Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida Negotiates New Lease at Anclote Corner Shopping Center in Tarpon Springs

Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida Negotiates New Lease at Anclote Corner Shopping Center in Tarpon Springs

TAMPA, Fla. - Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida, which is associated with 130 Grubb & Ellis offices worldwide, recently negotiated a new lease for 1,200 square feet of retail space in the Anclote Corner Shopping Center in Tarpon Springs.

Michelle Seifert associate vice president in the Retail Services Group at Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida, negotiated the transaction representing the landlord, Anclote Corner Associates of New York, NY.

The new tenant at 1963 North Pinellas Avenue is Metro Cellular, LLC a local firm.

The 51,200 square foot Anclote Corner is now 95 percent leased.

About Grubb & Ellis:
Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE) is one of the largest and most respected commercial real estate services and investment companies. With more than 130 owned and affiliate offices worldwide, Grubb & Ellis offers property owners, corporate occupants and investors comprehensive integrated real estate solutions, including transaction, management, consulting and investment advisory services supported by proprietary market research and extensive local market expertise.

Grubb & Ellis and its subsidiaries are leading sponsors of real estate investment programs that provide individuals and institutions the opportunity to invest in a broad range of real estate investment vehicles, including tax-deferred 1031 tenant-in-common (TIC) exchanges; public non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) and real estate investment funds. As of September 30, 2008, more than $3.8 billion in investor equity has been raised for these investment programs. The company and its subsidiaries currently manage a growing portfolio of more than 225 million square feet of real estate. In 2007, Grubb & Ellis was selected from among 15,000 vendors as Microsoft Corporation's Vendor of the Year. For more information regarding Grubb & Ellis Company, please visit http://www.grubb-ellis.com/.

For more information about this news release, contact:
Michelle Seifert, Associate Vice President, Retail Services Group, Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida, 813-830-7537, mseifert@commercialfl.com
Jeffrey S. Sweeney, President, Grubb & EllisCommercial Florida, 407-481-5387, Jsweeney@commercialfl.com

Stirling Investment and Commercial Group Named Exclusive Leasing Agent at Lexington Plaza in Sanford

Stirling Investment and Commercial Group Named Exclusive Leasing Agent at Lexington Plaza in Sanford

SANFORD, Fla. - Stirling Investment and Commercial Group, a division of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, was named exclusive leasing representative at Lexington Plaza, the 18,500 square foot retail center located on the northeast corner of S.R. 46 and Mangoustine Rd. in Sanford.

Frank Dever, managing director of Stirling Investment and Commercial Group, negotiated the agreement with developer Lexington Plaza, LLC and will serve as leasing contact.

For more information, please contact:
Frank Dever, Managing Director, Stirling Investment and Commercial Group 407-571-2234;
Roger Soderstrom,Owner/Founder Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty 407-588-1260;
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

Lennar Completes Construction of New Model Town Home at Camden Landing at Wyndham Lakes near Lake Nona

Lennar Completes Construction of New Model Town Home at Camden Landing at Wyndham Lakes near Lake Nona

ORLANDO, Fla. - Lennar’s Central Florida Division has completed construction of a new model town home at Camden Landing at Wyndham Lakes, located at 2446 Strandhill St. off Wyndham Lakes Blvd between Boggy Creek Rd. and Landstar, near the Lake Nona medical campus in southeast Orlando.

Mark Metheny, president of Lennar’s Central Florida Division, said the new model home at Camden Landing in Wyndham Lakes offers three bedrooms and two-and-half baths in 1,820 square feet of living space priced from the upper $100,000s.

The new model home at Camden Landing at Wyndham Lakes will open April 18.

Lennar plans to build 122 two and three bedroom town homes at Camden Landing at Wyndham Lakes that range from 1,733 square feet to 1,834 square feet.

New town homes at Camden Landing at Wyndham Lakes are priced from the $170s.

For more information, contact:
Elizabeth Hill, Sales and Marketing Administrator – Central Florida 407 654-4862 x113, Elizabeth.Hill@lennar.com
Paul V. Brooks, Lennar Director of Sales & Marketing-Central Florida 407-654-4862, Paul.Brooks@lennar.com
Mark Metheny, Lennar Division President-Central Florida, 813-769-5277, Mark.Metheny@Lennar.com
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142, lvershelco@aol.com

Data Transfer Solutions, LLC awarded Major Subcontracts in Florida, Texas

Data Transfer Solutions, LLC awarded Major Subcontracts in Florida, Texas

ORLANDO, Fla. - Data Transfer Solutions, LLC (DTS), the downtown Avalon Park-based technology firm that provides professional Asset Management, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software engineering and web development services to local and state government agencies from offices in eight U.S. cities, was recently awarded two major subcontracts in Florida and Texas.

A.M. “Trey” Fragala III, AICP, chief operating officer at Data Transfer Solutions, LLC, said the firm will work with the engineering firm Post, Buckley, Schuh and Jernigan (PBS&J) to provide GIS orthophotography and lidar support.

