Anthony Homer » Lakewood Ranch

LAKEWOOD RANCH SALES SUCCESS & BUSINESS AWARDS

Anthony — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:44:16 +0000

LWR Communities is pleased to announce the release of homesites in a new section of Country Club East. The first section of “Secret Harbor” will be released in the next week for reservations. “We are seeing a very high demand for our 62-ft. homesites,” said LWR Communities President Milt Flinn. “We are thrilled to be able to open up more homesites in this size range, surrounding beautiful Lake Royal, and expect some to sell and close by November of this year.”

So far this year, there have been more than 100 lots either reserved, under contract or sold in Lakewood Ranch. Eighty-five homes are currently under construction. There are 200 single family homes on the market in Lakewood Ranch, which amounts to less than 3 percent of the inventory, and 158 homes have sold on the resale market so far in 2010. The average price at closing of a new home in Lakewood Ranch this year was $576,710, with the average price of a resale home coming in at $434,807.

At The Lake Club, Lakewood Ranch’s exclusive and private, higher-priced gated community, five builders have committed to building new models in the new section called The Vineyards. This section will cater to buyers looking for homes in the 2,500- to 3,000-square-foot range. The homes in the Vineyards will feature three different architectural styles and be on 84-foot-wide homesites. John Cannon, Todd Johnston, Peregrine, Westwater and Marc Rutenberg Homes will all begin construction on their new models in the next 90 days.

In commercial real estate news, construction continues on two new restaurants coming to Main Street Lakewood Ranch—Eduardo’s Cantina and the Main Street Trattoria. Both restaurants will open this summer. Also coming to Main Street is the popular Knot Awl Beads store, moving from its current location at Lakewood Walk.

Several Lakewood Ranch businesses are celebrating big wins at the Sarasota and Manatee counties chambers of commerce small business awards. At the Sarasota County awards presentation the Think Green Business of the Year winner was Willis A. Smith. Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc. is located in the Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park. The Young Business of the Year winner was International Construction Consultant, LLC located on Town Center Parkway. The Small Business of the Year winner was Grapevine Communications Int’l., Inc., located in the Corporate Park.

In Manatee County, the Small Business of the Year winners were The Polo Grill and Bar and Fete Catering on Main Street and Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc. Finalists included Grapevine Communications Int’l., Inc and Sunglass Express Optical on Main Street. “The number of business award winners coming from Lakewood Ranch speaks volumes about our business community,” said Brian Kennelly, president of LWR Commercial Realty. “We could not be more proud of their accomplishments and encourage our merchants to continue to help shape and build our community with their vision, strength and leadership. Lakewood Ranch has always been all about our residents and our business owners building this community and that is exactly what continues to take place, making this the best place to live, work and play.”

Commercial Properties for Sale in Lakewood Ranch: 1/28/2010

Anthony — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:56:15 +0000

Industrial Property for Sale

Creekwood Commons East/Bldg. C at 4920 Lena Road, Bradenton FL, 34211

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Industrial Property for Sale

Creekwood Commons East/Bldg. A/B at 4908/4914 Lena Road, Bradenton FL, 34211

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Vacant Land Property for Sale

Lakewood Ranch Corp Park Development Site at Communications Parkway, Sarasota FL, 34240

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Office Property for Sale

FORECLOSURE – SHORT SALE: Lakewood Ranch Office Bldg at 5581 Broadcast Court, Sarasota FL, 34240

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Office Property for Sale

Bank and Office Building – SR-70, Lakewood Ranch at 11509 Palmbrush Trail, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Retail-Commercial Property for Sale

San Marco Plaza – Lakewood Ranch at 8209 Nature’s Way 203, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Office Property for Sale

UNIVERSITY PARKWAY OFFICES at 2970 UNIVERSITY PARKWAY, Sarasota FL, 34240

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Office Property for Sale

Arthur Rutenburg Building at 9415 Town Center Parkway, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Industrial Property for Sale

936 sq. ft. Unit – Lakewood Ranch at 7353 International Place, Unit 302, Sarasota FL, 34240

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Industrial Property for Sale

