Manufacturer of Specialty Weapons Accessories Wins $10,000 Prize in Rollins College Venture Plan Competition

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. -- IROC Tactical, the Central Florida company that designs and manufacturers specialty weapons accessories, recently won a $10,000 prize for second place in the 2014 Venture Plan Competition at the Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship in Winter Park. Sergie Albino, president and chief executive officer of IROC Tactical, said the firm was one of eight startup companies presenting new products and business strategies to a panel of judges at Rollins College. The CEOs of all four Venture Plan Competition finalists earned their MBA Degrees from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins, Albino in 2010. Cash awards were determined based on the startup companies’ innovative new products and business plans. “We formed IROC because we are avid shooters with ideas for products tailored for our market,” Albino said. IROC Tactical’s winning product is its IROC MD, the premier muzzle device for the AR-15 platform rifle. “IROC MD was designed for serious shooters with superior performance in a highly reliable package, priced at $299.95,” Albino said. Extensive law enforcement testing of the IROC MD shows it improves accuracy and precision and controls unwanted recoil and barrel climb. While not technically a sound suppressor device, the IROC MD significantly reduces the weapon’s aural signature and most importantly concussive effects; a silent variable in hearing loss with military and law enforcement personnel. Sixty percent of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from hearing loss. This amounted to $1.1 billion in disability payments in 2011. That same year, New York forced the retirement of police officers that wore hearing aids, many due to job-related hearing loss. IROC Tactical is a client company of the UCF Business Incubator in Winter Springs. For more details, specifications, videos, shooters reports and online ordering, visit iroctactical.com/or facebook.com/IrocMuzzleBrake.

CollegeStack.com Discount Coupon Book launches online App so students can reap savings with cell phones

ORLANDO, Fla. -- CollegeStack.com discount coupon books, seemingly ubiquitous on the sprawling campus of the nation’s largest university, are going paperless. Julien Meyer, founder and chief executive officer of CollegeTKTS LLC, which produces the discount coupon books, said CollegeStack.com discount offers are now available instantly to anyone with a cell phone. “With the CollegeStack App, student users have instant access to hundreds of discounts, special offers and giveaways at local retailers, from restaurants and bars to clothing and jewelry retailers, Meyer said. "CollegeStack has always helped me save money at UCF, but their new app now gives me a tool to go out more, and spend more time with my friends,” said UCF Senior Tony Cole. “I save money just about every day using the app," Cole says. “Merchants eager to court the university’s huge student body are very generous with introductory offers as well as standing price discounts, two-for-one offers and many other incentives that can significantly reduce a students’ entertainment and food expenses,” Meyer explained. Meyer said he has been working on the CollegeStack App for several months. “With a fully digital app, students can update their coupons more frequently and we can bring more discounts to more students more frequently at significantly less cost,” Meyer explained. "The CollegeStack app provides a way to make the most out of my time at UCF, said Paul Rauch, UCF Sophomore. “I spend a lot on books and school stuff and the College-Stack app gives me a way to spend money on myself and my friends,” he added. “This is a win-win-win-win solution,” Meyer said. “We win, the students win, the merchants win and the economy prospers,” he said. collegeTKTS LLC is a client company of the UCF Business Incubation Program in the Central Florida Research Park in east Orange County.

Geocove Receives Innovative Technology Award from Virginia Emergency Management Agency

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Geocove, Inc., the Orlando technology firm that developed the award-winning ARM360 GIS-based disaster assessment system for local, state and regional governments and NGOs worldwide, recently won a major state award for the design and implementation of a disaster damage assessment reporting tool in the City of Fairfax, Virginia. The Virginia Emergency Management Association presented its Innovative Technology Award to Geocove and the City of Fairfax for the system, which allows the public to report damage in real time following a storm or other disaster event using a smart phone or computer. Geocove founder and chief executive officer Karyn Tareen said City of Fairfax Emergency Coordinator Ken Rudnicki initiated the project and Geocove designed and built the regional system. “Ken worked with a number of computer software design companies on the concept and then submitted a grant request to Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) to proceed with the development for a smart phone app that would cover Northern Virginia, which is VDEM Region 7,” Tareen said. Damage and photo reports submitted by local residents who are already on the scene will be automatically directed to the local jurisdiction emergency management office, Tareen said. “We know that accurate damage assessment is the principal need following a major disaster,” Tareen said. “Emergency officials need to know how bad it is and which resources are most needed where, and the sooner they assess this information the sooner we can deliver aid to the victims,” she said. Geocove has been a world leader in the development of disaster assessment tools powered by local residents with their smart phones. “Smart phones and tablet devices are the most widespread communications devices we know and people at the scene have a tremendous opportunity to use their technology to help disaster relief agencies do their job,” Tareen said. “Our system enables residents at the scene to begin the reporting process so that the local jurisdictions can more quickly have a picture of the situation,” she explained. “This app will allow local jurisdictions working with limited resources the ability to focus those resources based on the reports by the disaster survivor’s input,” Ken Rudnicki stated. Geocove is a member of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program at Central Florida Research Park in East Orange County.

