Friday, September 4, 2009

Ashton Woods Homes Starts Construction of Three Ready-To-Move-In Luxury Homes at Thornhill

ORLANDO, Fla. - Ashton Woods Homes has started construction of three ready-to-move-in luxury homes at Thornhill, overlooking Lake Sharp off S.R. 535 and Reams Rd. in Windermere, and at least one will close in time to take advantage of the stimulus tax credit.

Michael Roche, vice president of sales and marketing for Ashton Woods Homes in the Orlando region, said he anticipates a surge in home buyers between now and the Nov. 30 expiration of the $8,000 federal tax grant on new home purchases.

Thornhill features three, four, and five-bedroom homes priced from $249,000 that range from 1,870 square feet of living space to 4,000 square feet.

New homes at Thornhill in one and two-story designs feature a striking Key West theme that won a 2009 Parade of Homes Merit Award and Outstanding Feature Award.

Ashton Woods Homes is a subsidiary of the Great Gulf Group of Companies, a North American real estate conglomerate headquartered in Toronto, and currently has communities under development in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, Tampa, Denver and Orlando.

For more information contact:
Michael Roche, VP Sales & Marketing Ashton Woods Homes-Orlando/Tampa, 407-647-3700
John Reny, President, Ashton Woods Homes-Orlando/Tampa 407-647-3700
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

$8,000 Housing Tax Credit Makes an Impact: Beazer Homes Starts Construction of 13 New Town Homes at Verano at Bartram Park

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Beazer Homes has started construction of 13 new town homes at Verano at Bartram Park, located off Bartram Park Rd. in the Mandarin area of Jacksonville.

David Byrnes, president of Beazer Homes in Florida, said the two, three and four-bedroom town homes range in size from 1,416 square feet of living space to 1,496 square feet with attached one-car garages.

New town homes at Verano at Bartram Park are priced from $134,990 to $155,600.

Byrnes said the surge in new construction is a direct result of U.S. economic stimulus efforts.

“New home buyers have until the end of November to take advantage of the $8,000 U.S. Federal tax credit,” Byrnes said. “The tax credit has already had a big impact on sales and we anticipate a big last-minute rush to buy homes in the best locations before the tax credit expires,” he said.

All 13 new tax credit town homes will be completed in early November, Byrnes said.

For more information, contact:
David Byrnes President Beazer Homes / Florida Division - 407-339-4114 dbyrnes@beazer.com

Theresa Tilton, Vice President of Sales Beazer Homes /Florida Division 407-339-4114; ttilton@beazer.com

Dan Gregory, General Sales Manager, Beazer Homes-Jacksonville 904-292-9440; dgregory@beazer.com

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142

About Beazer Homes:
Beazer Homes, headquartered in Atlanta, is one of the country's 10 largest single-family homebuilders with operations in 17 states. Beazer Homes is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "BZH."

Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida Increases Office Group

TAMPA, Fla., - Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida, associated with 130 offices worldwide, has named Maria Camarinos Hall as associate in the firm’s Office Group in Tampa.

Jeff Sweeney, SIOR, president and managing partner of Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida in Tampa, Orlando and Melbourne, said Camarinos Hall has nine years of outside sales experience, including two in commercial real estate.

Camarinos Hall was most recently an associate with GVA Advantis in Tampa representing landlords Tower Realty Partners, Arcis Investments and Professor’s Capital.

She was also formerly associated with UGL Equis in Tampa where she focused on tenant representation. GSA and OmniCare were among large national companies Hall has worked with.
Camarinos Hall is a graduate of the University of Tampa with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications.

Her appointment to the Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida Office Group is the second major addition recently. In early August Sweeney named Paula Buffa, CCIM, RPA, the current president of the Westshore Alliance, as senior vice president in the firm’s Office Group.

Contacts:
Maria Camarinos Hall 813-830-7894
Jeffrey Sweeney, SIOR President 407-481-5387
Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142

About Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida:
Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida is an affiliated commercial real estate services firm specializing in the leasing and sale of office, industrial, retail, land and investment properties. Currently Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida has 40 brokers divided among its Tampa, Orlando and Melbourne offices to serve the entire mid-Florida marketplace.