741 sq. ft. end unit – Lakewood Ranch at 7353 International Place, Unit 301, Sarasota FL, 34240

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Industrial Property for Sale

61,100 sq. ft. Manufacturing Facility at 7040 Professional Parkway East, Sarasota FL, 34240

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Retail-Commercial Property for Sale

REDUCED!!! RETAIL STORE SAN MARCO PLAZA IN LAKEWOOD RANCH at 8215 Natures Way, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Vacant Land Property for Sale

Heritage Harbour – 14+/- Acre Retail Site at 8350 SR 64 East, Bradenton FL, 34212

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Office Property for Sale

Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Center – Heritage Harbour at 1040 River Heritage Boulevard, Bradenton FL, 34212

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Office Property for Sale

1838 Rye Rd., Suite B at 1838 Rye Rd., Bradenton FL, 34212

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Industrial Property for Sale

Lena Business Center – Close to I-75 – Suite 107 at 3103 81st Court East, Bradenton FL, 34211

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Office Property for Sale

Lakewood Ranch Technology Park (Sale) at 7224 Kyle Court, Sarasota FL, 34240

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Industrial Property for Sale

Distribution Center at 7321 Trade Court, Sarasota FL, 34240

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Office Property for Sale

10530 Portal Crossing 101-108 at 10530 Portal Crossing-Suites 105 & 106, Bradenton FL, 34211

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Office Property for Sale

PORTAL CROSSING at 10520 Portal Crossing , Bradenton FL, 34211

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Office Property for Sale

LAKEWOOD RANCH OFFICE for SALE at 10520 Portal Crossing, Bradenton FL, 34211

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Vacant Land Property for Sale

RICHLAND PLAZA OUTPARCEL at 10608 State Route 64 East & Portal Crossing, Bradenton FL, 34208

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Shopping Center Property for Sale

COURTYARDS at MARKET SQUARE at 9114 Town Center Parkway, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Office Property for Sale

Creekwood East at 5454 Lena Rd., Bradenton FL, 34211

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Office Property for Sale

Creekwood East Suite 104 at 5460 Lena Rd., Bradenton FL, 34211

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Industrial Property for Sale

Canterbury Commons at 11033 Gatewood Dr. A-2, Bradenton FL, 34211

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Industrial Property for Sale

Lena Commons at 3115 81st Ct. E., Bradenton FL, 34211

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Retail-Commercial Property for Sale

Clock Tower – San Marco Plaza in Lakewood Ranch!! at 8113 Nature’s Way, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Industrial Property for Sale

Canterbury Commons Professional Park at 11035 Gatewood Dr. A-3, Bradenton FL, 34211

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Office Property for Sale

Lakewood Ranch Medical Office Building II at 6310 Health Park Way, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Vacant Land Property for Sale

Flagship Rye Road at SR 64 and Rye Road, Bradenton FL, 34206

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Industrial Property for Sale

LENA COMMONS – Warehouse Condo Unit 204 at 3115 81st Ct. East Unit 204, Bradenton FL, 34211

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Office Property for Sale

Free Standing 20,000+/- SF Office Building In Lakewood Ranch- Sale/Lease at 9009 Town Center Parkway – Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Office Property for Sale

DOORBUSTER PRICING ON THIS LAKEWOOD RANCH OFFICE! at 560 Communications Parkway, Sarasota FL, 34240

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Vacant Land Property for Sale

4615 Lena Rd at 4615 Lena Rd, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Vacant Land Property for Sale

4802 Lena Rd at 4802 Lena Rd, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Office Property for Sale

4,800 SF Office Building at 9050 58th Drive East, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Retail-Commercial Property for Sale

8205 Natures Way, Unit 111 at 8205 Natures Way, Unit 111, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Office Property for Sale

San Marco Plaza #217 at 8209 Natures Way Unit #217, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Office Property for Sale

San Marco Plaza #221 at 8209 Natures Way, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Office Property for Sale

LAKEWOOD RANCH IRONWOOD BUSINESS PARK BANK OWNED at 7359 INTERNATIONAL PLACE, Sarasota FL, 34240

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Vacant Land Property for Sale

