Lakewood Ranch’s Web site, www.lakewoodranch.com, was honored with a gold Addy award and Amy award last week.  The awards recognize the “best of the best” in the industry by awarding winners in virtually all forms of advertising. The awards attract more than 60,000 entries and are regarded as one of the largest advertising creative contests and the only advertising competition that includes three rigorous levels of judging: at the local level, regionally and then nationally.

“We are so proud that our Web site was recognized by this prestigious award,” said Miranda Oswald, vice-president of sales and marketing for LWR Communities. “We have one of the best Web managers in the business—Corinna Decker—and she is tasked with staying on the cutting edge of technology with our videos and content, to promote search engine optimization. We have plans for some great new exciting additions this year.”

Gravity Free of Sarasota created the Lakewood Ranch Web site, and helps maintain the site. Gravity Free accepted the award from the American Advertising Federation of the Suncoast on Feb. 27, 2010.  “It is always nice to have your team recognized for outstanding work,” said Scott Heaps, owner of Gravity Free.  “It is a great opportunity for showcasing our clients and the innovative work that we do for them.”

The AAF brings the members of Sarasota’s professional advertising community together to protect and promote the business of advertising. AAF-Suncoast aims to strengthen the fiber of the advertising industry on a local level through educational programs, events and networking functions.

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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.

Commercial real estate conditions remained weak or declined further in most Districts, although some Districts noted slight stabilization or modest signs of improvement. Commercial real estate activity weakened in the Richmond, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco Districts, though Dallas noted that leasing fell at a slower rate and San Francisco cited increased leasing in some segments. Boston and Philadelphia said conditions remain weak, but both noted some improvement in sales of commercial space. New York reported softer activity in the New York City area but some steadying in vacancies and rents elsewhere, while St. Louis said activity remained weak throughout the District. Several Districts also noted that many tenants were pushing for, and in some cases receiving, concessions on rents. All Districts reporting on commercial construction said that activity remained weak or slow, except for some moderate boost from federal stimulus projects and other public construction. Credit for commercial development and transactions was still very difficult to obtain in several Districts, though San Francisco noted a slight improvement in financing availability.

via Deal Junkie: Beige Book: Commercial Real Estate Conditions Remain Weak.

• Ryan Houck ~ Executive Director Floridians for Smarter Growth
• Jon Thaxton ~ Sarasota County Commissioner
• Ward Friszolowski ~ Former-Mayor St Pete Beach

The March luncheon will focus on Amendment 4, frequently referred to as “Hometown Democracy,” and what it means to our local and business community. This ballot measure would have residents vote on all land-use planning amendments in the development approval process. The Amendment 4 vote is still eight months away. It is, however, already proving to be one of the most contentious issues ever placed before Florida voters.

Space is limited and RSVP is required.

A networking opportunity will be available from 11:30 am – 12:00 pm with lunch and presentation from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm.

Members are $20 and Non members are $30.

via Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance – LWRBA EVENTS.

While we expect economic recovery to gain momentum soon, there remain lingering concerns in the banking industry. Failure of both residential and commercial real estate loans as a result of the credit crisis has primarily hurt banks. As the industry tolerates bad loans made during the credit explosion, the trouble in the banking system goes even deeper, increasing the possibility of more bank failures.

The failed banks were: Boca Raton, Florida-based Sun American Bank with $535.7 million in assets and $443.5 million in deposits, Normal, Illinois-based Bank of Illinois with $211.7 million in assets and $198.5 million in deposits, Maryland-based Waterfield Bank of Germantown with $155.6 million in assets and $156.4 million in deposits and Centennial Bank in Ogden, Utah, with $215.2 million in assets and $205.1 million in deposits.

These bank failures will deal another blow to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) fund meant for protecting customer accounts, as it has been appointed receiver for these banks. The FDIC insures deposits at 8,195 institutions with roughly $13.5 trillion in assets.

When a bank fails, FDIC reimburses customers for their deposits of up to $250,000 per account. The outbreak of bank failures has significantly stretched the regulator’s deposit insurance fund. However, the FDIC has about $66 billion in cash and securities available in reserve to cover losses of bank failures. Also, the FDIC has access to the Treasury Department’s credit line of up to $500 billion.

The failure of Sun American Bank is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund about $103.8 million, Bank of Illinois is estimated to cost abut $53.7 million, Waterfield Bank of Germantown is expected to cost about $51 million and Centennial Bank is estimated to cost about $96.3 million.

Bloomington, Illinois-based Heartland Bank and Trust Co. will assume the assets and deposits of Bank of Illinois. The FDIC will share losses with Heartland on $166.6 million loans and other assets of Bank of Illinois.

Raleigh, North Carolina-based First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. will assume the assets and deposits of Sun American Bank and it will share losses with the FDIC on $433 million of the Sun American Bank’s loans and other assets.

FDIC was unable to find buyers for Centennial Bank and Waterfield Bank. However, Zions Bancorp. (ZION – Analyst Report) will take over some operations of Centennial Bank.

Increasing loan losses on commercial real estate are expected to cause hundreds more bank failures in the next few years. The FDIC anticipates bank failures to cost about $100 billion over the next three years. The failure of Washington Mutual in 2008 was the largest in U.S. banking history. It was acquired by JPMorgan Chase (JPM – Analyst Report).

The other major acquirers of failed institutions since 2008 include Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB – Analyst Report), U.S. Bancorp (USB – Analyst Report), Zions Bancorp, SunTrust Banks (STI – Analyst Report), PNC Financial (PNC – Analyst Report), BB&T Corporation (BBT – Analyst Report) and Regions Financial (RF – Analyst Report).

