an anti-vaccine population, we’re going to just keep suffering through this for a long time.”

SMH will play a key role in communicating information about the vaccine. “I think we’re going to step up and try to play a leadership role in that,” Verinder says. That will involve educating the community about the vaccine’s effectiveness and safety, with messages coming from both physicians and community leaders.

Another long-term challenge for the Sarasota area is the growing number of people moving to the region who will put more demand on the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System. “How do we continue to meet the needs of the community?” Verinder says. “How do we position ourselves to keep changing and keep growing? It’s a good problem to have.”

— Grier Ferguson

2020 pandemic flurry, when homebound people pounded the firm with orders.

Beyond the pandemic, more storms, even ones that hit Texas and Louisiana or the Carolinas and skip Florida, are counterintuitively top-of-mind marketing for Storm Smart’s

THREATS: One dent in the projections, he says, is the pandemic, with all the unknowns, has made it difficult for his company to do actual projections. He and his leadership team normally do the next year’s forecasting in September and October. In 2020 they didn’t do forecasting until late November, Rist says, and even than “it’s still very uncertain.”

“We are taking a little bit longer with our planning,” he adds, “and thinking about what could possibly go wrong.”

A second, but notable, threat to the business is one that’s been with the manufacturing and trades sectors for years: a labor shortage.

Finding and keeping talented and skilled tradespeople is an ongoing battle. “There just isn’t enough people out there that you want to hire,” Rist says. “It’s a real big challenge.”

— Mark Gordon

COURTESY PHOTOS

DAVID VERINDER, the president and CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, says the health system has doubled in size in terms of employees, revenue and volume of patients over the past five years.

8

BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER | JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021

E C ONOM IC F OR E C A S T 2 0 21

HIGHER EDUCATION

tors to gather virtually in real time. Offering virtual tutoring and advising was also prompted by the pandemic.

“We pivoted on a dime to take student support services virtual,” Probstfeld says.

Carol Probstfeld

President State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota ORGANIZATION: State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota has campuses in Bradenton, Venice and Lakewood Ranch. In fall 2020, SCF had 9,598 students enrolled.

For institutions of higher learning, the pandemic has posed several problems — and necessitated quick solutions. President Carol Probstfeld says she’s proud of what SCF has done in 2020 to find creative solutions to challenges and ways to continue to support students. “When we had to go virtual, we did it in three days,” she says.

That meant ushering in virtual classes and virtual student services. “Every aspect of this institution has been completely focused on what can we do for students and how can we get it done in a new way,” she says.

Fall enrollment exceeded what the school budgeted, but there were some returning and adult students who didn’t come back, likely due to pandemic challenges. The school offered options for students

FILE

CAROL PROBSTFELD, the president of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, says that she’s proud of what SCF has done in 2020 to find creative solutions to challenges and ways to support students amid the pandemic. who had lost jobs or were juggling multiple jobs or raising families. “Flex Start allowed students to start the semester at various points in the semester term,” Probstfeld says.

In the year ahead, SCF will concentrate on its core clients — students. “We want to continue to nail those opportunities for our students,”

Probstfeld says. “That’s got to be where we keep our focus.”

OPPORTUNITIES: Across industries, the pandemic accelerated technological shifts and advances. For many in education, that meant figuring out how to host virtual classes, among other challenges. Now, what had to be

done out of necessity could continue to be part of the educational landscape. “I think for us the biggest opportunity is taking advantage of this creativity and innovation,” Probstfeld says.

In the past year, SCF put Go Live into place, an expanded online learning platform that allows students and instruc-

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY

Tabish Siddiquie

General manager Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club COMPANY: Like many hotel and resort properties hit hard by the pandemic, the Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club had to make some staffing cuts in 2020. Its busy book of business in conferences, weddings and other events slowed significantly, as did hotel room bookings.

Tabish Siddiquie, named general manager in late October, says he has seen a steady increase in leisure travelers at the resort, but business travel remains low. On advantage for the Vinoy is it has a plethora of outdoor spaces and amenities, including a golf course and tennis facility, that are popular with both travelers and local residents.

“Anything related to leisure and the outdoor venues are doing fairly strong,” Siddiquie says, “but I think where we will be waiting for some good news around the [COVID-19] vaccine is business travel and group events. That will probably take some time to recover.”

COURTESY

TABISH SIDDIQUIE was recently named the general manager of the Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club.

THREATS: A long-term decline in business travel is the main concern for Siddiquie, a 20-year veteran of the hospitality industry who, prior to joining the Vinoy, worked at Ritz-Carlton properties in Abu Dhabi, Kazakhstan, Grand Cayman, San Francisco and, closer to home, Sarasota.

“We’re counting on a desire for social interaction, that

THREATS: Like many organizations and businesses, SCF will have its eye toward its financial future in 2021. “We’re working legislatively to see if we can maintain our budget,” Probstfeld says. “We know there will be serious constraints at the state level.”

In general, she says higher education is struggling. “As a state college, we’re very well positioned,” Probstfeld says.

“There are a lot of institutions that are not going to make it.

Small liberal arts institutions have closed their doors, and institutions are reevaluating programs. I think we’ll see a big change-up in our higher education landscape in the country.”

SCF, she says, is in a better position than some other institutions. “I’m very optimistic,” Probstfeld says. “I think we’re in a really solid place.

The population is growing in our two-county region, and I have every reason to believe the college will be part of that growth.”

— Grier Ferguson

when we are past [the pandemic], that there is a desire for meetings to come back, a desire for a lot more in-person interaction,” Siddiquie says.

“But we did find out how well our computers work and how much can get done with a keyboard, mouse and screen. I think that could be a potential threat.”