LAKEFRONT RESTAURANT SITE at 1 Ranch Lake Boulevard, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Vacant Land Property for Sale

I-75 HOTEL SITE at 2 Ranch Lake Boulevard, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Vacant Land Property for Sale

LAKEFRONT CORPORATE OFFICE SITE at 3 Ranch Lake Boulevard, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Vacant Land Property for Sale

MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT SITE at 5A Ranch Lake Boulevard, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Vacant Land Property for Sale

OFFICE/MEDICAL DEVELOPMENT SITE at 9 Ranch Lake Boulevard, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Office Property for Sale

6841 Energy Court at 6841 Energy Ct., Sarasota FL, 34240

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Industrial Property for Sale

Ironwood Business Park at 7361 International Place, Sarasota FL, 34240

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Vacant Land Property for Sale

Short Sale of Improved and Pad Ready for 8000 to 93,000+/- sf of office in Lakewood Ranch at 8915 77th Terrace East, Bradenton FL, 34202

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Office Property for Sale

Lakewood Ranch Office At Incredibly Low Price at 7361 International Place Unit 410, Sarasota FL, 34240

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VIDEO: What’s in Store for Lakewood Ranch in 2010

Anthony — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:13:48 +0000

2010 REAL ESTATE OFF TO A GREAT START IN LAKEWOOD RANCH

The year has started out strong for residential and commercial real estate in Lakewood Ranch. With just 206 homes on the market in Lakewood Ranch, there is actually a shortage of available homes to purchase. “In February 2007, there were 850 homes on the market in Lakewood Ranch,” said LWR Communities president Milt Flinn. “With such a dramatic decrease in inventory, we are now seeing a surge of new home “to-be-built” sales in Lakewood Ranch; a surge that really began in the fourth quarter of 2009. In December of 2009 alone, we closed on 21 homesites—homes to be built in 2010. In addition, Lakewood Ranch builders purchased nine sites for inventory homes and models to be built in 2010—all great signs that the real estate recovery is beginning here.”

As further evidence of a rebounding market, in The Lake Club, Lakewood Ranch’s high end community with homes starting in the $800s, eight homes were sold in 2009, totaling $16.5 million in sales. Miramar, a condo and townhome community off University Parkway in Lakewood Ranch, sold out of all inventory in the second week of 2010. There are 60 additional homes to be built in Miramar and construction is expected to begin this year.

LWR Commercial Realty expects to expand into Sarasota and Manatee counties in a big way in 2010. “We have already seen some great things for commercial realty in 2010,” said LWR Commercial Realty president Brian Kennelly. “Business owners are taking advantage of great opportunities and our vacancy rate continues to be lower here than in surrounding areas, at just 14.9% compared to 22.9% in Sarasota and Manatee counties, and 22.1% in the I-75 corridor. Main Street also continues to thrive and is buzzing with excitement about our new adventure golf course that is coming this spring.”

Other exciting things to come in 2010 include plans for more affordable homes in Lakewood Ranch. LWR Communities has four new neighborhoods in the planning stages north of State Road 70 to be started over the next two years. Preliminary plans for these neighborhoods include an age-targeted community, workforce housing and apartment homes. In addition, Neal Communities will open Central Park in July 2010, with smaller homes starting in the low $100s. “As we celebrate our 15 year anniversary of the first home sold on the Ranch, we are reminiscent of a time when homes were more affordable here,” said Rex Jensen, CEO and President of Schroeder- Manatee Ranch. “Our goal is to provide workforce housing so that everyone who works in Lakewood Ranch can afford to live and play here as well. While we will never abandon the country club lifestyle and amenities that Lakewood Ranch is known for, we are anxious to get back to providing affordable home options like we did back in the beginning, 15 years ago, when our first home sold for $89,000.”

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Lakewood Ranch is the 8,500-acre award winning master-planned community in Sarasota and Manatee counties on the West Coast of Florida. Visit www.lakewoodranch.com.

Schroeder-Manatee Ranch now in control of Lakewood Ranch Main Street

Anthony — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:55:05 +0000

By Michael Braga / Full Story Here.

Published: Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, January 11, 2010 at 8:40 p.m.

