Gulf Coast Week in Review

Gulf Coast Week in Review

TAMPA BAY

Trump Tower developers get more time

The developer of Trump Tower Tampa in downtown Tampa has the rest of the year to either settle its lawsuit by Donald Trump or prepare to answer his allegations.

U.S. District Judge James Whittemore granted a motion for an extension filed jointly by Trump and the Tampa developer, SimDag LLC. But Whittemore said he did so "reluctantly" and will not grant additional time if the parties fail to come to an agreement by Jan. 2.

Attorneys for both sides said they were close to signing a settlement agreement, although it includes stipulations that still need to be worked out, said Foley & Lardner lawyer Chris Griffin, who is representing Trump.

The extension gives SimDag more time to persuade buyers to sign new, two-year contracts. SimDag representatives met with buyers last month, and a New York hedge fund has agreed to finance the tower. But only if SimDag has $100 million in new contracts.

Tampa City Council looks to change charter

Companies doing business in Tampa, take note: The Tampa City Council is growing increasingly frustrated with the city charter and may opt for an independent attorney and increased clout so the mayor isn't the sole voice of the city.

Coucil members didn't take a vote, but are leaning toward hiring their own attorney who would not report to the city attorney.

Hillsborough bus

network in the works

Even after recent budget cuts, Hillsborough County's transit agency is moving forward to create a high-speed bus network.

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority wants to launch the network in 2010 to help tackle congestion. Planners have identified two routes, one going to the airport and west to Temple Terrace, another heading north from downtown to north Tampa, and a few dozen tentative stops.

Bus rapid transit uses buses that are sleeker, low to the ground and allow drivers, at the flick of a switch, to get through intersections before lights turn red.

SARASOTA/MANATEE

Makeover time for Sarasota tourism

The Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau intends to spend the bulk of its nearly $3 million ad campaign on promoting parts of the area that have nothing to do with its most famous calling card - beaches and sunsets.

Instead, the group intends to focus on parks, museums and culinary attractions - the attractions tourists utilize in addition to the already well-marketed beaches, says Virginia Haley, head of the visitors bureau.

"We didn't want to spend more money on what we had been doing," Haley says. "We wanted to step back and look at the bigger picture."

The visitors bureau has $2.9 million to spend on that picture, the result of a 4% tourism tax levied on anyone in the county less than six months.

Haley says in addition to displaying the other attractions of Sarasota, the campaign will utilize technology more than past efforts. That includes filming YouTube-like first person accounts of tourists who've been to Sarasota and updating the group's Web site. Haley also said more ad money will go toward travel Web sites, as opposed to just newspapers and magazines.

LEE/COLLIER

Collier Enterprises

plans new town

Naples-based Collier Enterprises filed the first of several applications with Collier County officials to set aside land for preservation in exchange for development rights for a new town in the eastern part of the county.

Plans for the new town of Big Cypress include 9,000 homes on 2,800 acres in eastern Collier County. To do this, the company will offer to set aside 10,000 acres of wetlands and wildlife habitat for preservation under a program called the Rural Lands Stewardship Program.

The program encourages land owners to preserve large areas for credits to build more intense development on less environmentally sensitive land. Collier's first application covers 1,720 acres north of Immokalee Road.

WCI Communities

lays off 575 employees

Bonita Springs-based homebuilder WCI Communities will fire 575 employees as it struggles to sell condos and single-family homes.

The company, founded by Tampa developer Al Hoffman, recently reported a net loss of $69.7 million on revenues that dropped 61% to $166 million in the third quarter. Its condo segment was especially hard hit. The company reported it sold just eight condos in the third quarter, the same time it experienced 89 defaults.

WCI will take a $5.4 million charge related to the layoffs, which will leave it with 2,100 employees. That's a 46% reduction from peak employment of 3,889 in the middle of 2006.

New York billionaire investor Carl Icahn recently gained control of the company's board. Icahn offered $22 a share for the company earlier this year, an offer that the previous board refused. The company's stock has been trading below $5 a share recently.

Hodges University expands to Florida Keys

Naples-based Hodges University will start offering courses in the Florida Keys in January on the campus of Florida Keys Community College, where students will be able to enroll in the Bachelor of Science in Management program.

Hodges caters to working professionals who seek to advance their career and education. The university recently expanded to Immokalee and also offers courses at the Cape Coral Interim Academic Village, Edison College in Fort Myer sand Punta Gorda, Manatee Technical Institute and Pasco-Hernando Community College.