OPPORTUNITIES: “Leveraging our location will be most important,” Siddiquie says, citing the Vinoy’s close proximity to St. Petersburg’s bustling downtown waterfront, a destination becoming increasingly popular with tourists and in 2020 saw the long-awaited opening of the new St. Pete Pier. “Our hotel is uniquely located with great walkability to restaurants, museums and the whole downtown area. We’re quite lucky that for someone who wants to be outdoors, there are several opportunities within the resort and just outside of the resort.”

Confident leisure travel will bounce back even more during Florida’s peak season for tourism — the Vinoy has already filled several open positions — but Siddiquie has kept a close eye on who is visiting the resort and how they are using it. “We’re looking forward to rebuilding some parts of the team,” Siddiquie says. “The way guests fill up our hotels will indicate areas that we need to staff up in. There could be some habits that change over time through this. There’s some learning that we’re going to have to do in the next couple of years.”

— Brian Hartz

JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com

9

CLOSING OUT 2020 SIGNIFICANT Q4 TRANSACTIONS VIEW ALL OF OUR PROPERTIES AT

WWW.LSICOMMERCIAL.COM INDUSTRIAL DISTRIBUTION

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

COLLIER BLVD.

Location: East of Collier Blvd., north of I-75, part of the City Gate Commerce Park Property Size: 102.68± Acres Zoning: Agricultural / Vacant Industrial Sale Price: $45,369,511 Property Notes: Planned for a 950,000± sq. ft. regional distribution center

HHH RANCH

AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY

RICHARDSON WAY

Location: North of I-75 on Blackburn Road, Sections 29 and 32, Naples, FL 34102 Property Size: 967± Acres Zoning: Agricultural / RFMU Overlay Sale Price: $10,000,000 Property Notes: Sold to Collier County for a variety of future public needs

SONOMA OAKS B VANDERBILT

CO

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY Location: 14295 Collier Blvd.

Naples, FL 34119

EACH RD.

Property Size: 10.58± Acres Zoning: MPUD

LLIE

RB

Sale Price: $6,721,224

LVD .

Property Notes: Planned medical facility in a desirible area of Collier County

PINE ISLAND & PONDELLA

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY Location: 1730 NE Pine Island Rd. Cape Coral, FL 33909

PINE ISLAND RD.

Property Size: 7.31± Acres Zoning: CC PO

ND

EL

Sale Price: $4,083,500 LA

RD

.

More Than Just Dirt.

Property Notes: Planned medical facility in highly trafficked area of Cape Coral

(239) 489-4066

W W W. L S I C O M PA N I E S . C O M | 2 3 9. 4 89. 4 0 6 6

348640-1

FULL-SERVICE REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE • MARKET RESEARCH • LAND SERVICES • APPRAISALS

10

BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER | JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021

E C ONOM IC F OR E C A S T 2 0 21 INSURANCE

Keith Mercier and Patrick Wright West Florida president and executive vice president Cbiz Insurance Services COMPANY: Cbiz Insurance Services, part of the national Cbiz financial services network, based in Cleveland, handles employee benefits and commercial insurance for a range of clients on Florida’s west coast. Industries it has clients in include manufacturing, construction and hospitality.

Cbiz began the pandemic in triage: Its two top area executives, Keith Mercier and Patrick Wright, spent weeks calling and meeting with every client they could to double check policies and readjust as needed. Triage eventually gave way to targeting, or trying to target, new business in a whole new environment.

Mercier, the Florida West Coast Cbiz president, says the region grew its book of business a little bit in 2020.

But nothing like the pre-pandemic projections or like what it had been doing in January and February.

KEITH MERCIER

Florida executive vice president, have tweaked how they outreach with clients and companies they are wooing for business. With time on their hands, they are sending more handwritten notes, for example, and sending printed newspaper clips of stories that mention businesses on their target list. “We’ve gone retro,” Mercier says. “We have a whole new way of looking at prospecting.”

In retaining and landing new clients, it helps, executives add, that they split their work 50-50 between commercial insurance and employee benefits, to not get overleveraged in one niche. “Most agents only do one,” Wright says. “That really helps us, that we do both.”

THREATS: Idle time, on the flip side, can present a problem. With no events and in-person networking, the company has lost the edge of doing deals on the golf course, football game or restaurant, where executives can look someone in the eye. On top of that, with the uncertainty of the pandemic and the economy, clients, instead of a flat-out yes or no, are putting insurance firms like Cbiz in book-of-business purgatory.

“It’s hard to get people to make a decision,” Wright says.

“Everything has been pushed down the road.”

SUSAN GOLDSTEIN, a senior commercial real estate adviser at MS&C Commercial, says the strong residential market in the Sarasota area is the basis of a strong commercial market.

COURTESY

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Susan Goldstein Senior commercial real estate adviser MS&C Commercial

Dave McGlinchey

COMPANY: Susan Goldstein has facilitated transactions across Sarasota and Manatee counties for more than 15 years, totaling more than $100 million. She says an influx of new residents moving from other parts of the country drives some commercial real estate activity. “Fundamentally, the economics are those new residents need new services filled by commercial real estate,” Goldstein says. “Our market dynamics are very different than the global market. The strong residential market is the basis of our strong commercial market.”

COMPANY: Supermarket chain Sprouts Farmers Market has made big inroads into Florida in the past three years.

Dave McGlinchey, the chief format officer of Sprouts, tells the Business Observer in an email that the Phoenix-based chain, with more than 340 stores in the U.S., will introduce a smaller store layout in 2021 of 21,000 to 25,000 square feet. It also plans to unveil a new format design and layout in several stores.