Fragala said DTS plans to make use of its MAC-Van mobile data collection vehicle equipped with more than $500 thousand worth of digital and photographic collection equipment.

DTS was awarded a second contract to support RS&H, an engineering firm with offices in 11 Florida cities and 13 states, on behalf of the Florida Department of Transportation.

DTS will provide GIS application development and updates on roadway characteristics using the MAC-Van mobile data collection vehicle, Fragala said.

The two contracts are worth more than $2 million potentially, Fragala said.

For more information, contact:
A.M. “Trey” Fragala, III, AICP, Chief Operating Officer, Data Transfer Solutions, 3680 Avalon Park Blvd. East, Suite 200, Orlando, 32828; 407-382-5222; tfragala@edats.com
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142 lvershelco@aol.com

Park Plaza Gardens Introduces All-New Signature Drink Menu

Park Plaza Gardens Introduces All-New Signature Drink Menu

WINTER PARK, Fla. - Park Plaza Gardens Restaurant & Café at 319 Park Avenue South in downtown Winter Park has introduced a new signature drink menu.

Ron Schwartz, a principal at Park Plaza Gardens Restaurant and Café, (http://www.parkplazagardens.com/), said the new cocktail menu is a sign of the times.

“Successful people like to socialize, but we don’t consume as much as we used to,” Schwartz said. “Instead, we choose tastier, more innovative and more imaginative cocktails, and Park Plaza Gardens is offering some of the best,” he said.

The menu features signature drinks such as Strawberry Fields–Vodka with fresh strawberries Mohito-style lime; PPG Kickin Ice Tea–Teaka Sweet Tea Vodka with a splash of sour mix garnished with fresh mint and lemon and such ‘luxury’ dessert drinks as the Chocolate Martini with chocolate vodka and Baileys Irish cream or Chocolate-Covered Cherry and Espresso Martinis.

It’s all about taste and excitement,” Schwartz said. “Of course, we still stock all the popular call brands and we serve the best double-malt, triple-distilled Scotch in Central Florida,” Schwartz said.

Contacts:
Park Plaza Gardens, 407-645-2475, http://www.parkplazagardens.com/
Ron Schwartz, Principal, Park Plaza Gardens, 407-342-3648
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

Coldwell Banker Commercial AI Group Associate Leases Deltona Medical Office to New Family Physician

Coldwell Banker Commercial AI Group Associate Leases Deltona Medical Office to New Family Physician

DELTONA – Melody Traeger, an associate with Coldwell Banker Commercial AI Group in Orange City, recently leased a 1,596-square-foot medical office to a local family physician.

Traeger represented both the landlord, and the new tenant, Dr. Hina Azmat, in the transaction.

Azmat, a Seminole County internist, said she signed a lease for Unit A at 770 Deltona Blvd., where she has opened her own internal medicine practice for ages 12 and older.

Her office number is 386-259-9902.

About Coldwell Banker Commercial AI Group:
Owned and operated by commercial real estate veterans John Wanamaker and Chuck Rudis, Coldwell Banker Commercial AIG is a leader in the listing, leasing and selling of properties, as well as a premier developer of community-friendly and LEED-accredited projects for small business owners.

For more information about this release, please contact:
Chuck Rudis, John Wanamaker or Stepan Babanin, Coldwell Banker Commercial AI Group, 386-775-8633, chuck@cbcaigroup.com, john@cbciagroup.com or stepan@cbciagroup.com
Charlene Hager-Van Dyke, Larry Vershel Communications, 386-837-8780, 407-644-4142 or chagervandyke@yahoo.com

Small Investors must Focus on Fundamentals in light of Financial Scandals, Economic Downturn, says Entrust Administrator

Small Investors must Focus on Fundamentals in light of Financial Scandals, Economic Downturn, says Entrust Administrator

LAKE MARY, Fla. - In light of epic financial scandals and a history-making economic downturn, small investors must take every precaution to protect their assets and that means a return to fundamentals, according to one of the most active small investment fund administrators in the U.S.

Glen Mather, president of Entrust Administration Services, LLC, which has offices in Lake Mary, Chicago, Boca Raton and Jacksonville and administers more than 2,000 self-directed retirement accounts worth more than $200 million, said small investors are already responding to the “perfect storm” of financial scandals and economic turmoil that have clouded the U.S. economic picture.

“I think we’re already seeing smarter money in the market,” said Mather. “While big fund managers worry about a new Mercedes or a vacation home in the Caribbean, small investors have their entire livelihoods at stake. They are more cautious, less trusting and more anxious about learning the facts than they were before the scandals, and that’s a good thing,” Mather said.

Entrust Administrative Services won’t offer investment advice, Mather said.
“We deal in facts and documentary evidence. We help private individuals take control of their own investments. And what we are seeing is that most individual investors adhere to market fundamentals and study their opportunities closely. The ones who don’t, usually invest in safer opportunities such as money markets or certificates of deposit.”

“But almost all of them know you can’t just trust the investment funds blindly,” Mather said.

