Hold-Thyssen negotiates 13 Leases in Jupiter totaling over 16,700 Rentable Square Feet

JUPITER / WINTER PARK, Fla. -- Hold-Thyssen, Inc., a commercial property firm based in Winter Park, recently negotiated 10 leases in Jupiter for office/warehouse/flex space at Pennock Business Center and three renewal and expansion leases of retail space at Maplewood Plaza representing the Miami-based landlord GECMC 2005.

At Pennock Business Center 711 Commerce Way in Jupiter, Hold-Thyssen Leasing Agent Therese Taylor teamed up with Dan Sefjack of Business Real Estate Inc. in Jupiter to complete seven new lease agreements for office/warehouse/flex suites totaling 5,658 rentable square feet, and three lease renewals totaling 4,386 square feet.

At Maplewood Plaza, 401 Maplewood Drive, Taylor negotiated three retail lease agreements:  Brush Strokes and More by Jackie added 1,700 square feet to the 1,700 square feet they already occupied and signed a renewal with the expansion for three years; Hometown Cleaners signed a five-year lease renewal for its 1,700 square feet and Luxury Maids who occupies 1,630 square feet at Maplewood Plaza signed a three-year lease renewal.   

Hold-Thyssen, Inc. provides commercial property and leasing and management services to institutional and private investor clients nationwide.  The 40-year old firm’s current portfolio includes more that 100 commercial properties throughout the United States.

Broker at NAI Realvest Honored by Central Fla. Commercial Assn. of Realtors for Community Service Helping the Homeless

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Veronica Malolos, a broker at NAI Realvest in the Osceola County area was recently honored with the Central Florida Commercial Assn of Realtors 2014 Community Service Award.

Robin Webb, managing director at NAI Realvest, said Malolos received the prestigious award from CFCAR for her advocacy and work with the homeless families and children in Osceola County.

Most recently Malolos spearheaded several “crockpot drives” for the transitional homeless in the region, enabling children and families to eat healthy while they’re balancing family responsibilities, multiple jobs and lack of kitchen implements.

Malolos, an established leader in Osceola County, is currently an Osceola County Planning Board Commissioner and vice chair of the county’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. She is also a trustee for the county’s Education Foundation Charter School Board.

She is an alumnus of “Leadership Osceola,” a past president of the Osceola County Assn. of Realtors and is the 2014 District 12 vice president for the state association, “Florida Realtors.”

NAI Realvest Negotiates $1.3 Million Sale of Carder Road Office/Warehouse Building

ORLANDO, Fla. --- NAI Realvest recently negotiated the $1,300,000 sale of an 18,600 square foot office/warehouse building at 5701 Carder Rd. in Orlando to a statewide homebuilding contractor.

Tom R. Kelley II, CCIM, a principal in the firm negotiated the sale to a user owner representing the local seller, Miller Real Property Holdings, LLC.

ODC Construction, LLC purchased building and its 5.9 acre site. The building which is located off US 441 includes 3,000 square feet of office space seven private offices and the majority of the property’s acreage is paved with fencing and lighting.

Lee Zerivitz of City Commercial represented the buyer ODC Construction which provides foundation, masonry and framing services to production and custom homebuilders.

Ryland Homes unveils single-story floor plan at The Landing at Poplar Grove

Charleston, S.C. --- Ryland Homes has unveiled a new single-story floor plan at The Landing at Poplar Grove, located just 12 miles from downtown Charleston. Gayle Jinks, vice president of sales and marketing for Ryland in the Charleston area, said the single-story Kiawah floor plan offers three bedrooms and two baths in 2,316 square feet of living space with a formal dining room and a den priced from $369,000. Options include a study, a fourth bedroom, a third bath, and a bonus room. The Landing at Poplar Grove is one of the area’s most popular new home communities, Jinks said. “Many visitors have inquired about a single-story floor plan and that’s why we designed the Kiawah,” Jinks added. Jinks said three, four, five and six-bedroom homes at The Landing at Poplar Grove range in size from 2,160 square feet of living space to 3,200 square feet priced from $348,000 to the low $400s. Several of these have master down bedrooms for added convenience. Residents of Poplar Grove can take advantage of deep water boating access and boat storage, miles of walking trails, an equestrian center with boarding opportunities, and owner's club dubbed “The Boathouse” that residents can reserve for parties or events. The amenity complex will have a salt-water swimming pool and fitness center. Poplar Grove is only minutes to West Ashley, Johns Island, downtown Charleston, and I-526. From downtown Charleston, travel south on Hwy 17. Turn right onto Davison Road and drive 1.8 miles. Look for signs for The Landing at Poplar Grove and turn right on Bulow Landing. Model home will be on your right. Visit www.ryland.com or call 843-852-5557 for a tour.

