Gulf Coast Week: June 25 - July 1

TAMPA BAY

Rays scout other sites
The Tampa Bay Rays are seriously considering different locations for a new baseball stadium to replace St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field. Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said a new ballpark is necessary to attract fans and businesses.

“We need to be in a location that is convenient for our fans to reach, and we need to be in a place that makes us attractive to the region's businesses,” Sternberg said in a June 21 press conference. Various sites in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties are under consideration, he said.

Sternberg also called for cooperation among Bay area municipalities to determine the best possible location for Rays games. Meanwhile, St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster said he expects the team to honor its current stadium contract through 2027.

Grand Hyatt for sale?
One of Tampa's most prestigious hotels is reportedly on the market as part of a large property portfolio selloff by its owner.

The Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay is among 10 hotels nationwide being marketed by Hyatt Hotels Corp., according to Crain's Chicago Business. Hyatt is working with Molinaro Koger Inc. and Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. on the portfolio, which also includes hotels in the Chicago area and Santa Clara, Calif.

The 445-room Grand Hyatt, along Courtney Campbell Causeway near Tampa International Airport, was built in the early 1980s and has been upgraded in recent years. It remains a popular spot for regional business meetings and features two upscale restaurants, Armani's and Oystercatchers.

Airport renovations done
Nearly $21 million in renovations are finished at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport. The improved terminal opened June 17 and features new walkways and elevators, wood-paneled ticket counters, upgraded air conditioning and a 45-foot-long blown glass wall.

A majority of the funding, $16.8 million, is from Federal Aviation Administration grants.

LEE/COLLIER

Naples home sales mixed
Sales of single-family homes fell in May in the Naples area while sales of existing condos rose compared with the same month last year, according to the Naples Area Board of Realtors.

Sales of single-family homes fell 8% in May to 373 while the median price rose 21% to $210,000 compared with May 2009. At the current sales pace, there's nearly one year of inventory of single-family homes on the market.

Meanwhile, sales of existing condos rose 25% to 398 in May while the median sales price dropped 2% to $170,000 compared with the same month a year ago. At the current sales pace, there's also nearly one year of inventory of condos on the market.

Roepstorffs top bankers
The Florida Bankers Association named Geoffrey and Robbie Roepstorff bankers of the year at its annual conference in Naples.

The husband-and-wife team are CEO and president of Edison National Bank in Fort Myers, the oldest locally owned and operated community bank in Lee County. The bank also operates Bank of the Islands in Sanibel.

The bankers' trade organization cited the Roepstorffs' community and industry involvement as well as their reputation for excellence.

Rapidly to Grand Rapids
AirTran Airways recently inaugurated weekend nonstop service between Fort Myers and Grand Rapids, Mich.

AirTran is the second-largest carrier at Southwest Florida International Airport. The flights will leave Fort Myers on Saturdays and Sundays at 11:08 a.m. and arrive at Gerald Ford International Airport at 3:40 p.m.

SARASOTA/MANATEE

Injunction denied
A Sarasota County judge denied a request for an emergency injunction in a lawsuit over how county officials lured the Baltimore Orioles to move spring training from Fort Lauderdale to the area.

The plaintiffs, a pair of open government advocacy groups, wanted a judge to block the initial phases of construction at Ed Smith Stadium, which was scheduled to undergo $31 million in renovations. But Judge Bob Bennett ruled there was not enough evidence to stop the project.

A trial in the case is scheduled for June 28. The plaintiffs, Sarasota Citizens for Responsible Government and Citizens for Sunshine, allege that county officials violated Florida's Sunshine Laws when it conducted some of the negotiations with the Orioles in secrecy.

Homes sales increase
Sales of single-family homes and condos in Sarasota rose significantly in May on an annual basis, according to the Sarasota Association of Realtors.

Single-family home sales were up 44% over May 2009, from 375 to 539 last month. Condo sales, meanwhile, were up 73%, from 131 in May 2009 to 227. The 766 total sales were the most monthly sales in the county since December 2005. Moreover, inventory backlog, the number of months it would take to sell all listed properties, dropped on an annualized basis in Sarasota County last month, according to the Realtors' association. For single-family homes that number stood at 7.2 months at the end of May, down from 14.3 months in May 2009. Condos dropped to 9.7 months in May, down from 19 months last year.

Crist visits firm
Gov. Charlie Crist recently toured the offices of Osprey Biotechnics, a Sarasota-based wastewater treatment firm that manufactures a compound used to remediate petroleum — a product the company and the governor hope can help protect Florida's coastline from the Gulf oil spill.

The proprietary product, Munox, is a microorganism that can consume petroleum molecules and leave only water and a minute amount of carbon dioxide, the company says. Munox, which the company has used for 20 years, is safe for fish and wildlife.

Crist told company officials he would contact the Florida Department of Environmental Protection about Munox and its potential to help in the oil spill clean up and protection efforts.