Sprouts also aims to continue its rapid expansion in Florida next year. It entered the Sunshine State in 2017 with one store in Tampa. Now the chain is statewide with 23 stores. In 2021, Sprouts is expected to open 11 more stores in the state, including locations in Boynton Beach, Brandon, Dania Beach, Miami, Oakland Park, Port St. Lucie and Tampa Heights.

“Currently, Sprouts has five distribution centers, and we plan to open two more during the first half of 2021, including one in Orlando, which will allow us to bring fresher and more locally sourced produce to our Florida stores,” McGlinchey says.

OPPORTUNITIES: Even with an increase in people working from home, Goldstein sees opportunities in the office market. “I think any kind of change breeds opportunity for investors and business owners,” she says. “I think the biggest struggle will be to have realistic expectations on both sides. There are potential buyers that believe they can find steals. I don’t see a lot of steals out there. And then owners — sellers of properties — need to look at where the market is, where we believe it’s going and price appropriately and respond as we determine where the market is.”

The pandemic has encouraged work-from-home situations that have led some firms to downsize, but Goldstein says offices will continue to be important for company culture and creativity. Some businesses might also need more space for social distancing. “There are businesses that are going to expand, and there are businesses that are going to shrink their footprint,” she says.

Beyond the office market, Goldstein sees continued opportunities ahead in

OPPORTUNITIES. If not an opportunity within the pandemic, an advantage, or silver lining, is profits are up — and for a simple reason: Expenses are down. From

PATRICK WRIGHT smaller dry cleaning bills to significantly less meals out with clients and prospective clients to curtailed travel, the costs of doing business have shrunk. “The expense load is way down,” Mercier says. “We were road dogs. Now we aren’t even traveling at all.”

Instead of traveling, Mercier and Wright, Cbiz West

— Mark Gordon

GROCERIES Chief format officer Sprouts

OPPORTUNITIES: Sprouts offers natural, organic and gluten-free foods along with produce, meats, vitamins and

COURTESY PHOTOS

In 2021, Sprouts is expected to open 11 more stores in Florida, including in Boynton Beach, Brandon, Dania Beach, Miami, Oakland Park, Port St. Lucie and Tampa Heights. supplements. Other grocery chains have been focusing on the natural and organic realm, too, especially in recent years, following changing consumer preferences.

Those product areas could be an opportunity for grocery chains in 2021 and beyond.

“While we expect more grocers and retail chains to continue to explore natural and organic products, we do not expect this to become their main focus,” McGlinchey says.

“We are confident Sprouts is positioned well among this change since health-focused and attribute-driven products have been at the core of our stores since our inception.”

THREATS: For the grocery industry, the pandemic has brought a host of challenges,

DAVE MCGLINCHEY among them supply chain issues. Working to address these issues will be a focus moving forward. McGlinchey says, “These unusual times highlight the importance of supply chain resiliency going forward.”

— Grier Ferguson

industrial space. “Certainly, the industrial market has been hot and will continue to be hot,” she says. “The result of the pandemic is in part that many businesses are trying to move their operations or supply chains local or at least to the U.S., and that is creating a high demand for industrial product.”

THREATS: The retail sector has been impacted by the pandemic in a big way, with storefront vacancies and bankruptcies dotting the landscape. To wit: Real estate data firm CoStar Group reports that the 40 major retailers that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and the 11,157 stores that closed this year both set new annual records.

On the flip side, Goldstein believes the strong residential development in the area will continue to support pockets of retail. As one example of retail real estate strength, Goldstein points to a transaction in the St. Armands Circle submarket in Sarasota. Retail vacancies remain on the Circle, but it was also the site of a recordbreaking sale this year when Limestone Asset Management and Orion Real Estate Group purchased a pair of retail shops for $15.5 million. At $1,712 per square foot, it set a record in the shopping district for price per square foot, according to a Business Observer analysis.

In general, although 2020 has been a year of upheaval, Goldstein predicts a different kind of year ahead. “I see a calmness coming on the market with the end of the election and the availability of these vaccines,” she says. For business owners, that could be a sense of relief. “Now they need to really drill down even more and figure out where they want to go and how real estate will be a part of that,” Goldstein says. “I’m very optimistic about 2021.”

— Grier Ferguson

JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com

11

E C ONOM IC F OR E C A S T 2 0 21 BANKING

John Corbett CEO South State Corp.

COMPANY: The past 12 months have been “transformational,” for the bank, CEO John Corbett says, and the massive shift began several weeks prior to the pandemic.

A key date was Jan. 27, when the bank Corbett had been running, Winter Haven-based CenterState, announced plans to merge with Columbia, S.C.-based South State. The $6 billion deal built a Southeast banking power, now with $38 billion in assets and some 300 branches in six states. The company kept the South State name, mostly for branding and marketing purposes as a regional bank, Corbett says, and kept the headquarters in Polk County. The merger closed June 7.

OPPORTUNITIES: The bank attacked the biggest pan-

demic opportunity — federal PPP loans — with vigor, handling more than 20,000 loans worth $2.4 billion. Corbett and many on the South State team, like dozens of fellow bankers across the region, worked nights and weekends to stay ahead of the deluge.

“I remember taking a conference call on Easter Sunday at midnight,” Corbett recalls.

The bank’s biggest potential area for growth in 2021, Corbett says, is in residential loans. The bank did about 5,000 residential loans in the third quarter, and with the hot housing market, Corbett expects that trend to continue well into 2021. One factor that helps the bank there, and in other areas, he says, is geography and pandemic politics: Most of South State’s markets are in states that didn’t shut down economies and businesses at the rate some other states did.

