NAI Realvest Negotiates Expansion Lease with Tenant who will occupy over 15,400 Square Feet at The Citadel in East Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. – NAI Realvest recently completed a lease agreement for 4,393 square feet of office space at Citadel III, 5950 Hazeltine National Drive in southeast Orlando. The NAI Realvest leasing team of Senior Associate Mary Frances West, CCIM, Matt Cichocki and Kevin O’Connor principals at NAI Realvest, negotiated the transaction representing the landlord, Citadel Partners, LTD based in Groveland, Fla. Local tenant Pentaho Corporation, already leasing 11,034 square feet at The Citadel III, will expand into two more suites which will increase its occupancy to 15,427 square feet by Jan. 1. NAI Realvest is the leasing and management representative of Citadel III.

Golden Bear Club in Windermere Hosts two major events to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank

WINDERMERE Fla. --- The Golden Bear Club at Keene’s Pointe in Windermere recently hosted two major community events to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. Matthew Allen, director of golf at Golden Bear, said more than 500 runners, walkers and bicyclists participated in the 10th Annual Keene’s Pointe HOA Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. The entry fee for the event — which started and ended at the Golden Bear Club — was a donation of non-perishable food items for charity. “Winners in each age group earned a first place pumpkin pie instead of a ribbon or trophy,” Allen said. The Annual Turkey Trot benefit was started by Golden Bear Club members and Keene’s Pointe residents Doug and Deborah Irmscher A week later, Golden Bear Club members and their guests took part in their inaugural “Evening of Giving” which also benefited Second Harvest Food Bank. The event was sponsored by Golden Bear Club Members and Keene’s Pointe residents Stan and Lynne Hildebrand and resulted in $2,145 in contributions and more than 2,500 pounds of food.

With Florida Home Sales on the Rebound, Aggressive Home Builders are Cherry-Picking the Best Deals

ORLANDO, Fla. --- New and existing housing sales are up in almost every region of Florida and real estate sales professionals are bracing for a busy 2013, according to Roger Soderstrom, founder and owner of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty in Orlando. “We are seeing tremendous interest from national and regional builders, developers and investors seeking well-positioned properties for single-family homes, attached homes and apartments,” Soderstrom said. Developers are particularly active in the Miami market right now. “I remember hearing news stories in 2009 that it could take 10 years or more for the Miami real estate market to restore its equilibrium and today construction is booming,” Soderstrom said. Soderstrom said most of the standing building sites in Central Florida have been acquired over the past 12 to 18 months and builders and developers are now aggressively pursuing properties with development approvals and well-positioned properties that require approvals. “We are seeing extremely high demand in southwest Orlando, especially in the Horizons West area, and southeast Orlando with Lake Nona and the new medical city, Seminole County, as well as most of our neighboring counties,” Soderstrom said. Soderstrom said investors are finding undeveloped properties priced at a fraction of their values seven years ago. “Florida is benefiting from pent-up demand, new employment, and foreign investment,” Soderstrom said. “Florida attracts the largest percentage of foreign buyer sales nationally.” he added. Soderstrom said an improving housing market nationally benefits Florida too. “As the economy improves and housing markets recover in the Northeast and Midwest, older home owners are seeing the window of opportunity reopen for them,” Soderstrom said. “They are selling their homes so they can relocate to retirement communities in Florida.” Florida is on the rebound, Soderstrom emphasized.

Lennar Homes acquires home sites at Cypress Falls at The Woodlands in North Port, To Introduce New Floor Plans

NORTH PORT, Fla. --- Lennar Homes has acquired home sites at The Woodlands, the gated master-planned active adult community located on Arugula Drive in North Port in Sarasota County. Matt Devereaux, vice president of sales and marketing for Lennar Homes in southwest Florida, said Lennar is introducing four new floor plans from its Executive Homes series in Cypress Falls at The Woodlands, and a grand opening is planned for late January. New three, four and five-bedroom single-family homes priced from the mid $100s at Cypress Falls at The Woodlands will range in size from 1,677 square feet of living space to 2,529 square feet. Devereaux added that all Lennar Executive Homes at Cypress Falls at The Woodlands come with the homebuilder’s “Everything’s Included” pledge: Extras such as granite kitchen countertops, wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, crown molding and tile are all included in the Lennar Homes price. Visit www.lennar.com.

First Green Bank Reports Healthy Growth in Assets, Loan Volume in 2012

MOUNT DORA, Fla. – First Green Bank, the Mount Dora based community bank with locations in Clermont and Ormond Beach and downtown Orlando, reported its assets grew by more than 20 percent in 2012. First Green Bank Chairman Kenneth M. LaRoe said he projects the bank will finish the year with $203 million in total assets, up from $163 million at the start of the year. Asset growth at First Green Bank means more lending to local businesses and consumers, LaRoe said: First Green Bank’s loan volume grew more than 25 percent in 2012 and will end the year with a projected balance of $148 million. In its Asset Quality Review of independent banks in Florida earlier this year, the Carson Medlin Company ranked First Green Bank Number One in Central Florida and fifth in Florida. First Green was one of only seven Florida banks to earn a coveted “zero” on the famed Texas Ratio---a widely regarded measure of sound banking practices developed by Texas banker Gerard Cassidy and RBC Capital Markets more than 30 years ago. First Green Bank posted zero past due loans, zero nonaccrual assets, zero REOs (real estate that the bank has taken back to cover debts) and only $288,000 in restructured loans, when the region-wide average is almost $5.5 million per bank. “We have taken an aggressive approach to lending for projects that improve the economic vitality and quality of life in Central Florida,” LaRoe said. “The community bank business model requires a broader scope of vision than many institutions are able to provide. Our experience---affirmed by Carson Medlin’s Asset Quality Review---is that these are the best loans to make,” LaRoe said. “In our business, character counts.” No less authority than American Banker magazine ranks First Green Bank as one of America’s “greenest” banks. Earlier this year First Green Bank was named the U.S. Green Building Council’s 2011 Business of the Year in Central Florida. LaRoe said First Green Bank is presently looking for a site in Winter Park.