Mather recently spoke at the Crisis in the Financial Markets breakfast panel discussion sponsored by the Miami Finance Forum in Miami. More than 150 top CPAs, lawyers and corporate officials attended the event.

For more information, contact:,br>Glen Mather, President Entrust Administrative Services, Inc. 407-367-3472 gmather@entrustfl.com
Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142 lvershelco@aol.com

Mattamy Homes USA Appoints Katie Brown New Home Sales Associate

Mattamy Homes USA Appoints Katie Brown New Home Sales Associate

BURNSVILLE, Minn. - Mattamy Homes USA, a division of Canada’s largest home builder, recently appointed Katie Brown new home sales associate for the Minnesota region.

Laura Bailey, vice president of sales and marketing at Mattamy Homes USA, said Brown is a licensed Realtor® who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stout with a B.S. degree in Business Administration.

Brown has more than eight years of experience in real estate and new home sales. She most recently served as sales manager at Chase Real Estate in the Twin Cities.

Mattamy Homes USA builds single-family homes priced from the high $100s in the Twin Cities area. The Canadian based homebuilder operates US home building divisions in Minneapolis, Phoenix, Charlotte, Jacksonville and Orlando. Visit http://www.mattamyhomes.com/.

For more information contact:
Laura Bailey, Vice President Sales & Marketing Mattamy Homes USA, 407-599-9994, Laura.Bailey@mattamyhomes.com
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142, lvershelco@aol.com

Entrust Administrative Services Chief Executive Officer Glen Mather tells Miami Finance Forum to Stick to the Fundamentals

Entrust Administrative Services Chief Executive Officer Glen Mather tells Miami Finance Forum to Stick to the Fundamentals

LAKE MARY, Fla. – Entrust Administrative Services president Glen Mather recently told the Miami Finance Forum that most small investors have learned that financial scandals and a general economic downturn have put more emphasis on individual control of investment decisions and a return to fundamental investment principals.

The recent Miami Finance Forum discussion topic---Crisis in the Financial Markets, How to Protect Yourself and Your Company in a TARP and Post-Madoff World---invited four panelists, including Mather, to offer their perspectives on financial strategies.

The breakfast session, which was open to Miami Finance Forum members and guests, focused on how corporate money managers are dealing with the recession.

Mather, whose offices in Lake Mary, Boca Raton, Chicago and Jacksonville administer more than 2,000 self-directed retirement accounts with assets worth more than $200 million, said he is already seeing a change in the markets.

“Individual investors have learned that you can’t just trust funds managers,” Mather said. “They are studying their investment opportunities closely, and they are following the fundamentals. They are taking control, and they are smart enough to know they have to learn their way around investment strategies before they take a position,” he said.

Mather said small individual investors want documentary evidence from investment managers.

“These investors want to know track records, their manager’s ability to report, how they are regulated how they are managed and how they protect investors assets,” Mather said. “They aren’t interested in blindly trusting money managers,” he explained.

For more information, contact:
Glen Mather, President Entrust Administrative Services, Inc. 407-367-3472 gmather@entrustfl.com;
Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142 lvershelco@aol.com

UCF Incubation Program eyes U.S. Economic Stimulation grants for client companies, alternative energy, healthcare are big targets

UCF Incubation Program eyes U.S. Economic Stimulation grants for client companies, alternative energy, healthcare are big targets

ORLANDO, Fla. - Many of the more than 60 client companies at the University of Central Florida’s Business Incubation Program could benefit from U.S. Economic Stimulus Program funding grants, loans and incentives, says founder and head of the program, Dr. Tom O’Neal, associate vice president for the UCF’s Department of Research and Commercialization.

But O’Neal cautioned that competition for the incentives could be tough.

“We anticipate there will be hundreds of companies writing grants and presenting proposals, so the competition for new funding should be brisk,” O’Neal said.

Many economic stimulus funding programs seem tailor-made for client companies in the UCF Business Incubation Program, O’Neal said.

For example, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has more than $150 million in new funding available to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) received a 30 percent increase in their funding. “If that increases our grant success rate from 10-15 percent, that can be a significant boost,” O’Neal said.

New policy directions announced by the U.S. Department of Defense could aid the UCF Business Incubation’s technology companies as well.

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced his preference for smaller, smarter defense innovations over multi-billion dollar weapons systems.

“That emphasis should effect our client companies,” O’Neal said. “Several companies competing for Small Business Administration SBIR and STTR grants for the defense industry are focused on small, innovative projects that substantially reduce costs and improve defense capabilities,” he said.

For more information contact:
Tom O’Neal. Ph.D, UCF Associate Vice President for Research and Commercialization and Incubation Program Executive Director, 407-882-1120, oneal@mail.ucf.edu;
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142 Lvershelco@aol.com

About the UCF Incubation Program:
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Incubation Program has helped more than 100 emerging companies (including nearly 70 current clients) create over $500 million in annual revenue and more than 900 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With five facilities across the metro Orlando community, the Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between UCF, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. For more information, please visit http://www.incubator.ucf.edu/.