“Markets in states that stayed open will have an easier time with the economy than states that closed,” Corbett says.

THREATS: The state of the economy, even while better in most Southeast states, is something Corbett keeps a close watch on. An important metric he looks at to gauge that is the bank’s loan pipeline, of work and deals in progress. It was down 30% through August, he says, but as of mid-December, “we are almost back to where we were before the crisis.”

If that pipeline drops in 2021, that could be a bad sign for the bank. Also, although not a particular threat to South State, the merger/ consolidation trend among banks will likely keep a steady pace in 2021. That’s a byproduct of low interest rates, he says, which clamp down on bank revenues. “There were several big bang mergers in 2020,” Corbett says, including CenterState-South State. “You will probably see more banks merge [in 2021].”

— Mark Gordon

HOSPITALITY

Jen Whyte

Co-owner Fort Myers Brewing

FILE

JEN and ROB WHYTE will be celebrating 10 years in business for Fort Myers Brewing in 2021.

COMPANY: Good times were supposed to flow at Fort Myers Brewing in 2020. The brewery/tasting room/social hub — the oldest and largest brewery in Fort Myers, founded in 2011 — began the year planning a major expansion project. Approved by Lee County commissioners in 2019, the project revolved around building a 40,000-squarefoot brewery, office, tasting hall and beer garden on land previously owned by the Lee County Port Authority. Fort Myers Brewing owners Ron and Jen Whyte acquired the 23-acre vacant parcel for the project, near Southwest Florida International Airport, for $2.05 million.

Instead of making major progress on that project in 2020, the company did something even more essential: survive the pandemic. Sales

Promote Your Business to Southwest Florida’s Attorneys

dropped 5% in 2020 over 2019 — a decrease Whyte consider a win given all the obstacles in running a business that relies on people being close together, drinking and socializing.

“In March, everything was all doom and gloom,” Whyte says. “But the year has turned out better than we expected when all this started.”

OPPORTUNITIES: The savior in 2020 for Fort Myers Brewing — and Whyte expects that continue in 2021 — is packaged beer, sold in Publix and a host of other retailers. Fort Myers Brewing products are also available in some 250 restaurants across Southwest Florida. “Packaged beer has grown consistently since May,” Whyte says.

THREATS: An issue at the forefront for Whyte is the timing of when things, for a brewery at least, will return to any semblance of normalcy.

February and March are usually two of the busiest months of the year for Southwest

Florida restaurants. Even with the vaccine, Whyte is unsure those upcoming months will be much different than the last few months of 2020. “I’m less optimistic than a lot of other people,” Whyte says.

“We are pretty much going to lose our high season again.

That will wipe us out for a lot of 2021.”

Another issue is planning and forecasting. A data-driven planner, Whyte has been flying almost blind as 2020 winds down and she preps the business for 2021. Fort Myers Brewing spent about $500,000 on new equipment in 2019 for 2020 and didn’t need all of it. She has forecast about $200,000 in new equipment for 2021.

“Everything from how do you staff the bar to how much equipment to buy — everything is unpredictable,” Whyte says. “It’s a very odd and difficult time for businesses. What 2020 has really shown us is how little is really in our control.”

— Mark Gordon

FEATURED PROPERTY

FOR SALE

11 ACRES ZONED INDUSTRIAL

Mailed directly to attorneys for more than 30 years

1000 SARASOTA CENTER BLVD.

Advertising starting at just $250

NEAR LAKEWOOD RANCH

Call Linda Fiore at 239.690.9840 • Linda@ConricPR.com www.LeeBar.org

For information call Jon Kleiber at 941-780-4623 Email: jkleiber@high.net • www.WarehouseBroker.com

348642-1

CALL FOR PRICING

348641-1

Award Winning Monthly Magazine

FILE

South State Executive Chairman ROBERT HILL and CEO JOHN CORBETT announced a merger between Winter Haven-based CenterState, which Corbett had helmed, and Columbia, S.C.-based South State, which Hill had run, in January 2020.

12

BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER | JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021

E C ONOM IC F OR E C A S T 2 0 21

Bob Glaser

President and CEO Smith & Associates COMPANY: Bob Glaser, in his 44th year with Smith & Associates, one of the leading residential real estate firms in the Tampa Bay region, has seen many up and downs in the market during his long career. But going into 2021, he’s as bullish as he’s ever been about the firm’s prospects for growth.

The pandemic changed the way homebuyers look for properties — leading firms like Smith & Associates to quickly adapt to showing homes via FaceTime and Google Hangouts, for example — but sales didn’t slow, and prices rose because inventory, already low in 2019, dropped even further. “Some folks decided that they didn’t want to sell during the pandemic,” Glaser says. “They wanted to be safe in their own home.”

On the other hand, because people were spending so much time at home, or wanting to move away from crowded northern cities, demand skyrocketed. “So many people were trying to get into the market or upgrade what they had; that’s been a stimulus to value.”

OPPORTUNITIES: That’s not to say that people aren’t leaving the area. Glaser says the relatively spread-out Tampa Bay region is too crowded for some homeowners — he cited the Florida Keys and western states, such as Colorado, as population relocation destinations for home sellers.

“That has, thankfully, opened up the market, so there’s some more inventory,” he says.

The coming year looks to be a big one for Smith & Associates because the bulk of its business comes from high-end, luxury condos — a class that has boomed recently and shows no signs of slowing down, with several major projects, like Virage Bayshore and the Residences at the Tampa Edition, already opened and more on the way.

“We will end up ahead of last year,” he says, looking ahead to 2021’s revenue, “which is remarkable considering that we are already at $1.6 billion [in sales] at this point in December.”