LAKEWOOD RANCH – A difference in philosophy is behind a change in ownership at Lakewood Ranch’s principal shopping and entertainment district.

Casto Lifestyle Properties, a Sarasota company that manages retail developments in three states, has transferred its stake in the 158,000-square-foot, mixed-use project to Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc., the developer of the 8,500-acre community.

Faced with a high vacancy rate of 17 percent and a feeble economic recovery, control of the Main Street development will give SMR more flexibility to attract new tenants, company managers said.

“SMR’s control of the ownership and management responsibility underscores its commitment to the project and also enhances our ability to shape the direction of this important component of our rapidly growing community,” said Rex Jensen, SMR’s president.

Anthony Homer, who along with Diane Lawson is now in charge of leasing and sales for the Main Street retail district, said the debate came down to development versus cash flow.

“What you had before was two organizations with different philosophies,” Homer said. “Casto was more cash-flow oriented, while SMR sees Main Street as a development tool. Its success will help SMR sell homes.”

Though Lakewood Ranch’s Main Street has been more successful than most retail developments in attracting tenants in these difficult economic times, its vacancy rate remains high.

The Good Earth Natural Foods store moved into the anchor position vacated by Morton’s gourmet market in March 2008, while an oil and vinegar shop and a Big Olaf ice cream outlet moved into smaller adjacent space.

More recently, entrepreneurs opened a bicycle store and a gift shop that will double as a management office when the Fish Hole miniature golf course opens across the street.

“The addition of new tenants is a move in the right direction,” says Jack McCabe, a Deerfield Beach-based real estate consultant. “Most retail is still going in the opposite direction.”

SMR’s decision to take control of the development also is a good one, McCabe said. “Now they can deploy a retail strategy that will have a positive impact on residential sales.”

It is not the first time that SMR has seized control of its destiny.

It stopped developers Stanley Appel and Gary Moyer from moving ahead with the second phase of their San Marco retail project, and it took control of a failed hockey arena project after developer Sal Diaz-Verson was unable to come up with enough money to complete the building that later became known as “Stonehenge.”

Jensen acknowledged that SMR originally outsourced these projects to outside developers because it lacked the confidence and contacts necessary to bring them to fruition.

“Retail has always been a specialized thing and you need to have a lot of industry contacts,” Jensen said. “We simply didn’t have that. But now we have evolved to a point where we can bring that in house.”

Jensen said he has a lot of respect for Casto, but agreed that the company has a different perspective.

“Almost everything at SMR involves a balancing act,” Jensen said. “Our interests involve a wide variety of opportunities that are all focused on this property. Casto owns interests in a discrete number of projects in a wide variety of locations. We have different approaches based on the different things we do.”

While Casto might view Main Street by the impact on its own bottom line, SMR is be more inclined to use it to entice home buyers and corporate businesses to call Lakewood Ranch home.

“We are now free to do that without reference to a partner with more targeted goals,” Jensen said.

This story appeared in print on page D1

TWO NEW COMPANIES COMING TO LAKEWOOD RANCH

Anthony — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:49:34 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JANUARY 4, 2010

NEW MERCHANTS AT LAKEWOOD RANCH

TWO NEW COMPANIES COMING TO LAKEWOOD RANCH

LWR Commercial Realty is pleased to announce the addition of two new merchants to Lakewood Ranch in two different locations.

Ming Wu Martial Arts has opened at the corner of Lorraine Road and SR 70, and The Fish Hole Adventure Golf will be opening on Main Street in the spring of 2010.

Ming Wu Martial Arts opens today, January 4^th and owner Jessie Vi is an award winning martial artist and humanitarian who has been honored nationally for his skills. Step daughter and student, 15 year old Paige Oswald, a second degree black belt, was just recruited onto the United States National Martial Arts Team and will be one of the teachers at the school. “I am so excited to finally be opening a school in Lakewood Ranch,” said owner Jessie Vi. “It has been a long time dream to bring Ming Wu to such a family oriented neighborhood where so many children and adults can benefit from the exercise and discipline martial arts can offer. Ming Wu martial arts is open to anyone ages 3 to 103!” The Grand Opening special offers three weeks of classes for $19.95 and includes a free uniform.