New Optical Tracking System developed by Vision Engineering for UCF being considered for deployment on the International Space Station

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Vision Engineering Solutions, LLC recently completed development of a powerful new Optical Tracking System that cuts costs in half and precisely monitors satellites, missiles, drones and a wide range of projectiles. Ed Logue, chief executive officer of Vision Engineering, said the device was developed for the UCF CREOL College of Optics and Photonics. Dr. Ronald Phillips, chief scientist at the Townes Institute of Science and Technology Experimentation Facility at UCF, said the instrument was funded by a grant from the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program in the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research. Phillips called the Vision Engineering instrument “spectacular.” “We could not be more pleased with their product,” Dr. Phillips said. Logue said Vision Engineering’s Optical Tracking System can be manufactured more quickly, and costs less than half of what government agencies pay for competitive instruments. The system consists of a tracking gimbal, optics (telescopes), sensors, a remote control station, a generator (for remote site operations), and an enclosed trailer that houses the entire system for transportability. Vision Engineering’s Optical Tracking Device accurately tracks moving objects and projectiles with both optics and specialized sensors, including infrared, and collects metric data and images for scientific and engineering analysis. Vision’s founders have had a mutually beneficial relationship with UCF for over 20 years. They have collaborated on numerous projects that took basic and applied research through to prototypes and fielded systems. “Our latest partnership has enabled us to design, build and test an entirely new product that will open up commercial markets for us,” stated Logue. “The Optical Tracking System has many potential uses, including Department of Defense test ranges for missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, commercial space operations, telecommunications and NASA, which is considering deployment aboard the International Space Station.” Vision Engineering is a client company of the University of Central Florida’s Business Incubation Program located at Central Florida Research Park in East Orange County.

HyCarb, Inc’s Graphene Matrix Electrodes Promise Batteries That Last Five Times Longer, Charge Five Times Faster

ORLANDO, Fla., --- A technology breakthrough by researchers at HyCarb, Inc., incorporates graphene nanotechnology to make next generation batteries last five times longer and charge five times faster. HyCarb’s Chief Executive Officer, Sigrid Cottrell, said her company developed a battery anode made from graphene nanoparticles. “Within a battery, almost all of the electrical charge is stored in the negative electrode called the anode,” Cottrell explained. “When electrons flow from the anode to the cathode, they can power everything from cell phones to automobiles,” she said. With more surface area within the anode, batteries will charge faster and hold their charge longer, Cottrell explained. Tests with HyCarb’s new graphene matrix produced startling results. Nanoparticles that form HyCarb’s graphene anodes group themselves around molecular channels---microspheres. Within the microspheres, the nano particles form nano flowers---clusters shaped like flowers that create huge amounts of surface area. “The high surface area and the even dispersion of a catalyst material across HyCarb’s structured graphene electrodes are the keys that will make batteries safer, longer-lasting and quicker to charge,” Cottrell said. Andrew Heath, President of HyCarb, said a chemical manufacturer is producing a new ionic electrolyte that won’t catch fire if the battery is overcharged, or charged too quickly. “The result will be batteries that last longer, charge faster and are safer to have,” Heath explained. To get to the manufacturing stage, HyCarb researchers must first develop prototypes, and that requires funding. Heath said HyCarb is launching a crowd-funding campaign to afford their first prototypes to seek funding for commercialization of the product. “We want to get HyCarb’s battery technology to the marketplace as quickly as possible, so that everyone can benefit,” Heath said. HyCarb, Inc. is a client company of the University of Central Florida’s Business Incubation Program at the Central Florida Research Park in East Orange County.

Berkadia Negotiates $4,075,000 sale of Newly Refurbished Element 26 Apartment Community on Birmingham’s South Side

Birmingham, Ala. --- Berkadia, one of the nation’s largest and most active multifamily investment banking and research companies, recently negotiated the $4,075,000 sale of the recently remodeled 66-unit Element 26 apartment community on 14th Ave. and 17th St. on Birmingham’s south side. Joshua Jacobs, investment sales advisor for Berkadia, negotiated the transaction representing the seller, Highland Ridge LLC of Birmingham. Element 26 LLC, a Birmingham investment group, acquired the property, which was 100 percent leased at the time of the sale. Jacobs said Highland Ridge renovated all interiors and exteriors at Element 26 and repositioned and rebranded the property, resulting in a sale price of $61,742 per unit. Arbour Valley will remain as the property manager, Jacobs added. “We continue to see pent-up demand for renovated units in this market, which is certainly encouraging for those considering value-add opportunities.” Element 26 consists of units averaging just under 650 square feet that rent at an average of $1.11 per square foot. Berkadia, a joint venture of Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National Corporation, is a leading provider of capital solutions and investment sales advisory and research services for multifamily and commercial properties.