Corporate Report

Corporate Report

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Yacht Clubs of the Americas

partners with Legendary Inc.

Destin developer Legendary Inc. and Fort Myers' Yacht Clubs of the Americas announced a joint venture to develop Legendary Yacht Clubs throughout the North Gulf Coast region from Mississippi to Florida.

"We are honored to be teaming up with Peter Bos [CEO of Legendary] and Legendary Marine as they are a dominating force in sales and service in the boating industry along the North Gulf Coast," Steeven Knight, CEO of YCOA said in a press release. "We look forward to joining forces with Legendary to help protect waterway access for boaters through the preservation of marinas in an effort to better serve Destin's active waterway community."

Legendary Marina in Destin on the Choctawhatchee Bay will be the partnership's first project. The facility will be renamed Legendary Yacht Club of Destin and will be modeled after current YCOA facilities. The joint venture group plans to add a full-service restaurant, infinity-edge swimming pool with bar, valet parking, private owners' lounge, sauna, steam and fitness areas and a children's play area. In addition to those amenities, members will enjoy wholesale pricing on their service, fuel, food and beverages as well as extended hours of service and unlimited boat use.

"Legendary has a reputation for exceeding customer and guests expectations," Bos said in a press release. "YCOA has the same philosophy and we are honored to join forces with such a dynamic individual as Steeven. Our visions of providing water access to boaters, teamed with the other amenities Legendary has to offer, will offer guests more than a place to store their boat."

Ownership in Legendary Yacht Club of Destin will also offer reciprocal use privileges to members at all of YCOA's affiliated locations including Sanibel, New Smyrna, Naples, Key West, Riviera (Fort Myers), Tampa, Stuart, Fort George (Jacksonville), Grand Bahamas and Charleston, SC.

YCOA acquires and develops marina properties and converts them into private membership yacht clubs designed as dockominiums or rackominiums.

Legendary Inc. owns a diversified portfolio of marinas, including: Resorts Division, Realty and Development Division and a Marine and Marina Division. With enterprises such as Emerald Grande, Legendary Marine, Regatta Bay Golf and Country Club and Destin Commons, the company's diversity and expertise has produced numerous successful Destin area projects.

Seminole Electric Cooperative

suggests CO2-capture project

Tampa-based Seminole Electric Cooperative Inc., announced plans to solicit proposals for a carbon dioxide capture demonstration project at its proposed Seminole Generating Station Unit 3 facility. This project would make SGS Unit 3 the first electric generating unit in Florida, coal or otherwise, to propose such a project.

The SGS Unit 3 project, a 750-megawatt class, supercritical, clean coal generating unit, is scheduled to start operating by May 1, 2012. Unit 3 will be located at the existing SGS site in Putnam County, which currently consists of two 650-megawatt class pulverized coal units.

The Florida Public Service Commission approved the Unit 3 project in July, and final state site certification by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is pending.

Seminole has agreed to a $300 million improvements, including for pollution control to SGS Units 1 and 2 designed to provide 60% more electricity while substantially reducing facility-wide air emissions and wastewater discharges. Seminole also agreed to distribute more than 100,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs to its 10 member distribution cooperatives.

Superior Bancorp

buys four Florida offices

Superior Bancorp officials say the bank will be expanding into Citrus and Marion Counties with four new offices. The four new offices will be in Homosassa, Inverness, Dunnellon and Beverly Hills. Those existing facilities were purchased from a large regional bank, and are expected to open as Superior Bank in the fourth quarter 2007.

Upon completion of the merger with People's Community Bancshares Inc. planned for late July 2007 and the Tampa Bay branch expansion, Superior Bank will have 67 banking offices with 29 in Florida and 38 in Alabama. Additionally, nine new branches are planned to open in late 2007 and early 2008, Superior will have 32 offices in Florida and 44 in Alabama supporting the $3 billion bank.

"Central Florida is our largest populated market and has higher projected growth than any of our other current banking markets," Marvin Scott, president said in a press release. "We believe that these four additional locations are a logical extension of our existing franchise into the strong growth corridor between Tampa and Ocala. We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring 'superior banking' to these communities."