THREATS: As Tampa and St. Petersburg’s skylines fill in with condo towers, Smith & Associates will have to look farther afield for listings, Glaser says. “You can only get so many units from a market, so you either have to be digging up your own units up or

COURTESY

taking somebody else’s,” he says. “So the only way we can do that is to grow our footprint in the ZIP codes where we have a strong market share.” Glaser cites Westchase, Wesley Chapel and the west side of northern Pinellas County as areas where Smith & Associates would like to be stronger. “There’s great housing stock there.”

The other major challenge is infrastructure, or lack thereof, Glaser says. Tampa Bay’s con-

tinued struggles with transportation could slow the pipeline of companies moving to and starting up in the region, which would, in turn, impede job growth. Conversely, rising employment and wages gives the public confidence in the market and faith home values will increase, thereby justifying their investment. “You’ve got to have job growth,” Glaser says.

— Brian Hartz

BOB GLASER has been with Smith & Associates for 44 years.

346865-1

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

13

BusinessObserverFL.com

E C ONOM IC F OR E C A S T 2 0 21

TECHNOLOGY

officers that indicated at least 25% of workers will continue to work remotely in 2021, St. Thomas expects the new normal to stick around for quite some time. “That’s a higher percentage than I would have thought,” she says.

Jill St. Thomas Executive director Tampa Bay Tech

ORGANIZATION: In 2020, Tampa Bay Tech, like many other industry associations, had to drastically rethink the way it presents its member programming. The idea that tech-sector workers are merely keyboard warriors, communicating via screens and webcams, couldn’t be further from the truth, says Jill St. Thomas, the executive director of Tampa Bay Tech.

The nonprofit technology council — one of the nation’s oldest and largest technology groups — was founded in 2000 and boasts more than 100 member companies.

“The tech community relies heavily on meetups to engage with peers and connect with thought leadership,” she says.

Leveraging its own network and the website Meetup. com, Tampa Bay Tech hosts, facilitates and promotes dozens of events each year, many of them in person.

That all changed, of course, because of the COVID-19 crisis. “We had to shift our mindset,” St. Thomas says.

“When you’re in the space of

MARK WEMPLE

Tampa Bay Tech, one of the nation’s oldest and largest technology groups, is run by JILL ST. THOMAS. putting on events, one of your key metrics is always how many people came, and so we had [to develop] this new kind of quantity metric. We’ve learned this year that some of our most successful events were smaller peer gatherings, like a [virtual] roundtable meeting of our CEO council with maybe a dozen members.” A consistently high level

CONSTRUCTION

Josh Christensen General manager Suffolk Construction Co.

COMPANY: Suffolk Construction Co., a Boston-based national builder with a strong presence throughout Southwest Florida and the Gulf Coast, has plenty to look forward to in 2021. For one, it’s expected to finish construction on Tampa Edition Hotel & Residences, a 27-story condo and hotel tower that’s part of Strategic Property Partners’ $3 billion Water Street Tampa development. It will also start work on Red Apple Group’s 45-story condo and hotel tower at 400 Central Ave. in downtown St. Petersburg.

“Look for some activity there in the first quarter,” Suffolk General Manager Josh Christensen says. “We’re really excited about that.”

Suffolk General Manager JOSH CHRISTENSEN

of engagement paid off for Tampa Bay Tech, St. Thomas says, as the organization added 23 new members and annual partners this year.

OPPORTUNITIES: Given the massive shift to remote work reshaping many industries, St. Thomas believes companies that specialize in online collaboration tools and data

security will flourish in 2021 and beyond as prime candidates for investment and acquisition. Salesforce’s recent $27.7 billion purchase of Slack is a prime example of that trend. “What we’re hearing from our bigger companies is that nobody is going back until mid-2021 to any kind of an office,” she says. Citing a survey of chief information

THREATS: “One of the first things that comes to mind is budgets,” St. Thomas says.

“We saw a lot of companies this year on spending freezes, which impacts internal systems and things like security and collaboration tools.”

Continued cuts and freezes would also constrict the talent pipeline essential to the growth of the region’s tech sector, she says. “Hopefully, in January some of those spending freezes will open up.”

However, when hiring freezes come to an end, tech companies could have a larger pool of applicants to choose from if they’re willing to invest in training and up-skilling laid-off workers from other sectors. “Unemployment hit so hard in Florida with so many people in the service and hospitality industries,” St. Thomas says.

— Brian Hartz

THREATS: Suffolk, Christensen says, doesn’t see any threats “that the rest of the world isn’t looking at.” He says the company is keeping an eye on the presidential transition and what President-elect Joe Biden’s administration and the new U.S. Congress will prioritize when it comes to infrastructure. “Depending on the legislation, there may be some greater focus on sustainability, resiliency [and] green building,” Christensen says. “We might see some shifts there, but as far as overall concerns, I am more positive than negative just because of the influx of people coming to Florida.”

Suffolk had one project shut down because of fallout from the pandemic, but it has since restarted and Christensen sees no reason to believe there will be significant disruptions ahead. “We’re very fortunate that basically our entire industry was deemed essential,” Christensen says.

OPPORTUNITIES: The importance of Florida’s population surge can’t be understated, Christensen says. The boom has only strengthened during the coronavirus pandemic as people look to get out of crowded, cold-weather northern cities. “Starts did slow down a bit, but with all of the people moving to Florida, there’s a lot in the hopper,” he says. Florida’s construction industry is somewhat insulated from downturns because construction of of-

COURTESY PHOTOS

Suffolk is expected to complete the Tampa Edition Hotel & Residences, a 27-story condo and hotel tower that’s part of Strategic Property Partners’ $3 billion Water Street Tampa, in 2021. fices, schools, churches, retail establishments and other public and commercial spaces tends to follow the population, unlike other areas of the country where people move to where amenities are located.

