Hendricks-Berkadia Negotiates Sale of Mountain Lodge Apartments in Vestavia Hills, Ala. for $14,225,000

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- Hendricks-Berkadia, one of the nation’s largest and most active multifamily investment banking and research companies, recently negotiated the sale of Mountain Lodge Apartments, a 320-unit apartment community located in Vestavia Hills, Ala. for $14.225 million. David Oakley, senior vice president of Hendricks-Berkadia Alabama office negotiated the sale representing the seller, Brookstone, LLC, Mountain Lodge Company, LLC, and Pawnee, LLC, Alabama limited liability companies, based in Birmingham. Mountain Lodge, built in 1973, has a total of 239,400 square feet of rentable living space with one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. The buyer was TEG Mountain Lodge, LLC, based Rockland County, New York.

Isabella’s Bella Cucina in Orlando Hires Special Events Director

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Isabella’s Bella Cucina, the Orlando based corporate and social events caterer that provides entertaining cooking demonstrations for team-building, self-sufficiency with a new cooking show to air this fall, has named Rhonda Herborn director of special events. Chef Isabella, founder of Isabella’s Bella Cucina in Orlando – with clients throughout Florida, and in New York, Chicago and San Francisco – said Herborn is a Florida native who has 17 years of combined experience in education, communications, organic marketing and sales. She formerly was an assistant teacher working with special needs students in both the N.J. and Orange County, Fla. School Systems, and earned top sales ranking as an independent Mary Kay consultant. Herborn is first vice president and programs chair for Orlando Republican Women’s Network (ORWN) where she has previously chaired other committees and was editor of the organization’s newsletter. In her new role as special events director for Isabella’s Bella Cucina, Herborn will focus on expansion of the company’s private and corporate clientele base. Isabella’s Bella Cucina stages entertaining cooking demonstrations to teach corporate groups the joys of cooking and eating well and bringing communities and America back to health at the table. Chef Isabella has performed before corporate boards and conventions with as many as 3,000 people. “I’m so pleased to be on board with Isabella’s Bella Cucina, and to be part of a team that strives beyond measure to turn a unique blend of healthy home cooking, passion and philosophy into memorable experiences that benefit everyone,” Herborn said. Isabella’s Bella Cucina is a client company of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program.

Outside Magazine Names First Green Bank as One of America’s Best Places to Work in 2013

Mount Dora, Fla. -- First Green Bank was recently named among the top 100 Best Places to Work by Outside Magazine on its sixth annual list of selected top performing small, medium and large companies. The full list is published at OutsideOnline.com/bestplacestowork. Outside’s “Best Places to Work” project celebrates the innovative companies setting a new standard for a healthy work-life balance. The list was compiled with the help of the Outdoor Industry Association and Best Companies Group. The year-long selection process began with an outreach effort that identified a wide range of non-profit and for-profit organizations with at least 15 employees working in an office in the United States. Participating companies were sent confidential employee-satisfaction surveys and employer-questionnaires to collect information about benefits, compensation, policies, job satisfaction, environmental initiatives, and community outreach programs. The experts at Best Companies Group analyzed the results and selected the companies that best enable employees to pursue active lifestyles while also supporting their social and environmental contributions. This year’s “Best Places To Work” list highlights not only the Top 100 companies, but also spotlights those on the list that offer the best perks, including “fitness-friendly” companies, those with the “best benefits”, and the “best social/environmentally responsible” organizations. The list also pinpoints the companies based on location, highlighting the “Best Places to Work” in the West, the Mountains, the Midwest and South, and the Northeast. “We set goals and we work hard to see them through. We are very proud of the recognition we have received from our employees and to be among those companies with the best work environments,” said Ken LaRoe, chairman of First Green Bank. “We’re thrilled to celebrate all 100 of these forward-thinking companies,” says Michael Roberts, Senior Executive Editor of Outside. “They believe success depends on helping their employees live more active and fulfilling lives. The kinds of benefits they’re providing—free fitness classes, flexible hours, subsidized healthy meals, lots of time out of the office—result in a more productive and engaged staff.”