We expect loan losses on the commercial real estate portfolio to remain high for banks that hold large amounts of high-risk loans.

via U.S. Bank Failures Reach 26.

The most important part of the interview is where the CEO of Urban American (which holds property in Sarasota), explains how the private markets are already reacting to the lack of debt available in the markets and how the private sector is overcoming those roadblocks in order to generate returns. He then goes on to argue for government intervention, which created the problem in commercial real estate in the first place.

If we could just get a clear signal from the federal government that they are going to stop the meddling, a degree of certainty could could come back into the market and investors could begin adapting. Then we will begin to have meaningful recovery.

In St. Petersburg, Fla., close by Tropicana Field, an unusual structure is emerging from a construction site: a rental apartment building.

The work in progress on the Fusion 1560, a 325-unit upscale project in one of the states hit hardest by the housing crisis, is a sign that developers of multifamily housing are tiptoeing back into the business. This year, real-estate investment trusts, or REITs, are expected to start close to $1 billion in new multifamily projects, according to real-estate research firm Green Street Advisors. While that still is less than average, it is a significant increase over the $100 million of development starts in 2009.

Analysts caution that the increase in construction doesn’t mean there has been an improvement in the business. Apartment vacancy is at a record and unemployment, essential to the sector’s health, remains elevated.

But operators are betting that limited new supply, combined with an improving economy, will lead to ideal market conditions nationwide starting in 2011 or 2012. From then until 2015, “apartment REITs may generate the best property net operating income growth that they’ve seen in a very long time, maybe ever,” said Haendel St. Juste, a REIT analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc.

To be sure, there are risks. Given the multiyear construction window, companies have to start now to be ready in time. If the economy weakens further and recovery is delayed, landlords may be forced to keep rents low or offer free rent to get leases signed.

“There’s an element of risk,” said Andrew McCulloch, an analyst with Green Street. “But if you were to go back a year, the outlook is much more clear today. Their confidence level in that eventual recovery is much higher.”

Owners said the rent declines appear to have bottomed out in some areas and concessions are moderating. In New York, Equity Residential said it has stopped paying broker fees for certain unit types. In better times tenants pay that fee, typically one month’s rent.

The gap between new and renewal leases has narrowed from about 10% nine months ago to about 5% today, a sign of confidence as landlords have to give up less to sign new tenants, Mr. St. Juste said.

Landlords also are excited about demand. The 20-to-34 age group, prime renting age, is expected to increase by five million in the next decade, according to Hessam Nadji, managing director of Marcus & Millichap, a real-state-investment brokerage firm. People who moved home or who bunked with roommates during the downturn also might ink leases as the economy improves.

Moreover, construction costs “have fallen rapidly in the last two years,” said Tom Toomey, chief executive of apartment owner UDR Inc. A unit that would have cost $300,000 to build two years ago could now be built for as little as $220,000, Mr. Toomey said.

Lumber prices have been cut 15%, while concrete prices are down 10%, he said. Labor costs have fallen as much as 15%. Starting development now “is starting to become an easier decision,” Mr. Toomey said.

The sector’s optimism was apparent in January’s housing starts. Construction of multifamily dwellings rose 9.2%, the Commerce Department said.

At Humphreys & Partners Architects LP in Dallas, which designs apartments, inquires and job counts have more than doubled from a year earlier, said Chief Executive Mark Humphreys. “This time last year the financial world had come to an end,” Mr. Humphreys said. “Everybody was frozen in time; they were just stunned. The phone was not ringing. Well, the phone is ringing now.”

Developers said they are avoiding Las Vegas and Phoenix, which were overbuilt during the housing frenzy, in favor of more stable markets, including Washington, Boston and San Francisco.

In 2011, AvalonBay Communities Inc. plans to complete six projects with more than 2,100 units in locations including Walnut Creek, Calif., New York and West Long Branch, N.J. The rents will average more than $2,000 a month, according to securities filings.

Equity Residential, meanwhile, plans to deliver 111 units in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood in late 2011.

Developers also are using conservative projections when planning projects. Zaremba Group, which is building Fusion 1560, is targeting rents between $925 and $2,300 a month in 2011, when it hopes to be fully leased. Mr. Zaremba said that matches the current market.

“We’re not banking on [rent increases],” he said.

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Manatee County Republican Commissioner Joe McClash and Sarasota County Republican Commissioner Jon Thaxton are set to debate the merits of Amendment 4, a proposed change to the Florida Constitution that will be on the ballot Nov. 2.

The Florida Hometown Democracy Land Use Initiative would require voter approval of all changes to a community’s comprehensive plans.

The commissioners’ discussion will be before the Lakewood Ranch Democratic Club at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, 8175 Lakewood Ranch Blvd.

The meeting is open to the public.

Show your support if you’re available, and be sure to get out the vote on this issue.

>> The Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance’s March 10 luncheon will focus on Amendment 4, frequently referred to as “Hometown Democracy,” and what it means to businesses and the community. Scheduled speakers include: Ryan Houck, executive director of Floridians for Smarter Growth; Jon Thaxton, Sarasota county commissioner, and Ward Friszolowski, former mayor of St. Petersburg Beach. The meeting will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Polo Grill, 10670 Boardwalk Loop. The cost is $20 for members and $30 for nonmembers. Register online at www.lwrba.org.