Progress contracts with

Biomass wood-waste energy

Progress Energy Florida signed a long-term contract to purchase electricity generated by what is project to be the largest waste-wood biomass plant in the nation. Biomass Gas & Electric, based in Atlanta plans to build a power plant in north Florida that will use waste wood products - such as yard trimmings, tree bark and wood knots from paper mills - to create electricity. It will generate about 75 megawatts. The plant is expected to avoid the need to burn 5 million tons of coal over the 20-year life of the contract.

Biomass's planned plant will use gasification to create electricity. The plant is scheduled to start operating in 2011. As scheduled it would be BG&E's third biomass power plant.

"We have a long history of supporting innovative technologies and promoting cost-effective, cleaner energy sources," Jeff Lyash, president and CEO of Progress Energy Florida said in a press release. "Renewable energy sources, such as this one, play a vital role in our balanced approach to managing Florida's growing energy needs."

The contract will be filed for consideration with the Florida Public Service Commission. The company is seeking PSC approval of the contract and certification of the proposed plant as a qualifying facility under Florida laws and regulations that encourage renewable energy.

Last year, Progress Energy signed a contract with the Biomass Investment Group, to purchase the energy output (130 megawatts) from a proposed biomass plant to be built in Central Florida. The project, which will utilize environmentally friendly E-grass as its fuel source, will reduce carbon emissions by more than 20 million tons over the 25-year life of the contract when compared to coal.

Progress Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Progress Energy, provides electricity and related services to 1.7 million customers in Florida. In the past year, Progress Energy has signed contracts to add more than 200 megawatts of renewable energy to its system.

Chico's FAS June sales up

Fort Myers-based specialty retailer Chico's FAS Inc. reported that its June sales results for the five-week period ended July 7 increased 4.4% to $159.6 million from $152.8 million for the five-week period ended July 1, 2006. Comparable store sales for the company-owned stores decreased 7.3% for the most recent five-week period compared to the same five-week period last year.

For the twenty-two weeks ended July 7 total sales increased 12.2% to $768 million from $684 million reported for the twenty-two week period ended July 1, 2006. Comparable store sales for the company-owned stores decreased 3.1% for the twenty-two week period compared to last year's period.

The company operates 953 women's specialty stores, including stores in 48 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico operating under the Chico's, White House | Black Market and Soma Intimates names.

June Sales

(dollars in millions)

Fiscal 2006 Fiscal 2007 Total Sales Fiscal Comparable

$152.8 $159.6 4.4 % (11.0)% (7.3)%

Year-to Date Sales

(dollars in millions)

Fiscal 2006 Fiscal 2007 Total Sales Fiscal Comparable

$684 $768 12.2 % (2.8)% (3.1)%

General Dynamics

producing Unitary

Warhead for Army

St. Petersburg-based General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems has been awarded a $7.5 million contract by Lockheed Martin for the production of warheads for the U.S. Army's Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System - Unitary.

The GMLRS is an all-weather precision-guided rocket designed for greater accuracy to reduce the number of rockets required to eliminate a target. The system is equipped with a 200-pound fragmenting warhead designed and developed by General Dynamics and has a range of more than 60 kilometers.

Engineering and program management for the contract will be handled in Niceville.

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, manufactures large-, medium- and small-caliber direct and indirect-fire munitions, mortar weapons and systems, artillery projectiles, bomb bodies and ball powder propellant. The company also manufactures precision metal components; provides explosive load, assemble and pack services for a variety of munitions, tactical missile and rocket programs; and designs and produces shaped charge warheads and control actuator systems.

Etc. ...

Kesselring revenues

grow 200% in six months

Bradenton-based Kesselring Holding Corp. reported an increase in revenue of $6.7 million for the six-month period ended March 31, 2007 up 200% from the $2.2 million for the same period last year. However, company officials attributed 78% of the increase to the acquisition of the King Group on July 1.

"Our ongoing operating performance improved substantially compared with the previous year's six months ended as a result of strong organic growth and the acquisition of the King Brothers Woodworking Inc. and King Door & Hardware Inc.," Ken Craig, Kesselring CEO said in a press release. Kesselring Holding Corp. is the parent company of five subsidiaries that do business in the restoration, construction and construction-related industries in Bradenton and Yakima, Wash.