Score Board 2006

Southwest Florida's economy has ridden on the back of the real estate and construction industries in recent years, so when they stumbled, nearly everyone felt the jolt.

After several blockbuster years, the residential real estate market came to a screeching halt as inventory overflowed and buyers disappeared. Prices plateaued in the first half of 2006 and then dropped, nudging a shift to a buyers' market.

While some investors had made big returns on quick flips in 2003 and 2004, now they found themselves saddled with houses and condos they couldn't sell or afford to keep. Reports trickled in that realtors, especially those who had jumped into the market when it was hot, were looking for other jobs.

Developers pulled out of several major planned projects, but even the real estate slowdown didn't seem to curb the labor shortage. Construction workers kept busy with backlogs of work, and jobs in that industry continued to grow, especially in specialty trades. With unemployment still less than 3 percent in Lee County and not much higher in Collier and Charlotte counties, employers continued to scramble to fill jobs.

On the other hand, the drop in prices made housing slightly more available to the many working residents in the region who were having trouble either buying or finding a place to rent. By the end of the year, sales accelerated.

With effects of the slowdown rippling through all industries, real estate was the year's biggest story, but certainly not the only one. Here's a glance back at 2006.

REAL ESTATE AND DEVELOPMENT

Losers: residential developers and sellers

Sales volume slowed in the first two quarters, although prices took longer to drop. New single-family permits declined, but some argued the market was stabilizing, returning to levels experienced in the early 2000s before the investor-fueled boom. Some sellers decided to cut their losses while others tried to come up with creative alternatives to make a profit.

Loser: WCI Communities

The slowdown caused high-rise headaches for WCI Communities Inc., the giant Bonita Springs-based developer. Layoffs were announced this past summer and the company pulled out of plans to build the Sabal Bay development, which was zoned for some 2,000 homes, 18 golf courses and 260,000 square feet of commercial space east of Naples. WCI's second quarter earnings fell nearly 70 percent compared to a year earlier. Revenues were down 21 percent. Company officials blamed the drooping national numbers primarily on the Florida market, especially Florida's west coast.

Losers: Port Charlotte and Fort Myers

Developers wrote off the time and money they already had invested and backed out of several multimillion-dollar partnership projects with municipalities that are struggling to draw new life. Stock Development walked away from Murdock Village in Charlotte County, a $93 million mixed-use project aimed at creating a town center in Port Charlotte. In downtown Fort Myers, WCI Communities dropped out of a 5.6-acre riverfront project, and then Naples-based Antaramian Development Group also withdrew its offer to work on the city-owned property, sending city officials back to the drawing board.

Win, lose or draw: The River District and Cape Coral

In downtown Fort Myers, which redevelopment officials have rebranded as the River District, construction started on several high-rises and other projects, including Oasis, St. Tropez/Riviera, Cypress Club, First Street Village, Riverwalk at Sunset, and Monaco Resort & Spa condo-hotel; and the first tower at High Point Place was opening for move-ins. The real estate slowdown, however, raises questions about how soon many of the units will be filled.

In Cape Coral, Hampton Inn & Suites opened in April and construction began on two other commercial projects. Several other much-anticipated projects have yet to emerge.

Winner: Antaramian Development Group

In spite of its Fort Myers project falling through, Antaramian lands in the winners column after finally getting the go-ahead on the Imperial Landing project, a mixed-use development in Bonita Springs. It had gone back and forth with the city council-the former council gave the project the thumbs up, and then it was voted down by new council members, who reversed that decision after public outcry. The project is now under review.

In addition, Antaramian's Renaissance Village booked 100 sales in less than two weeks for residences that will be part of a mixed-use project on the old Grand Central Station site in downtown Naples-one piece of Naples Bay Resort.

Losers: GD&W competitors

Commercial real estate in Southwest Florida got a jolt in July when two major players merged into one company. Todd Gates, CEO of Naples-based developer Gates McVey, joined forces with Frank D'Alessandro and Tom Woodyard of Fort Myers-based D'Alessandro & Woodyard commercial realtors. The deal is expected to yield annual revenues of $1 billion.