About Grubb & Ellis:
Named to The Global Outsourcing 100™ in 2009 by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals™, Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE) is one of the largest and most respected commercial real estate services and investment companies in the world. Our 6,000 professionals in more than 130 company-owned and affiliate offices draw from a unique platform of real estate services, practice groups and investment products to deliver comprehensive, integrated solutions to real estate owners, tenants and investors. The firm’s transaction, management, consulting and investment services are supported by highly regarded proprietary market research and extensive local expertise. Through its investment subsidiaries, the company is a leading sponsor of real estate investment programs that provide individuals and institutions the opportunity to invest in a broad range of real estate investment vehicles, including public non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), tenant-in-common (TIC) investments suitable for tax-deferred 1031 exchanges, mutual funds and other real estate investment funds. For more information, visit http://www.grubb-ellis.com/.

NAI Realvest negotiates three office lease agreements in Orlando Central Park

ORLANDO, Fla. - NAI Realvest recently negotiated three lease agreements totaling 2,586 square feet of office space in Orlando Central Park at 7200 Lake Ellenor Drive in Orlando.

SVSK, Inc. renewed its lease of 1,630 square feet; construction industry supplier Brand Energy Solutions, LLC signed a new lease for 777 square feet and Conners Investigative Services, renewed its lease of 179 square feet.

Tom Kelley, CCIM, principal and office leasing specialist at NAI Realvest, negotiated the transactions with the Orlando-based tenants, representing the former landlord, Dallas-based Tarragon Corporation who recently sold the building to JCQ Investments.

For more information, contact:
Tom Kelley, CCIM, Principal NAI Realvest 407-875-9989 tkelley@realvest.com
Pat Mahoney, President, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 pmahoney@realvest.com
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

About NAI Realvest:
NAI Realvest, covering all of central Florida, is a fully integrated commercial real estate operating company specializing in brokerage, development, investment, leasing and management, consulting and research services in the U.S. and worldwide. NAI Global is an international commercial real estate network with over 325 offices spanning the globe. Since 1978, clients have built businesses on the power of NAI Global’s expanding network. Extensive services include multi-site acquisitions and dispositions, sublease, tenant representation, lease administration and audit, investment services, due diligence and related consulting and advisory services. To learn more, visit www.NAIRealvest.com.

Ashton Woods Homes Introduces Two New Smaller, Smarter Prototype Homes at Palm Cove in Wesley Chapel

TAMPA, Fla. - Ashton Woods Homes is introducing two new prototype homes at Palm Cove, located off Boyette Rd. and S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel in Pasco County.

Michael Roche, vice president of sales and marketing for Ashton Woods Homes in the Tampa region, said the three-bedroom two-bath single-family homes could represent the future of Florida’s home building industry.

“We’re building smaller, smarter homes,” Roche said. “Our PowerHouse Green and Environments for Living technology enhances the performance of the home and dramatically lowers energy costs by an average of 15 to 25 percent,” he said.

Ranging from 1,339 square feet of living space to 1,530 square feet, the new prototype homes are easier to maintain and less expensive to own, Roche said.

For more information, contact:
Michael Roche, VP Sales & Marketing Ashton Woods Homes-Tampa 407-647-3700
John Reny, President, Ashton Woods Homes-Tampa/Orlando 407-647-3700
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

About Ashton Woods Homes:
Ashton Woods Homes is a subsidiary of the Great Gulf Group of Companies, a North American real estate conglomerate headquartered in Toronto, and currently has communities under development in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, Tampa, Denver and Orlando.

Emerson International Closes on Six Lease Agreements that Total More than 8,000 Square Feet of Office Space in Altamonte Springs

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - Emerson International recently closed on six lease agreements that total 8,091 square feet of office space in Altamonte Springs.

Sean Westcott, director of leasing at Emerson International, negotiated four long-term lease agreements that total 4,761 square feet of office space at CenterPointe Office Park, on CenterPointe Circle off E. Central Parkway in Altamonte Springs.

Connected Solutions, a communications services firm leased 1,114 square feet; the Republican Party of Seminole County leased 845 square feet; JAG Holdings, LLC, leased 993 square feet; and Diana Pilatovsky M.A., L.M.H.C., a licensed mental health counselor, leased 809 square feet.

