Need to catch up on business news in Southwest Florida? No problem. Here are the top stories of the week pulled from our daily newsletter, Gulfshore Business Daily.
Friday, April 20
Bonita Property Sells for $12.75 Million
Donovan, LLC, Estero Bay Marine LLC, and Sugar Mountain Development LLC sold a 30.51-acre waterfront property to LB Estero Bay Investments LLC for $12.75 million. The property is located adjacent to the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa at 23149 Weeks Fish Camp Road, Bonita Springs, and provides direct access to the Gulf of Mexico from Estero Bay. The deal was brokered by Randy Thibaut, Justin Thibaut, and Doug Meschko of Land Solutions, Inc. Land Solutions specializes in all aspects of site development, current market and valuation issues, acquisition and disposition services, due diligence evaluation, permitting status and compliance, work-out projects, asset management and zoning, and permitting for commercial properties. For more information, visit www.landsolutions.net.
Thursday, April 19
Fort Myers Named Top Small City to Start a Business
WalletHub has named Fort Myers as 2018’s 10th best small city to start a business. To determine the rankings, WalletHub compared the business-friendliness of more than 1,200 small-sized cities and analyzed 18 key metrics ranging from average growth in number of small businesses to investor access and labor costs. WalletHub compared 1,261 cities across three key dimensions including business environment, access to resources, and business costs, evaluating cities with a population of between 25,000 and 100,000 residents. “City” refers to city proper and excludes the surrounding metro area. Eight cities in Florida made the top 100, with Fort Myers being the only Florida city ranked in the top 20. The full list and more information is available here.
Wednesday, April 18
Dave & Buster’s Comes to Fort Myers
Dave & Buster’s will soon be the Bell Tower Shops’ newest anchor tenant. Dave & Buster's will offer guests hundreds of arcade games, a chef-crafted menu, cocktails and a D&B Sports Bar filled with dozens of HDTV screens. The restaurant/entertainment complex will anchor the north end of Bell Tower Shops in approximately 40,000 square feet of space formerly occupied by Saks Fifth Avenue. Construction will begin in June with a grand opening anticipated for early 2019. Bell Tower Shops recently commenced construction on a comprehensive redevelopment to create a more modern destination, including new common areas, updated architecture and redesigned storefronts, fresh paint and contemporary lighting, as well as adding strong tenants like Dave & Buster’s that are new to Southwest Florida.
Tuesday, April 17
FPA Names Board, Announces Meeting
The Financial Planning Association of Southwest Florida (FPA) named its 2018 board of directors at the organization’s February membership dinner meeting. The new members are: Thomas L. Patricca, TLP Financial Services Inc., president; Mark Matos, HBKS Wealth Advisors, chairman; Veronica Gude, Regal Securities, treasurer; Donna Alesia Krohn, Holistic Financial Group, secretary; Renee M. Porter-Medley, Key Private Bank, pro bono director; Dr. Steve Frasier, Florida Gulf Coast University, special advisor to the board; Scott R. Schatzle, Mutual Trust Advisory Group, special advisor to the board. The organization will host its next dinner meeting from 5:30-8 p.m. on May 3 at Naples Conference Center. Speaker Mike McGlothlin, executive vice president of Retirement at Ash Brokerage, will share his strategies for “Making Retirement More Efficient.” The educational event is open to non-member planners. Continuing education credits are available. For more information, visit www.fpa-swfl.org.
Monday, April 16
Lee’s First Self Help Center Opens
Clerk of Courts Linda Doggett is opening Lee County’s first Self Help Center at 10 a.m. on April 18 to assist people wishing to represent themselves in civil court. The Self Help Legal Center will provide its patrons with computers and software to assist in the filing of civil actions, and staff to provide assistance instructing patrons how to utilize the services. Additionally, attorneys have partnered with the clerk’s office to provide low-cost limited consultation services to patrons at the rate of $1 per minute in the Self Help Center. The Self Help Center will also assist customers with obtaining and e-filing court documents, getting certified and notarized copies of documents, and obtaining child/family support payment history documents. Customers can also get assistance with filing small claims or eviction cases through an online system, TurboCourt. The Self Help Center will be open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information about the Self Help Center or free legal seminars provided at the Clerk’s office, visit LeeClerk.org.
In other news…
Best of Business Nominations Open
Voting has commenced for the 2018 Gulfshore Business magazine Best of Business Awards. The readers’ poll covers more than 45 categories. The ballot is available by clicking here, and will be posted at the top right square of Gulfshore Business Daily and on the homepage of our website through the deadline of May 15. Rules are noted at the top of the nomination form. Winners will be announced in the August issue.
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