NAI Realvest Negotiates Sale of Maitland Office Building for new Law Office Headquarters

MAITLAND, Fla. – NAI Realvest recently negotiated the $500,000 sale price for a 5,014 square foot stand alone building at 150 Spartan Drive in Maitland. Thomas E. Hankins, CCIM, SIOR, principal at NAI Realvest, negotiated the transaction representing the sellers Ira and Mary Ehrlich of Evergreen, Colo. The Purchaser, Kane & Koltun, P.A. was represented by Jeff Gindi of Results Real Estate Partners, and plans to refurbish the building as new law office headquarters.

Kings Ridge Golf Club in Clermont Names Justin Bliss Golf Instructor

CLERMONT, Fla. --- Kings Ridge Golf Club in Clermont has named Justin Bliss golf instructor. Nick Hall, general manager at Kings Ridge Golf Club, said Bliss is a native of Boynton Beach who grew up in W. Knoxville, Tenn. where he has more than five years of experience instructing youth competitive baseball. A standout athlete in multiple sports all his life, Bliss graduated from the Golf Academy of America in Apopka, and has served the golf industry for more than 10 years, Hall said. “At Golf Academy of America, Justin finished as one of the top three golfers in eight out of 12 weekly tournaments that are part of the curriculum,” Hall said. Kings Ridge Golf Club is owned and operated by Celebration Golf Management.

DEL WEBB NAPLES STARTS CONSTRUCTION OF FOUR NEW MODEL HOMES

Ave Maria, Fla. --- Del Webb Naples, the legendary resort-style community of active adults located on Anthem Parkway off Ave Maria Blvd. has started construction of four new model homes that will open in June. Scott Mairn, vice president of sales and marketing for Del Webb’s South Florida division, said the new model homes are among nine new floor plans Del Webb Naples recently released. The new one to five bedroom homes range from the Hill Crest design with 1,133+ square feet of living space, priced from $159,990, to the 2,589+ square foot Tangerly Oak, with two to four bedrooms. Features include two- and three-car garages, Island Kitchens, tile roofs, and many options, including sunrooms and second floor lofts, Mairn added. Mairn said Del Webb Naples will host a community open house in June to showcase the new model homes as well as all the new floor plans. Each of the nine new home designs at Del Webb Naples offers five distinct exterior elevation options. Homeowners at Del Webb Naples will enjoy The Oasis Club with a resort-style swimming pool, dedicated lap pool, a spa, tennis courts, bocce ball courts, pickleball courts, an amphitheatre, state-of-the-art fitness center, a café, library, and a catering kitchen, along with an aerobics room, sauna and steam rooms, fire pit, and activity and craft rooms.

HENDRICKS-BERKADIA NEGOTIATES SALES OF NEWPORT SQUARE APARTMENTS

Tampa, Fla. – Monument Real Estate Services, LLC of Coral Gables has sold the apartment community Newport Square to Park Pointe Apartments, LLC a Tampa-based multi-family investment company. Newport Square consisting of 188 units located at 5505 North Himes Avenue sold for $8.925M and was the last part of a three property portfolio consisting of Newport Riverside and Newport Pointe which were purchased by a separate ownership group. The total portfolio consisted of 480 units and had to sales value of $19.15M. Newport Square, built in 1970, is located off North Himes Avenue and is situated on 9.45 acres with 11 buildings containing one, two, and three bedroom floor plans that average 1,181 square feet in size and $782 per month in rent. Amenities included a playground, clubhouse, laundry facility, wading pool, and a swimming pool with a sun deck. Hendricks-Berkadia’s Vice President Jason Stanton, based in Tampa, negotiated the transaction with partners Cole Whitaker and Hal Warren out of their Orlando office on behalf of the Sellers. Stanton said the new owner has planned a value-add program for the community to increase the overall quality of the units and the community’s curb appeal allowing for future revenue and occupancy increases.