Westcott negotiated two long-term lease agreements that total 4,330 square feet at Altamonte Lakeside Office Park, on Cranes Roost Blvd. in Altamonte Springs.

Peridot Corp., a precision manufacturing firm specializing in a broad range of component parts, leased 2,843 square feet of office space. Peridot was represented in the transaction by Joe Hills of Coglin Commercial Realty. GP Digital Solutions, Inc., an authorized Xerox sales agent, leased 1,487 square feet.

For more information, contact:
Eric J. Emerson, Vice President and General Manager Emerson International Inc., 407-834-9560

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142

Builder Magazine Names Lennar’s Stoneybrook at Venice One of 10 Top-Selling Communities in the U.S.

VENICE, Fla. - Builder Magazine, the leading U.S. journal of the home building industry, has named Lennar’s Stoneybrook at Venice one of the nation’s 10 top selling new communities.

Stoneybrook at Venice ranked as the only Florida community named to Builder Magazine’s Top 10 list and one of two communities in the southeastern U.S., along with Sun City Carolina Lakes in the Charlotte area. The other eight communities are located in southern California, Texas, Arizona, Virginia, the Chicago area and Colorado.

Matt Devereaux, director of sales for Lennar’s Southwest Florida Division, said he was delighted with the recognition and he knows why Stoneybrook at Venice was singled out: “lots of new home sales.”

Lennar recently announced it sold 20 new homes at Stoneybrook at Venice in a June-July six-week period, at prices ranging from $244,900 to $349,900.

Community amenities are a big reason for the strong sales, Devereaux said.

“Stoneybrook at Venice offers all the amenities of an island resort,” he said.

The community center includes a resort-style swimming pool, a kid’s splash pool, and an in-line skating park, a health club with an onsite activity director and four lighted tennis courts, a basketball court, two sand volleyball courts and a multi-purpose sports field.

Stoneybrook at Venice is located off North River and Center Rds. one mile west of I-75 Exit 191.

For more information, contact:
Matt Devereaux, Director of Sales, Lennar-Southwest Florida 239-278-1177
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142

Data Transfer Solutions, LLC Wins Major Contracts in Colorado, Montana, Washington, California, and City of Maitland

ORLANDO, Fla. - Data Transfer Solutions, LLC, (DTS), based in Orlando’s Avalon Park and provides (GIS) Geographic Information Systems, transportation planning, asset management, Web design, database applications, and video and multimedia production services to local governments and regional and state agencies throughout the U.S., recently won five major contracts with government agencies in Colorado, Montana, Washington, California, and the City of Maitland.

A.M. “Trey” Fragala III, AICP, Chief Operating Officer at Data Transfer Solutions, said Colorado’s Dept. of Transportation (CDOT) awarded the firm a contract worth $276,000 to extend and enhance its Online Transportation Information Systems application (OTIS 2.0). Earlier, DTS developed CDOT’s OTIS 1.0 system.

The State of Montana awarded DTS a contract to provide continuing GIS services to its IT Services department. The one-year contract can be renewed for up to six years.

Mercer Island in Washington State awarded DTS a contract worth more than $100,000 to provide asset and pavement data collection utilizing the DTS Mobil Asset Collection Vehicle with onboard LiDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) Scanner to collect data. DTS will use LiDAR to build 3D models of transportation right-of-ways and automatically extract asset data.
“LiDAR enables us to quickly and accurately classify highway road signs using the shape of the sign and reflectivity,” Fragala explained.

California’s Tahoe Transportation District awarded DTS a two-year contract to provide ongoing professional consulting services for GIS/Transportation Planning. Fragala said the contract includes an optional third year.

The City of Maitland included DTS as General Planning Consultant in a contract with Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. DTS will provide GIS and Transportation Planning application development services for a two-year period with an optional third year.

For more information, contact:
A.M. “Trey” Fragala, III, AICP, Chief Operating Officer, Data Transfer Solutions, 3680 Avalon Park East Blvd., Suite 200, Orlando, 32828; 407-382-5222; tfragala@edats.com

Jade Winfrey, Marketing Coordinator, Data Transfer Solutions, 407-382-5222; jwinfrey@edats.com

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142 lvershelco@aol.com