Monday, August 30, 2010

Lennar to start construction of 48 estate homes priced from the $250s at Live Oak on Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

TAMPA - Lennar will start construction of 48 estate homes priced from the $250s at Live Oak, located on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in New Tampa.

Mark Metheny, president of Lennar’s Central Florida Division, said estate homes at Live Oak will feature 70 and 80-foot home sites and new three, four and five-bedroom single-family homes that range in size from 2,400 square feet of living space to 4,100 square feet.
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For more information contact: Francine Miller, Director of Sales & Marketing Lennar-Tampa Region, 727-479-1747; Francine.Miller@Lennar.com; Mark Metheny, Lennar Division President-Central Florida, 727-479-1700

Meritage Homes Introduces Seven New Floor Plans at Cypress Preserve in St. Cloud

ORLANDO - Meritage Homes is introducing seven new floor plans at Cypress Preserve, located off Old Canoe Creek Road in St. Cloud.

Pam Whitmore, marketing manager at Meritage Homes in the Orlando region, said new single-family homes at Cypress Preserve range from the three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath
McKinley model home with 2,527 square feet of living space priced from $195,990 to the eight-bedroom, four-bath Del Rio model with 5,107 square feet priced from $264,990.
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For more information contact: Pam Whitmore, Marketing Manager / Meritage Homes-Orlando 407-712-8664 Pam.Whitmore@meritagehomes.com; Brian Kittle, Director of Sales, Meritage Homes-Orlando, 407-712-8669; Brian.Kittle@meritagehomes.com

University Club of Orlando to Host Cocktails for a Cause Fundraiser to Benefit Canine Companions

ORLANDO - The University Club of Orlando will host a Cocktails for a Cause fundraiser reception on Thursday, Sept. 16, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Susan Greene, general manager of the University Club of Orlando, said Cocktails for a Cause events have raised more than $50,000 so far this year to benefit local civic, community and charitable organizations.

Volunteers from the beneficiary organization serve as bartenders at Cocktails for a Cause and all gratuities are donated to the charity.

Justin Wright, events director at the University Club of Orlando, said admission to the Sept. 16 Cocktails for a Cause fundraising event is free. Guests are encouraged to donate as generously as they can to Canine Companions.

For more information contact: Justin Wright, Events Manager, The University Club of Orlando 407-425-2514; Susan Greene, General Manager, The University Club of Orlando 407-425-2514, gm@ucluborlando.com

Villages of Royal Palm to Sponsor “Losing Big” Weight Reduction Challenge in Volusia County

PORT ORANGE - Villages of Royal Palm in Port Orange is a major sponsor of the Volusia Home Builders Association’s and Florida Hospital Group’s county-wide “Losing Big” weight reduction challenge competition that is offering prizes valued at more than $8,000 for Volusia County residents who lose weight.

Winston Schwartz, president of Winston-James Development, Inc., said the community clubhouse at Villages of Royal Palm is one of the official weigh-in stations for the Losing Big weight loss challenge.

“As a culture, we Americans suffer from obesity and the cost in terms of life loss, health problems and chronic problems such as diabetes and heart disease are epidemic,” Schwartz said.
“We fully support the efforts of the Volusia Home Builders Association and Florida Hospital Group to encourage local residents to play a more active role in their own health by losing weight and improving their physical conditioning,” he said.

The dates of the official registration and weigh-ins are Oct. 11 and 13 at the clubhouse at Villages of Royal Palm. The competition is underway.
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For more information please, contact: Winston Schwartz, President, Winston-James Development, Inc. 933 Beville Rd., South Daytona, Fla. 32119; 386-760-2555

Old Florida National Bank and Mercantile Capital Corporation Announce Merger Agreement

ORLANDO - Old Florida National Bank and Mercantile Capital Corporation have entered into a merger agreement. Old Florida National Bank (Old Florida), headquartered in downtown Orlando, expects the merger to be finalized in the late fourth quarter or early first quarter of 2011.

Randy Burden, chairman of Old Florida, and Geof Longstaff, chairman of Mercantile, jointly announced the merger.

Old Florida National Bank, formed in 1982, currently operates eight full-service retail banking facilities throughout Central Florida and Inverness, Fla. and boasts over $375 million in assets
Mercantile, the seven-year-old Altamonte Springs firm that specializes in U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loans for owners of small to mid-sized businesses who want to acquire or develop their own facilities, has provided commercial loans in 30 states and Puerto Rico for more than $513 million in total project costs since it opened as Mercantile Commercial Capital, LLC in late 2002.

“The merger substantially extends Old Florida’s capacity to engage in commercial lending,” Randy Burden said.

“Mercantile ranks as one of the largest and best known providers of SBA-504 lending in the nation,” Burden said. “They have succeeded in developing a well-known and well-respected brand with a solid reputation in the small business community,” Burden added.

Longstaff, who has served as president of three banks in the area over the past three decades, said the merger brings substantial resources to bear on Mercantile’s effort to serve small business owners nationwide.

John Burden, president of Old Florida, said “the merger creates a strong, cohesive banking organization squarely focused on serving consumers, professionals and the small business sector.”

“Old Florida National Bank is a hometown bank well known for personal service to our customers and a smart, reliable approach to banking,” Burden said.

“We are very pleased to offer Mercantile’s services to our customers and to further our service to Central Florida’s small business community,” he said.

Christopher G. Hurn, chief executive officer of Mercantile Capital Corporation, said “the merger enables Mercantile to expand its services and to help more small business owners nationally.”

“Our merger substantially expands the capital resources we can bring to the small business sector of the U.S. economy,” said Hurn.

Mercantile Capital Corporation will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Old Florida National Bank. The combined entities are estimated to have nearly $400 million in total assets upon completion of their merger, making Old Florida one of the largest Orlando-based community banks.

For more information, Contact: John Burden, President Old Florida National Bank, 407-388-6136

Orlando Attorney Mark Lippman Issues Media Statement Regarding Legal Representation in Casey Anthony Case

ORLANDO - Orlando attorney Mark Lippman issued the following statement regarding his firm’s representation of George and Cindy Anthony, the parents Casey Anthony.
Lippman Law Offices, P.A., previously represented George and Cindy Anthony in their civil mortgage foreclosure. We continue to represent them in this matter.
Subsequent to the resignation of attorney Brad Conway as legal representative of George and Cindy Anthony in the matter involving Casey Anthony, we have agreed with George and Cindy Anthony to expand our role to assume attorney Conway’s former responsibilities.
Lippman Law Offices, P.A., takes the firm position that excessive exposure in the news media adds undue burdens on the court in its constitutional responsibility to administer justice fairly and equitably. Further, excessive media coverage and resulting speculation is detrimental to the interests of our clients.
We are sensitive to the important role of the news media in informing the public, and we do not wish to dissuade or prevent news media representatives from fulfilling their responsibilities. We will answer all appropriate questions as we are able.
However, we will not engage in speculation. We will not offer opinions. We will not endeavor to interpret the actions of the judge, other attorneys engaged in this matter, or other participants. We will not divulge information that may violate attorney client privilege.
Understandably, these stipulations may disappoint some media professionals and will likely limit our responses to certain questions.
Our only role is to represent the interests of our clients. In good conscience, we cannot not contribute to distractions that may hinder the presentation of the defense in this case nor that of the prosecution.
We request your forbearance in this regard.
Attorney Mark Lippman said he will issue further statements as the case unfolds.
For more information about this press release, contact: Mark Lippman, Esq., Lippman Law Offices, 255 S. Orange Ave. Orlando; 407-648-4213; Mark@llopa.com