NEW PRESIDENT
>>Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. (OAK) has promoted David J. Dale to president, replacing founder Steve Shimp. Dale joined OAK in 1989 as a jobsite superintendent on the 16-story Seapoint Condominium at Naples Cay. Subsequent projects as superintendent included new offices for the Heart Group on College Parkway in Fort Myers, Littleton Elementary School in North Fort Myers, Grey Oaks Country Club in Naples, Pink Shell Resort’s mid-rise condominium in Fort Myers Beach and the Bonita Bay Group Sales Center. Shimp will continue as the company’s chairman of the board. He will shift his emphasis to strategic initiatives and business expansion

SHAW FACILITY SELLS
>>The Shaw Aero design and manufacturing facility in Naples has sold for nearly $20.6 million. Parker Aerospace will continue to occupy the lakefront space that houses a 52,247-square-foot, three-story office building, a 65,000-square-foot manufacturing plant and a 12,750-square-foot testing facility. There is paved parking for 305 vehicles. Randal L. Mercer of CB Richard Ellis sourced the listing and served as primary contact to the sellers. Charles J. Foschini, Christian R. Lee and Christopher A. Apone, all of the CB Richard Ellis Miami office, served as the primary contacts to the buyer. CB Richard Ellis and Melody Capital Markets coordinated all marketing and due diligence activities related to the transaction. The property is located at 3580 Shaw Blvd. in Naples, 1.5 miles from the I-75 interchange at CR 951. In a separate transaction, Shaw Aero Devices was acquired by Parker Hannafin Corporation through its subsidiary, Parker Aerospace.

PRIVATESKY PROMOTION
>>Royce L. Stevens Jr. has been promoted to chief operating officer-director of PrivateSky Aviation Services (www.PrivateSky.net). Stevens has been with the company, headquartered at Southwest Florida International Airport, since 1998. PrivateSky is an FAA-certified, 145-repair-station service center for Gulfstream models II, III, IV and V.

TDM IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
>>TDM Consulting Inc., a civil engineering and planning firm in Fort Myers, will open a new office in the Dominican Republic. Robert Light, who has been with TDM Consulting since June, has been promoted to manage the new office.

BANK CONCRETE WORK
>>Westcoast Structural Concrete & Masonry has completed concrete and masonry work for general contractor Owen-Ames-Kimball on the FineMark National Bank & Trust headquarters located at Riverwalk at Whiskey Creek in Fort Myers. Westcoast Structural provided concrete block construction for the 20,000-square-foot, two-story building and added recesses in the floors for easy transportation of heavy duty filing cabinets. The contractor will also complete the sidewalks for the headquarters.

AIRPORT NUMBERS DOWN IN NOVEMBER
>>More than 650,000 passengers traveled through the Southwest Florida International Airport (www.flylcpa.com) in November, a slight decrease of 1.4 percent compared with November 2006. Year-to-date, passenger traffic was up 6.4 percent over the same period last year. The traffic leader for the month of November was Air Tran with 79,695 passengers traveling to and from Fort Myers. Rounding out the top five airlines were JetBlue (78,310), Delta (70,336), Southwest (68,277) and Continental (59,356).

CONSTRUCTION FORECAST
>>McGraw-Hill Construction and Kraft Construction Company Inc. will hold the second annual construction forecast for 2008. The guest speaker will be Cliff Brewis of McGraw-Hill Construction/Dodge. The event will run from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 30 in the Heron Room at Embassy Suites Hotel, 10450 Corkscrew Commons Drive, in Estero. For more information, contact Dawn Martin at (954) 267-9241 or dawn_martin@mcgraw-hill.com. 

METRO RANKINGS
>>Fort Myers–Cape Coral has been ranked as the “Top Mid-Sized Metro” area in the nation where companies will have the best chance to grow and prosper, according to a study by the National Policy Research Council and Expansion Management magazine. Naples is ranked third nationally among small-sized metro areas. The study looked at fundamental site-selection factors, such as workforce availability and cost and community infrastructure, as well as the success of existing businesses.

GOLF CLASSIC DONATION
>>Valencia Golf and Country Club has donated $10,000 to the Immokalee Friendship House (www.immokaleefriendshiphouse.com) with proceeds from the annual Charity Golf Classic. The Immokalee Friendship House provides shelter and meals to homeless men, women and children 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
>>John R. Wood Realtors Inc. has named Don Wenninger as its chief information officer. A native of Milwaukee, Wis., Wenninger is a 1993 MBA graduate of City University in Bellevue, Wash. He formerly worked at Hope Hospice in Fort Myers as CIO and vice president of information technology services.

OFFICE PARK UNDERWAY
>>Construction has started on Six Mile Corporate Park on Six Mile Cypress Parkway, according to project marketing director Randal L. Mercer of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples. The centerpiece of the project will be a two-story, 47,358-square-foot office building. Plans also include two sites for individual office buildings, both fronting Six Mile Cypress Parkway. Mercer coordinated site selection, acquisition and development plans for Six Mile Corporate Park. Financing is arranged with Busey Bank. Sheeley Architects is providing architectural design, with civil engineering by Jeppesen Engineering Corp. Florida Lifestyle Homes is the general contractor and will oversee the entire project.

TOP GOLF COURSE
>>Golf Digest magazine has recognized Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero on the publication’s list of America’s Best New Courses. Golf Digest’s annual survey is conducted by a panel of more than 800 golfers who considered nominees that had opened between May 1, 2006, and April 30, 2007. Old Corkscrew opened in February 2007. The panelists rated courses in the categories of shot values, design variety, resistance to scoring, memorability and aesthetics.

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