Where to Be in Business

Lawyers are setting up shop near clients instead of the courthouse. Physicians want offices that are closer to their patients. Are they trading raw ambition for kinder, gentler personas?

Maybe not. The trend away from once coveted, more traditional locations reflects growth and savvy, as Southwest Florida businesses expand into residential communities and near the interstate. Some of the hottest spots are now farther from corridors historically viewed as commercial hubs.

"It's not as necessary for a law firm to be across the street from the courthouse as it used to be," says Gary Tasman, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield's Southwest Florida office. Among the reasons: Records can be accessed online.

Clients moving to affluent south Lee County communities, where many attorneys live, is another factor in the migration. Law firms are looking for spots from College Parkway and Summerlin Road southward, say commercial brokers.

"They are positioning themselves in a suburban office market, as opposed to the central business district," Tasman says.

Meanwhile, competition-minded physicians are going where the growth is, following rooftops-a strategy more typical of the retail sector. Projects for physicians are already in development around hospitals, such as on Metro Parkway near Gulf Coast Hospital, scheduled for completion in 2008, and on Del Prado Boulevard near Cape Coral Hospital. But brokers say new medical space will be popping up near neighborhoods as well.

"They really follow their patients' ZIP codes and [look for] easy access to the hospitals," says Frank D'Alessandro, partner in Gates, D'Alessandro & Woodyard LLC.

Other factors are also at work. Collier County, where land and construction costs are high, doesn't have many new standout office buildings at this point, says Craig Timmins of Investment Properties Corp. (IPC) in Naples. On the other hand, Charlotte County, still picking up the pieces from Hurricane Charley, claims several recently completed projects and more in development.

We asked commercial brokers in Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties about the best business addresses, and narrowed their suggestions to five hot spots for office and retail space that are either still under construction or were completed in the past couple of years. Although many more new properties are also available, these provide a snapshot of possible places for businesses, chosen because of their access, appearance and amenities.

Several brokers agree that Parker Commons in Fort Myers, a 10-building office condo development featuring Mediterranean-style architecture, is a prime place for physicians and other professionals. The 88,500-square-foot project by the Jack Parker Corp., located on the north side of Daniels Parkway, is attracting interest from medical specialists including plastic surgeons and cardiologists, says Paul Sands with VIP Commercial - TCN Worldwide. Azul Cosmetic Surgery & Medical Spa bought and will occupy one building, and State Farm Insurance is located in the complex as well. A prime reason for its appeal, especially among physicians looking out for their patients, is ample parking, says Tasman; it has a higher density of parking than many other projects. Parker Commons Boulevard, Fort Myers.

This new three-story, 65,000-square-foot building at

I-75 and Daniels Parkway in Fort Myers is attracting corporations and other professional firms. Among the tenants: Ameriprise Financial, staffing firm Robert Half International, accounting and consulting firm LarsonAllen, the Southwest Florida Workforce Development Board, Noble Title & Trust and Gulfshore Insurance. McGarvey Development Co., which created Renaissance Center, is occupying the entire third floor, about 21,000 square feet, according to McGarvey's Charles Jans. "It's a marvelous building," says Randy Mercer with CB Richard Ellis. The class-A, state-of-the-art facility further represents the shift to I-75 away from corridors such as U.S. 41.

9530 Marketplace Road, Fort Myers.

Physicians and others in the medical field are congregating at Harbor Professional Centre. The development by Bayshore Land Group is located at Harbor Boulevard and U.S. 41, one-quarter mile from Port Charlotte's Peace River Regional Medical Center. The seven buildings, with 29 office condos, are home to many businesses, including Zusman Eye Care Center and Harbor Imaging. One important caveat: It's already fully occupied. 3390-3440 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte.

Hurricane Charley devastated downtown Punta Gorda, yet as the area recovers, professional firms are moving into buildings and former residential space that has been converted to offices. Farr Law Firm and Wotitzky, Wotitzky, Ross, Goldman, Sturges & Tuttle P.A. are among those attracted by the location, particularly with its access to the Charlotte County Justice Center on Marion Avenue, says Steve Gant, president of Gant Realty in Charlotte County. More projects are on the horizon, such as the Sunloft Center, a four-story mixed-use building on Marion Avenue, with retail space, offices and residences.

This development by the St. Petersburg-based Sembler Co., which is known for its retail projects throughout the southeastern United States, is helping turn the Naples Boulevard corridor into "a hot spot for retail," says Timmins. Tenants already in this 165,000-square-foot shopping center at the Airport-Pulling Road intersection include some that are new to Southwest Florida, including natural-foods retailer Wild Oats Marketplace and Loehmann's department store. IPC, in which Timmins is a principal, is leasing the 21,000-square-foot Boulevard Shoppes near the Promenade and traffic-

generating big boxes, including Costco, Lowe's and Best Buy. 6424 Naples Blvd., Naples.