The new company is named-go figure-Gates D'Alessandro & Woodyard LLC.

Winners: mega-developers

After years of wrangling, the long-anticipated Babcock Ranch deal was roped into reality this summer. Florida taxpayers coughed up $351 million, including $41 million from Lee County, to take over 74,000 acres of environmentally valuable land along the Charlotte County-Lee County line. Developer Kitson & Partners through Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund bought the remaining 17,000 acres, where a town of some 19,500 homes and commercial ventures is proposed. Not everyone agrees it's a win for taxpayers, the environment, or Charlotte and Lee counties.

Other major development projects include the new town of Ave Maria in Collier County, with the new university as its centerpiece, which is starting to emerge from the scrublands near Immokalee. Housing offerings and retail outlets are slated to open in mid-2007.

And Collier Enterprises is working on another potential town next door to Ave Maria. Dubbed Big Cypress-not to be confused with the national preserve nearby-it could have 25,000 homes in a collection of villages and hamlets on a massive 22,000 acres.

Winners: renters

Although the median home price is still high in comparison to salaries, the drop in prices has expanded the rental inventory. The big trend had been to turn apartment complexes into condos. With the softening numbers, a number of prominent apartment-to-condo operations made the old switcheroo and returned to the rental biz.

Winners: a few middle-income house hunters

In an innovative move, The Bonita Bay Group teamed up with an assortment of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations to provide housing at costs that teachers and faculty members can afford. It bought 60 condos in Estero as part of the Homes for Teachers project.

And Rep. Mike Davis of Naples won a serious coup this year when Gov. Jeb Bush signed an affordable housing bill Davis sponsored. Among its lofty goals, the $516 million bill will help state residents, including middle-income earners, such as teachers and police officers, find affordable housing in the communities where they work.

Losers: builders

Not only did the market fall back to earth, leaving some big builders with big inventories, but they also faced continuing rises in impact fees. Collier County has the most impact fees of any Florida county-12 in all, adding tens of thousands of dollars to the price of a home. Lee County ranks No. 3 for the most impact fees, which went up in October when commissioners voted to triple road impact fees.

Loser: Immokalee

The Florida Tradeport at the Immokalee Regional Airport fell victim to the long permitting process when the Skytruck company pulled out of plans to locate there. It took with it the potential for more than 100 jobs.

AGRICULTURE

Losers: citrus growers

In January, the state stopped chopping down trees in "citrus canker quarantine zones," as agriculture officials decided the citrus canker disease is here to stay and began considering alternatives to combat it. Bad news quickly followed when ag experts confirmed cases of citrus greening in Cape Coral and elsewhere in Lee County. The bacterial disease, which is spread by a small insect, kills the tree and renders the fruit unusable.

Winners: farmers

Despite the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 and the diseases that have damaged crops, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this summer that Florida farmers had record cash receipts for 2005-$7.7 billion worth.

AVIATION

March came in like a lion as the wrecking balls and bulldozers demolished the old terminal at Southwest Florida International Airport. In its place will rise the anticipated Skyplex Commerce Center, an aeronautic business park that would help fund Port Authority operations. Meanwhile, the new terminal at SWFIA celebrated its one-year anniversary in September. The number of passengers leveled off after a record-breaking 2005, but monthly numbers still were far ahead of previous years.

Page Field in Fort Myers saw slow and steady expansion, including new hangars and ramp space.

At Charlotte County Airport, which continued to recover from Hurricane Charley, construction is beginning on a new terminal. In the adjoining commerce park, UPS and FedEx announced plans to expand their presences there, and Publix Super Markets is working on plans for a new distribution center, which would bring about 300 jobs.

The Naples flying community got some good news in September when Delta Airlines reported two years of strong ticket sales for daily flights from Naples Municipal Airport to Atlanta. In 2004, local businesses and individuals had pledged $700,000 as a guarantee to persuade the airline to offer the flights. The donors are due to get their money back. In addition, the airport completed most of the repairs from damage caused by Hurricane Wilma in 2005. More than $9 million from insurance, FEMA, FDOT and the FAA was spent on repairs and capital improvements.