“The luxury condominium market is strong right now,” Christensen says, “but all the

way on the other end of the spectrum, affordable housing is also a robust market. Residential is going to be strong to keep up with the people moving here.”

— Brian Hartz

14

BUSINESS OBSERVER | JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021

BusinessObserverFL.com

E C ONOM IC F OR E C A S T 2 0 21

Heads in Beds The key to Florida’s jobs recovery lies in hotels and restaurants.

S

everal economic development experts project solid job growth along the west coast of Florida in 2021. That’s the good news.

The bad news? Employment is down more than 4% in most of the region relative to the end of 2019, according to the latest available data from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Florida’s private sector shed nearly 1.2 mil-

lion jobs between December 2019 and April 2020, DEO data shows. After nearly surpassing 8 million jobs to end the year, private sector jobs numbers plunged from March to April, as COVID-19 essentially put a stop to business as usual.

As far as Florida’s economic forecast, that downturn created ample opportunity for growth in the following months. The question now: How quickly will the jobs come back?

The jobs train is picking up some speed; employment has already recovered substantial-

ly since spring. But as of November, the state needs to add another 500,000 jobs to clear 8 million private sector jobs — after ending 2019 needing just 20,000 jobs to get there.

Along the west coast of Florida, the DOE forecasts employment will grow annually by between 1% and 2% from 2020 through 2028.

At that rate, it would take the state six or seven years to recover. That’s certainly a conservative estimate — consider private sector employment grew by 11% from April to November — but it does give a

fair indication of how difficult the road ahead may yet be.

Not surprisingly, a quick jobs recovery requires a huge number of people going back to work in leisure and hospitality — sectors that pace the region, and the state.

Before the pandemic shut down the state’s economy, Florida’s leisure and hospitality industry supported nearly 1.3 million jobs. Two months later, that number had plummeted to below 730,000 — an employment level not seen since 1993.

Many of those jobs have

already come back. In November, for example, statewide leisure and hospitality employment nearly reached 1.1 million.

But that only gets things back to where they were in 2014, supporting the idea that a full recovery might be a few years away. Along the west coast of the state, the DOE projects that leisure and hospitality employment will grow by more than 3% annually, or 30% from 2020 to 2028.

— Alexander Walsh

JOB PROJECTIONS BY REGION CHARLOTTE, COLLIER, GLADES, HENDRY, LEE

POLK COUNTY

HERNANDO AND PASCO COUNTIES

MANATEE AND SARASOTA COUNTIES

Employment Change Industry 2020 2028 Total Percent Total 525,140 603,554 78,414 14.9% Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting 8,703 8,195 -508 -5.8% Mining 329 339 10 3.0% Construction 55,059 63,342 8,283 15.0% 12,165 12,706 541 4.4% Manufacturing Trade, Transportation, and Utilities 94,905 103,656 8,751 9.2% 5,199 5,205 6 0.1% Information 26,205 27,805 1,600 6.1% Financial Activities 60,428 69,219 8,791 14.5% Professional and Business Services Education and Health Services 103,476 120,942 17,466 16.9% 69,807 91,361 21,554 30.9% Leisure and Hospitality 19,963 24,276 4,313 21.6% Other Services (Except Government) 65,119 71,028 5,909 9.1% Government Self-Employed 41,327 47,860 6,533 15.8%

Industry Total Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting Construction Manufacturing Trade, Transportation, and Utilities Information Financial Activities Professional and Business Services Education and Health Services Leisure and Hospitality Other Services (Except Government) Government Self-Employed

Employment Change 2020 2028 Total Percent 180,103 204,471 24,368 13.5% 713 681 -32 -4.5% 13,856 15,321 1,465 10.6% 5,916 6,202 286 4.8% 37,718 40,611 2,893 7.7% 1,285 1,357 72 5.6% 6,163 6,339 176 2.9% 18,193 21,595 3,402 18.7% 47,265 54,699 7,434 15.7% 19,183 25,067 5,884 30.7% 6,656 7,443 787 11.8% 22,836 24,461 1,625 7.1% 12,164 13,490 1,326 10.9%

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

Employment Change Industry 2020 2028 Total Percent Total 786,864 887,317 100,453 12.8% Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting 5,403 5,076 -327 -6.1% 43,146 47,838 4,692 10.9% Construction Manufacturing 28,771 30,078 1,307 4.5% Trade, Transportation, and Utilities 134,909 143,844 8,935 6.6% Information 15,957 16,996 1,039 6.5% Financial Activities 83,093 90,080 6,987 8.4% Professional and Business Services 143,741 167,734 23,993 16.7% Education and Health Services 147,009 167,794 20,785 14.1% Leisure and Hospitality 69,254 92,299 23,045 33.3% 22,270 26,225 3,955 17.8% Other Services (Except Government) Government 69,345 69,225 -120 -0.2% Self-Employed 48,701 55,240 6,539 13.4%

Employment Change Industry 2020 2028 Total Percent Total 252,629 281,247 28,618 11.3% Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting 2,480 2,308 -172 -6.9% Mining 832 862 30 3.6% Construction 13,316 14,334 1,018 7.6% 17,895 18,361 466 2.6% Manufacturing Trade, Transportation, and Utilities 61,995 69,560 7,565 12.2% 1,804 1,732 -72 -4.0% Information 16,554 17,525 971 5.9% Financial Activities 30,504 35,005 4,501 14.8% Professional and Business Services Education and Health Services 49,105 55,097 5,992 12.2% 20,704 27,448 6,744 32.6% Leisure and Hospitality 8,309 8,748 439 5.3% Other Services (Except Government) 26,677 27,251 574 2.2% Government Self-Employed 15,576 16,890 1,314 8.4%