Emerson International Reports Two new Lease Agreements that Total 2,844 Square Feet of Office Space

Altamonte Springs, Fla. -- Kenneth Koch, director of leasing at Emerson International, recently negotiated two new lease agreements that total 2,844 square feet of office space in Longwood and Orlando. In Longwood, Koch negotiated a new long-term agreement with Signature Home Now, an in-home nursing agency, which leased 1,786 square feet of office space at 2180 Sanlando Center on S.R. 434. Connecting Well, Inc., a private family counseling agency, leased 1,058 square feet of office space in Major Plaza I at 5728 Major Blvd. in southwest Orlando. Koch represented the landlord, Emerson International, which owns both buildings. Emerson International is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Emerson Group, the global corporation that is one of the largest privately-owned property development companies in the U.K.

Ashton Woods Homes Starts Pre-Sales of 54 Luxury Town Homes at Waterside on The Gulf in Indian Shores Beach

TAMPA, Fla. – Ashton Woods Homes started pre-sales of 54 four-story luxury townhomes with elevators at its Waterside community located on Gulf Blvd. in Indian Shores Beach. Michael Roche, vice president of sales for Ashton Woods Homes, said the town homes at Waterside are priced from $579,990 and range in size from approximately 1,927 square feet of living space to 2,112 square feet. One furnished model town home will be open for viewing in July, Roche added. Visit www.ashtonwoodshomes.com

ASHTON WOODS HOMES HAS 17 TOWN HOME SITES REMAINING AT COPLEY SQUARE IN ORLANDO

ORLANDO, Fla. – Ashton Woods Homes has 17 town home sites remaining at its Copley Square community located south of downtown Orlando at Delaney and Michigan Avenues. Michael Roche, vice president of sales and marketing at Ashton Woods Homes, said the three-story town homes range in size from approximately 2,046 square feet of living space to 2,363 square feet. Copley Square offers three and four bedroom town homes that come with either two full bathrooms and two half baths, or with three full and one half bath, plus a two-car garage, priced from $282,990, Roche said. There were 66 town home sites when Copley Square opened for sales last year. Amenities at Copley Square include a clubhouse, pool and cabana.

NAI Realvest negotiates five leases totaling 29,900+ square feet at CommerCenters in the Sanford and Goldenrod areas

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Michael Heidrich principal at NAI Realvest negotiated new, renewal and expansion lease agreements for a total of 29,916 square feet of industrial space at Monroe CommerCenter North and South and at Goldenrod CommerCenter representing the landlords. At Monroe CommerCenter North in Sanford, Shields Environmental, Inc. who already occupied suite 1012 with 14,504 square feet at 4150 Church St. has expanded into another 14,504 square feet in suites 1054 and 1060 at 4200 Church St.,now occupying 29,008 square feet at Monroe North. The landlord is Monroe North SPE, LLC. Heidrich negotiated new lease agreements with two local firms at Monroe CommerCenter South representing landlord Monroe South SPE, LLC. B.L. Woods Construction Inc. leased 2,000 square feet at 723 Progress Way and Mak Defense, LLC leased 4,000 square feet at 719 Progress Way in Monroe South. Paul Osborne of Venture I Properties represented the tenant Mak Defense. D’NK Inc. Pressure Cleaning d/b/a Florida Pressure Washing Equipment and Supplies renewed the lease of 2,000 square feet at 671 Progress Way in Monroe South. At Goldenrod CommerCenter 1468 N. Goldenrod Rd., Heidrich represented Goldenrod SPE, LLC in a renewal / expansion lease agreement with Orlando-based Calderon Automotive Repair Services, Inc. who moved out of Suite 210 with 2,206 square feet renewing and expanding into Suite 255 with 4,412 square feet of industrial space.