In addition, through March, Jessie Vi will offer a free 30 minute martial arts class to the first 20 students who sign up on Saturday morning for the 10:15 to 10:45 class. Doors open at 9:00 AM.

The Fish Hole on Lake Uihlein is adventure outdoor miniature golf, and will begin construction on their facility which borders Lake Uihlein in February. Owner Jacob Spooner currently operates an adventure golf facility on Anna Maria Island and grew up in Manatee County. “We could not be more thrilled to be bringing adventure golf to Main Street at Lakewood Ranch,” said Spooner. “This type of family friendly activity crosses all borders and gives kids a fun, safe and exciting activity to enjoy all year round.” Julia DeCastro, on site property manager at Main Street could not agree more. “We are so thrilled to have more entertainment for families and kids, and we know The Fish Hole will be a popular spot!”

Spooner will also open a golf and novelty store called “Main Street Bazaar” just a few stores down from the golf course. That store is expected to open first in March.

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Lakewood Ranch is the 8,500-acre award winning master-planned community in Sarasota and Manatee counties on the West Coast of Florida. It is the largest Green-Certified community in the country. For more information on Lakewood Ranch, visit www.lakewoodranch.com.

Candice

Candice McElyea

Public Relations & Promotions Manager

Lakewood Ranch/SMR

941-757-1546 office

941-232-9046 cell

Tough times for Sarasota and Manatee commercial real estate

Anthony — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:14:03 +0000

By KEVIN L. McQUAID

Published: Monday, January 4, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.

STAFF PHOTO / CHIP LITHERLAND

It’s more difficult to borrow money, vacancies are up, values and rent are down and the key to a solution – jobs – could be years away.

To borrow a biblical expression, it may be easier these days to pass a camel through the eye of a needle than it is to get a commercial real estate loan.

Despite federal bail-out money intended to stimulate lending, loans for investment in office buildings, shopping centers, industrial sites and raw land are increasingly rare, the result of falling values and other factors.

Commercial property owners and mortgage brokers say the lack of capital also stems, in part, from new federal regulations intended to staunch foreclosures and halt the aggressive lending practices of the early 2000s.

“It’s ironic that the federal government put all the stimulus money into banks, while another branch of the government is over-regulating capital reserve requirements on banks,” said Brett Hutchens, chief executive officer of Casto Lifestyle Properties, a Sarasota development firm that owns shopping and lifestyle centers nationwide.

“The same government is providing both the carrot and the stick to lenders,” Hutchens said. “It’s created gridlock and made lending and borrowing very, very difficult.”

“It’s a Catch-22 the government has imposed,” said N.J. Olivieri, president and owner of Sarasota-based Horizon Mortgage Corp. “They tell the banks to make loans but then tell the FDIC to tighten the restrictions on new lending.”

New regulations notwithstanding, lenders say the pullback in available credit is appropriate, given the shaky economy.

“Banks are simply not looking to take extended risk today,” said Charlie Murphy, chief executive of the Bank of Commerce, a Sarasota lender, and a board member of the Florida Bankers Association, a trade group.

“It’s not unusual for banks, in bad economic times, to tighten their lending standards,” Murphy said. “And regulators are not too happy these days about allocating new money to commercial real estate.”

Other forces

Banks have been hurt, as well, by other forces beyond their control.

Most notable has been the exit from the lending market by risk-averse insurers and pension funds, typically a key source for permanent mortgages.

That has crippled commercial real estate owners seeking to refinance or simply shift loans from banks, as is usually done.

That, in turn, has forced banks to keep mortgages on their books, which further limits their ability to cut new loans — especially in the construction and real estate sectors.

The precipitous drop in commercial real estate values — combined with falling rental rates on nearly every property segment — represents the largest factor in the dearth of lending, however.

Retail rental rates have fallen by as much as half, and many tenants remain unable to pay rent at all, part of the fallout from the longest economic recession since the Great Depression.

Vacancies, too, from super-regional malls to neighborhood-anchored strip centers, have risen dramatically.