Employment Change Industry 2020 2028 Total Percent Total 323,562 366,748 43,186 13.3% Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting 3983 3748 -235 -5.9% Construction 26,469 31,151 4,682 17.7% Manufacturing 16,807 17,429 622 3.7% Trade, Transportation, and Utilities 59,107 63,266 4,159 7.0% 3,406 3,465 59 1.7% Information Financial Activities 15,509 16,600 1,091 7.0% Professional and Business Services 39,041 44,260 5,219 13.4% Education and Health Services 69,529 80,269 10,740 15.4% Leisure and Hospitality 39,050 51,105 12,055 30.9% Other Services (Except Government) 12,950 14,461 1,511 11.7% 27,662 28,723 1,061 3.8% Government Self-Employed 22,629 25,948 3,319 14.7%

PINELLAS COUNTY

Employment Change Industry 2020 2028 Total Percent Total 482,845 533,809 50,964 10.6% Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting 42 40 -2 -4.8% 24,269 25,330 1,061 4.4% Construction Manufacturing 33,944 33,738 -206 -0.6% Trade, Transportation, and Utilities 76,401 80,047 3,646 4.8% Information 6,612 6,600 -12 -0.2% Financial Activities 36,521 39,138 2,617 7.2% Professional and Business Services 79,832 90,104 10,272 12.9% Education and Health Services 100,156 112,244 12,088 12.1% Leisure and Hospitality 49,886 66,074 16,188 32.4% 18,697 20,493 1,796 9.6% Other Services (Except Government) Government 43,006 44,339 1,333 3.1% Self-Employed 28,915 32,018 3,103 10.7% FLORIDAJOBS.ORG/WORKFORCE-STATISTICS/DATA-CENTER/STATISTICAL-PROGRAMS/EMPLOYMENT-PROJECTIONS

AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE County Charlotte Collier Hillsborough Lee Manatee Pasco Pinellas Polk Sarasota

2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 $40,358 $38,922 $37,707 $36,364 $34,563 $34,046 $33,218 $32,835 $32,382 $32,580 $32,935 $32,848 $50,117 $48,695 $46,423 $45,429 $43,993 $43,220 $41,779 $40,974 $40,807 $39,813 $40,186 $41,280 $56,361 $54,569 $52,649 $51,245 $48,430 $47,410 $46,895 $46,084 $45,111 $44,722 $43,334 $41,762 $46,195 $44,828 $43,509 $41,893 $39,629 $38,883 $38,629 $38,193 $37,605 $37,638 $37,881 $37,677 $44,315 $43,044 $41,597 $40,916 $37,936 $37,313 $37,000 $36,952 $35,965 $35,743 $34,930 $34,812 $41,017 $39,200 $38,247 $37,212 $35,324 $34,545 $33,764 $33,345 $32,975 $32,349 $32,625 $31,862 $50,799 $49,281 $47,740 $47,004 $44,759 $43,496 $43,960 $42,388 $41,098 $39,957 $39,264 $38,007 $43,821 $42,575 $41,386 $40,247 $38,512 $37,484 $36,952 $36,183 $35,656 $35,476 $35,183 $34,406 $47,747 $47,350 $45,258 $43,618 $41,606 $40,564 $39,907 $39,167 $38,660 $38,456 $38,255 $37,762 FLORIDAJOBS.ORG/WORKFORCE-STATISTICS/DATA-CENTER/STATISTICAL-PROGRAMS/QUARTERLY-CENSUS-OF-EMPLOYMENT-AND-WAGES

JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021 | BUSINESS OBSERVER

BusinessObserverFL.com

15

When you need to engage with business leaders along the Gulf Coast

erFL.c bserv

om.

ssO usine

B Daily Brief

2021 SPECIAL EDITIONS: JANUARY The Road Ahead/ Economic Forecast

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

Residential Real Estate

Law

All in the Family

The companies and people who drive the industry.

Firms, cases and attorneys who are changing the industry.

Insurance

In Every Issue

Family businesses: survive - and thrive through a recession.

Leading trends and how they will affect your business.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

In Every Issue

Top Contractors

In Every Issue

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Top 50 contractors in the region, ranked by revenue.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Commercial Real Estate

Commercial Real Estate

Top dealmakers, companies and trends.

The top dealmakers, companies and trends.

After a painful 2020, what does the new year hold in store?

Diversions Executive Diversions: Go behind the scene of leaders in the region in their passions outside the office.

In Every Issue

In Every Issue Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Quarterly Banking Winners and losers of the financial sector.

Made on the Gulf Coast An inside look at the makers and manufacturing leaders.

Commercial Real Estate

Covering company stories, strategies and

Top dealmakers, companies and trends.

business news.

Commercial Real Estate Top dealmakers, companies and trends.

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

In Every Issue

In Every Issue

In Every Issue

In Every Issue

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Top Entrepreneur

Marketing/Branding

In Every Issue

Celebrate the doers of the region.

Top Entrepreneurs Awards Luncheon: May 13; event sponsorships available.

Trends and campaigns that move people and companies to action.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

The largest companies in the region, ranked by revenue.

In Every Issue

Quarterly Banking

Health Care

In Every Issue

Winners and losers of the financial sector.

Innovations in the business of medicine and health care.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

In Every Issue

In Every Issue

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Commercial Real Estate

Commercial Real Estate

Top dealmakers, companies and trends.

