JULY 17, 2026 - JULY 23, 2026 | THREE DOLLARS
FLOR IDA’S NE WSPAPER FOR T HE C - SUI T E
Startups | Entrepreneur brings caring, comforting side to pet cremation 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
HEAVY LIFT Construction equipment dealership seeks to grow market share quickly — and with a surprising target demographic. PAGE 12
DEVIN PONDER | President and CEO, Cornerstone Equipment
MARK WEMPLE
TOURISM
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Pre Game
Large Crowds
A Charlotte County site, already approved for an 84-room LaQuinta Inn, has been listed for sale. PAGE 3
An events space and social meeting building for sale in Sarasota has drawn significant interest. PAGE 16
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT
Walk this Way
Super Market
An expansion of the West Riverwalk (right) in Tampa, a $60 million project, has hit a key milestone. PAGE 7
Sarasota bans data center applications for 1 year. 7 Prolific developer buys Brandon site for apartments. 18 Publix adds multiple stores in region. 18
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14 Builder embeds AI-trained humans in $1.1B project. It’s Coming! What do the region’s smartest business leaders need to know? It’s in the Big Book of Business. Available this September. Exclusively to subscribers. marketing.businessobserverfl.com/subscribe
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DON’T MISS:
Detwiler’s Farm Market has announced plans to build a new store — it’s biggest location yet. PAGE 18
REAL ESTATE