“In many cases, shopping centers are full, but not all of the tenants are paying rent,” Olivieri said. “Landlords don’t want their space to go dark, so they’re letting them stay put.”

Office rents have also fallen, in Southwest Florida and nationwide — by 20 percent to 30 percent in some cases.

“In some submarkets, there is an even greater devaluation of rents,” said John Harshman, president of Harshman & Co., a Sarasota commercial real estate brokerage firm.

The lack of income, and decrease in values, has forced many property owners to come up with new equity on loans to satisfy lenders’ re-appraisals, investors say, even on performing mortgages.

Regulators, too, are calling on banks to beef up reserves and loan coverages by thinning loan-to-value ratios.

Restrictions

Meanwhile, the few commercial real estate loans that are available come with excessive restrictions, including onerous equity requirements and repayment schedules, which are also the result of new federal regulations.

In many cases, lenders that once required investors to put down 20 percent or 30 percent equity are demanding twice those percentages — and borrowers’ personal guarantees — before they will consider loaning money.

“We’ve gone from having an unsecured line of credit, on a performing loan, to getting a commitment for just one-year from the bank, and the terms are complex,” said Andy Dorr, a senior vice president with Githler Development Co., a Sarasota real estate investment and development firm.

As a result, Horizon and others have begun lining up equity partners for developers or investors, Olivieri said.

At the same time, Dorr said, the costs associated with commercial real estate borrowing — appraisals, origination fees, legal expenses and environmental analysis — have increased in many cases.

The hiked fees and the lack of new capital are both tied, investors and lenders say, to the fear that a commercial real estate meltdown is in the offing. Already, development giants such as mall owner General Growth Properties have defaulted on commercial real estate loans — a signal to some analysts that another wave of foreclosures is ahead. Next year alone, hundreds of billions of commercial real estate loans, many of which were cut during the real estate boom and required interest-only payments, will mature or come due nationwide. When that occurs, many predict, defaults will spike.

“Everyone keeps saying that commercial real estate is the next shoe to drop,” Hutchens said. “Well, I have to agree: It’s about to drop.”

The answer, industry experts say, can be summed up in a single word: Jobs.

“We have to stimulate the economy with more jobs and small business,” Murphy said. “When we have jobs, then businesses expand and the economy cycles upward. The opposite is also true, and it creates a vicious, self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“People have to go back to work,” Olivieri said. “Specifically, in construction.

“Construction has always led the way out of recession; it’s key. It starts the employment cycle, and then retailers hire and the cycle returns to supply and demand. But if you don’t have a job, if you don’t know where your next dollar is coming from, then you don’t spend,” Olivieri said.

Unfortunately, for Florida, that job growth may be a long time in coming.

Unemployment in Southwest Florida stands at 12.7 percent, slightly above the 11.5 percent statewide average, which is at the highest level since October 1975. Nationally, unemployment is just under 10 percent.

Even more dire are some economists’ predictions that Florida’s unemployment rate will not fall to 6 percent — within the range of a moderately healthy economy — until 2018.

If that proves true, experts believe commercial real estate will remain depressed well into the future.

“The 12 percent unemployment rate in Sarasota and Manatee counties, and the 10 percent rate nationally, will create more commercial real estate vacancies,” Harshman said. “And more vacancies will, in turn, further drive down commercial real estate values.”

This story appeared in print on page D6

Rex Jensen: On Lakewood Ranch in 2010

Anthony — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:44:40 +0000

Good article on our CEO of the SMR family of companies, Rex Jenson.

Full Story Here.

Twenty years ago, if you would have asked Rex Jensen if he could envision himself heading up one of the most recognizable and sought-after land management, agricultural and development companies in the nation, he would have told you that he wasn’t the right man for the job.

Luckily for John Clarke, Mary Fran Carroll and the rest of the Schroeder-Manatee Ranch executive team, Jensen couldn’t bring himself to voice his initial hesitations when the company called in March 1990 and offered him a position as the vice president of planning.

At the time, Jensen hadn’t intended to leave his consulting business behind, but a case of laryngitis prevented him — quite literally — from asking any further questions — thus ending the conversation all but prematurely.