Top dealmakers, companies and trends.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Commercial Real Estate

Commercial Real Estate Top dealmakers, companies and trends.

Top dealmakers, companies and trends.

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

MAGAZINE: Top 500

DECEMBER

Insurance

Law

Cool Construction

Hospitality /Tourism

Leading trends and how they will affect your business.

Firms, cases and attorneys who are changing the industry.

The region’s most interesting and unique projects.

Latest trends and buzz of the major economic driver.

Quarterly Banking

In Every Issue

In Every Issue

In Every Issue

Winners and losers of the financial sector.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

40 Under 40

In Every Issue

Quarterly Banking

Next generation of business leaders.

40 Under 40 Awards Reception: Oct. 14; event sponsorships available.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Winners and losers of the financial sector.

In Every Issue

Commercial Real Estate Top dealmakers, companies and trends.

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

In Every Issue Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Commercial Real Estate Top dealmakers, companies and trends.

Top Deals & Newsmakers

Covering company stories, strategies and business news.

Commercial Real Estate

The biggest deals of 2020 and firms that left their mark in the region. *Full page ads only in this issue.

The top dealmakers, companies and trends.

For a complete advertising media kit or to reserve space in one of the special issues, please contact Emma Burke at 941-366-3468 or email eburke@yourobserver.com.

In Every issue

BusinessObserverFL.com

344408-1

MAY

16

BusinessObserverFL.com

BUSINESS OBSERVER | JANUARY 1, 2021 – JANUARY 7, 2021

Jarred D. Duke Business Litigation

When Legal Disputes Arise, It’s Important To Know Your Options.

Jarred represents individuals and businesses in cases related to real estate, construction, partnership/ shareholder and non-competition matters. Being involved in a dispute, however, doesn’t necessarily mean you jump straight to litigation. That is why Jarred provides his clients with a practical, cost-effective analysis of all available options because his ultimate goal is always the same – to give our clients a better tomorrow – just as we’ve been doing since 1924.

Adapting. Changing. Moving forward. henlaw.com • 239.344.1100 Fort Myers • Bonita Springs • Naples

©2020 Henderson Franklin Starnes & Holt, P.A.

326372-1

B U S I N E S S & TA X • B U S I N E S S L I T I G AT I O N • C O N S T R U C T I O N • D I V O R C E , M A R I TA L & F A M I LY • E M P L O Y M E N T H E A LT H C A R E • I N T E L L E C T U A L P R O P E R T Y • L A N D U S E , ZO N I N G & E N V I R O N M E N TA L • M E R G E R S & ACQU ISITIONS • R E AL ESTATE • TORT & INSU R ANCE • WILL S , TRUST & ESTATE PL ANNING • WOR K ER S’ COMPENSATION

HELLO WE ARE READY! LET’S TALK!

RE/MAX Alliance Group 941-758-7777 (O) 941-539-8313 (C)

311135-1

Stan Rutstein

TM

WWW.STANRUTSTEIN.COM

JUST ASK!

TM

FOR THE BEST! 2020 -#1 RE/MAX Commercial Realtor—Florida Region* 2019- #1 RE/MAX Commercial Realtor – Florida Region 2018 - #1 RE/MAX Commercial Realtor – Florida Region 2017 - #2 RE/MAX Commercial Realtor – Florida Region 2016- #2 RE/MAX Commercial Realtor – Florida Region 2015- #1 RE/MAX Commercial Realtor – Florida Region 2014 - #1 RE/MAX Commercial Realtor – Florida Region 2013- #1 RE/MAX Commercial Realtor – Florida Region 2012 - #1 RE/MAX Commercial Realtor – Florida Region *As per RE/MAX results from 01/01/20 until 09/30/20

Stan Rutstein brings over 45 years of national and international business experience to the commercial real estate industry. His vast experience dealing with all forms of locations throughout the State of Florida bodes well for projects that need vision and foresight. Because of this background, Stan currently works representing restaurants, retailers, professional space, and developers working on large and/or small housing developments, shopping centers, banks, and hotel developers looking for sites and areas of opportunity. Stan has covered and completed projects in West Palm Beach, Naples, Fort Myers, Venice, Sarasota, Bradenton, Saint Petersburg, Tampa, Ocala and Winter Park and feels qualified to research and give direction for the entire State of Florida. His time is totally spent in the practice of commercial real estate.

Because the commercial market continues to expand, there is a renewed focus on the influx of new residents who need services. Therefore, the practice covers a broad range of all categories.

RE/MAX Alliance Group is the #1 RE/MAX franchise in Florida and the #9 RE/MAX franchise nationally. It is the #1 RE/MAX franchise in Florida for contributions to the Children’s Miracle Network. The company offers residential and commercial real estate solutions throughout Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

Stan Rutstein - RE/MAX Alliance Group / 941-758-7777 Office / 941-539-8313 Cell / stan@stanrutstein.com

TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF STAN’S DONE DEALS IN 2020 MAD CARINO APARTMENTS

264 Acres

LEASED

4501 US 19, Palmetto, FL 12 UNITS

US 301 & SR 62, Parrish, FL

Peachwave Frozen Yogurt

Purchase Price: $8 Million

249 Colony Blvd, Venice, FL

Purchase Price: $725,000.00

Two - Office Building

6.75 Acres

2535 Bee Ridge Rd, Sarasota

1623 53rd Ave W, Bradenton

Purchase Price: $350,000.00

Purchase Price: $500,000.00

LEASED

Warehouse

LEASED

1 N. Tuttle Ave, Sarasota

7245 21st St. Ct. E, Sarasota Purchase Price: $800,000.00

2000 Webber St., Sarasota

2,500 SF

5,500 SF