“Since I couldn’t talk … that’s probably why I ended up getting the job,” Jensen says. “Initially, I didn’t want to work for someone else. I didn’t feel like I fit in the organization.

“But then I came down here and saw this place and realized the flourishing opportunities here,” he says. “The way the company was run, the vision and the long range (perspective) — I thought this is really the kind of group I want to be a part of. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least.”

During his first trip to visit with SMR executives, Jensen saw a sign on the company’s tree farm: Clean Air Starts Here. Jensen didn’t know it at the time, but those words would become symbolic of his new employer.

“I thought who would think that way, but it’s representative of the company,” Jensen says.

Fulfilling a vision
Now, as SMR’s president and CEO, Jensen is responsible for making sure that the company’s 30 subsidiaries and nearly 400 employees have the necessary resources to do their jobs, the support and the information needed to better understand the company in which they work.

“I’m kind of the go-between between a lot of different constituencies,” Jensen says.

Over the past 20 years, Jensen has been instrumental in helping fulfill the vision of his predecessors for both Lakewood Ranch and SMR as a whole.

Since then, Jensen has watched SMR develop as a company, partner with the Manatee County School Board, help preserve the environment, improve its irrigation systems and create a number of jobs in both Manatee and Sarasota counties.

In the past year alone, SMR has seen a reduction in its residential inventory from 850 homes and condominiums to 214 homes as of late November.

In addition, SMR has been part of a number of grand openings and ribbon cuttings in what many have deemed a down economic year, which Jensen views as a sign of greater things to come.

“We’ve grown to a degree,” Jensen says. “We’ve added new families. People find this to be a great community. They’re realizing it’s a community where they can sink roots and find their own opportunities.”

Jensen on paper
A native of Michigan, Jensen graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in political science, history and economics. He then went on to earn his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1979.

Jensen spent the next three years practicing corporate tax law for a computer software company where he got to spend time interacting with a number of conglomerates, including General Motors, IBM, the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency, among numerous others.

“I got to spend time in some really neat places,” Jensen says. “I had quite a lot of fun.”

Following his stint in corporate tax law, Jensen entered the real estate market, working for a real estate development project. In 1983, a similar opportunity opened up in Tampa and soon Jensen was packed up and on his way down to Florida.

“I really fell in love with real estate,” Jensen says. “I realized it was a lot more fun to abuse the law than to practice it.”

Jensen spent seven years running his own consulting company in Tampa before joining the team at SMR.

Moving forward
In the coming year, Jensen will celebrate his 20th anniversary with SMR. It also will mark the 15th anniversary of when Lakewood Ranch sold its first home for $89,000.

“When I come to work on any given day, I never know what I’m going to face,” Jensen says. “It’s unpredictable — just the diversity, the issues and the challenges… all of that keeps me going. There’s no way you can be bored.”

In 2010, Jensen says he hopes to finish the entitlement with the 2050 plan for Sarasota County, as well as move forward with and hopefully complete a few new economic development deals.

Additionally, Jensen is looking for Lakewood Ranch to get back into the affordable housing market with the hopes of providing an economical place to live for the some 12,000 people who work in Lakewood Ranch.

“Primarily the entrance back into workforce housing will in a big way set the stage for next year, which is going to be a big year for SMR,” Jensen says.

Finally, Jensen says the company plans to continue its progress of adding new tenants to Main Street.

“We need to meet the daily needs of residential (entertainment),” Jensen says. “We’re making strides there, but hopefully more will happen over the course of the year.”

Florida Home Prices See 4% Gain

Anthony — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:01:07 +0000

Download the PDF Report here.

Hit hard by the housing downturn, Florida is one of two states that realized gains of more than 4 percent in home prices, according to a quarterly housing valuation analysis by IHS Global Insight.

In South Florida, prices started to inch up in the third quarter.

In the Miami metropolitan area, prices increased to an average of $191,200 from $182,900 in the previous quarter. However, they remain down significantly from the third quarter of 2007, when the average price was $312,600.

The Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area saw a slight improvement, with an average price in the third quarter of $148,000, up from $147,700 in the previous quarter, but still down from $248,600 in the third quarter of 2007.

The West Palm Beach metropolitan area saw the average home price inch up to $164,400 in the third quarter from $163,600 in the previous quarter. In the third quarter of 2007, the average home price was $262,000.

Nationwide, in year-over-year terms, house prices increased during the third quarter by 0.9 percent, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the first since the second quarter of 2007, when the national housing market began its slide. From its peak in 2007, the U.S. housing market is now down 10.7 percent, on average, the IHS noted.

For the first time since the IHS study began in 2005, no metropolitan areas were extremely overvalued. There were 52 in 2005.

Homes in Miami-Dade County were deemed fairly valued, while those in Broward and Palm Beach counties were considered undervalued.

For the nation as a whole, the housing market is now slightly undervalued – 8.6 percent when weighted by market value and 10.1 percent when weighted by housing units, according to IHS.

“While the rate of decline has decreased throughout the year as the market began to stabilize,” said James Diffley, group managing director of IHS Global Insight’s Regional Services Group, in a news release. “It’s not at all clear that the market is on a recovery path.”

Florida PSC approves Manatee biomass project

Anthony — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:06:56 +0000

MANATEE — The Florida Public Service Commission OK’d Tuesday a renewable energy contract for a $185 million biomass project to be built in Manatee, officials said.

The project, to be built by Florida Biomass Energy, will help diversify the way Progress Energy generates power and will insulate its customers from fluctuations in fossil fuel costs, according to the PSC.

The Bradenton company will burn waste wood and specially grown vegetation to generate up to 60 megawatts of electricity, the PSC said. Construction is slated to begin in the second quarter of next year and will produce at least 150 construction jobs and 25 full-time jobs at a complex set on 35 acres near Port Manatee, officials said.

Medical research firm debuts in Lakewood Ranch

Anthony — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:18:35 +0000

By JENNIFER RICH / http://www.bradenton.com/business/story/1915027.html
jrich@bradenton.com

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Another player in the medical research industry has moved to Manatee County.

Trod Medical US LLC, with headquarters in Paris, France, has opened an office/warehouse facility on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard at State Road 64 East.

The company is now manufacturing a Food and Drug Administration-approved surgical device in Europe used to treat soft tissues involving the prostate, liver and kidney. It uses radio frequency technology to heat diseased tissue and halt its growth.

The device, which will be marketed to hospitals, outpatient centers and private clinics for use on prostate cancer patients, is expected to be launched in July, said Manfred Sablowski, vice president and chief operating officer, and at least five to seven people will be hired at that time for the Manatee facility.

Sablowski said the company applied for FDA approval at the beginning of 2008 for its patented Encage device and received approval in October, a key factor allowing the company to enter the U.S. market and open a U.S. facility.

A third-party reviewer in Germany was used for the pre-approval of the device before submitting the FDA application.

“There was a lot of bureaucracy,” said Sablowski. “You better make sure the information in your 800-page document is correct; if there is one wrong word, you are in trouble.”

The United States is the largest market for the device because of its population, he said.

In February or March, the first patients in the U.S. will receive the new treatment, Sablowski said. The company is in negotiations with Moffitt Cancer Centers to use the center for training on the product and procedures for the treatment.

Treatments now being used for prostate cancer all have negative consequences, Sablowski said.

“Our focus was to eliminate those negative side effects,” he said.

Dr. Andre Faure, chief executive officer for Trod Medical and founder of the company, is the inventor of Encage. He developed the device and procedure in 2005 and decided he wanted to introduce it to the U.S. market. He recruited Sablowski and Brook Peterson, who both have extensive experience in the medical technology field that includes working with Pfizer. They also had their own consulting firms.

Trod Medical is a great addition to the group of medical research facilities already in Manatee County, said Eric Basinger, executive director of the Economic Development Council.

“Manatee County is cultivating a cluster of medical equipment designers and manufacturers, and Trod’s entry from its European base is an exciting chapter in that story,” he said. “Trod’s arrival is further evidence of Manatee County’s appeal to European businesses wanting to expand into the U.S. market.”