Former Developer Launches Green Technology Company with eye on Important Industry Niche

APOPKA - Michael Young, who headed Pelican Bay Development’s Orlando operations and oversaw construction of the Windermere Business Center in southwest Orlando, has launched a new green technology company that could play a big role in an important industry niche and save commercial property owners millions of dollars.

American Soda Blast Company, based in Apopka, cleans and strips surfaces---from building exteriors to food service equipment to antique cars---using highly pressurized sodium bicarbonate and dry ice.

Young said his process replaces traditional sand blasting---a century-old technique that scores and gouges surfaces with pressurized sand crystals---with a kinder, gentler surface stripping process that won’t harm the underlying substrate and utilizes common, easily biodegradable materials.

“Sodium bicarbonate is one of the most common compounds found in nature, and dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide, which is what we exhale,” Young said.

Young said pressurized soda and dry ice can clean building exteriors or strip the paint from cars without harming the surfaces underneath. Scientists used the soda stripping process to restore the Statue of Liberty in the 1980s, Young said, but the stripping industry has been slow to give up its traditional sand blasting process.

“Sand blasting has always been the benchmark even though everyone knows it pits and scores the surface underneath,” Young said.

Young said American Soda Blast Company processes have a wide range of applications, from restoring the surfaces of technology equipment to stripping paint or molds from building exteriors.

“This process removes every bit of mold, paint or finish without harming the environment or the surface underneath,” Young said. “Weighed against chemical strippers, it is far safer and less toxic, and it is far less harmful to the object surface than sand blasting,” Young said.
Young said he expects first-year revenues to exceed projections.
* * *

For more information, contact: Michael Young, American Soda Blast Co. Apopka, Florida; 407-931-6191; Michael@americansodablast.com

NAI Realvest Chairman George Livingston Named One of Central Florida’s Most Influential Business Leaders in 2009

MAITLAND, Fla. - George Livingston, chairman emeritus at NAI Realvest, was named one of the Central Florida region’s 10 most influential business leaders in the construction and commercial real estate industry.

Livingston and nine other business leaders will be honored at a special banquet at the Hilton Orlando Hotel on Destination Parkway Thursday, Oct. 15.

An investment analyst, Livingston opened NAI Realvest in 1982. The firm currently ranks as one of Central Florida’s largest and most active developers of industrial facilities and one of the area’s largest commercial property firms.

For more information, contact:
George Livingston, Chairman Emeritus, NAI Realvest 407-875-9989 glivingston@realvest.com

Patrick Mahoney, President, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989 pmahoney@realvest.com

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142 lvershelco@aol.com

About NAI Realvest:
NAI Realvest, serving all of Central Florida, is a fully integrated commercial real estate operating company specializing in brokerage, development, investment, leasing and management, consulting and research services in the U.S. and worldwide. NAI Global is an international commercial real estate network with over 325 offices spanning the globe. Since 1978, clients have built businesses on the power of NAI Global’s expanding network. Extensive services include multi-site acquisitions and dispositions, sublease, tenant representation, lease administration and audit, investment services, due diligence and related consulting and advisory services. To learn more, visit http://www.nairealvest.com/.

Builder Magazine Names Lennar’s Stoneybrook at Venice One of 10 Top-Selling Communities in the U.S.

VENICE, Fla. - Builder Magazine, the leading U.S. journal of the home building industry, has named Lennar’s Stoneybrook at Venice one of the nation’s 10 top selling new communities.

Stoneybrook at Venice ranked as the only Florida community named to Builder Magazine’s Top 10 list and one of two communities in the southeastern U.S., along with Sun City Carolina Lakes in the Charlotte area. The other eight communities are located in southern California, Texas, Arizona, Virginia, the Chicago area and Colorado.

Matt Devereaux, director of sales for Lennar’s Southwest Florida Division, said he was delighted with the recognition and he knows why Stoneybrook at Venice was singled out: “lots of new home sales.”

Lennar recently announced it sold 20 new homes at Stoneybrook at Venice in a June-July six-week period, at prices ranging from $244,900 to $349,900.

Community amenities are a big reason for the strong sales, Devereaux said.

“Stoneybrook at Venice offers all the amenities of an island resort,” he said.

The community center includes a resort-style swimming pool, a kid’s splash pool, and an in-line skating park, a health club with an onsite activity director and four lighted tennis courts, a basketball court, two sand volleyball courts and a multi-purpose sports field.

Stoneybrook at Venice is located off North River and Center Rds. one mile west of I-75 Exit 191.

For more information, contact:
Matt Devereaux, Director of Sales, Lennar-Southwest Florida 239-278-1177
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications 407-644-4142

Avalon Park Group Negotiates Four New Commercial Leases that Total 9,383 Square Feet of Space in Downtown Avalon Park

Avalon Park Group Negotiates Four New Commercial Leases that Total 9,383 Square Feet of Space in Downtown Avalon Park

ORLANDO, Fla. - Avalon Park Group, which is developing Avalon Park in east Orlando, recently negotiated four new long-term lease agreements in downtown Avalon Park that total 9,383 square feet of retail and office space.

Brendon Dedekind, director of leasing/business development for Avalon Park Group, said the new downtown tenants include:

• Avalon Park Kid’s, LLC, a child care agency with 2,706 square feet of space;

• Avalon Park Eye Care, LLC, an optometrist’s office with 1,960 square feet;

• Avalon Dance, LLC, with 1,717 square feet; and

• Loyal Source Pharmaceutical Staffing, an executive employment agency specializing in the pharmaceutical industry, with 3,000 square feet.

For more information contact:
Brendon Dedekind, Director of Leasing/Business Development, Avalon Park Group Management Inc., 407-658-6565;

Stephanie Hodson, Marketing Coordinator, Avalon Park Group, 407-658-6565

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

NAI Realvest Negotiates New Lease Agreement with Software Developer for 1,100 square feet in Winter Park

NAI Realvest Negotiates New Lease Agreement with Software Developer for 1,100 square feet in Winter Park

ORLANDO, Fla. - NAI Realvest recently negotiated a new lease agreement for 1,100 square feet of office space at the Winter Park Commerce Center, 3586 Aloma Ave. in Winter Park.

Don Rudolph, CCIM, associate and office leasing specialist at NAI Realvest negotiated the transaction representing the tenant, Jarex Games, Inc. of Winter Park. Jarex Games is a developer of software for the computer gaming industry.

Virginia B. Schuur Trust of Winter Park is the landlord.

For more information, contact:
Don Rudolph, CCIM, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989, drudolph@realvest.com
Janice Paiano, Director of Marketing, NAI Realvest, 407-875-9989, jpaiano@realvest.com
Beth Payan or Larry Vershel, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142

About NAI Realvest:
NAI Realvest in Orlando, covering all of Central Florida, is a fully integrated commercial real estate operating company specializing in brokerage, development, investment, leasing and management, consulting and research services in the U.S. and worldwide. NAI Global is an international commercial real estate network with over 325 offices spanning the globe. Since 1978, clients have built businesses on the power of NAI Global’s expanding network. Extensive services include multi-site acquisitions and dispositions, sublease, tenant representation, lease administration and audit, investment services, due diligence and related consulting and advisory services. To learn more, visit http://www.nairealvest.com/.

Therigy, LLC Launches Internship Program for Pharmacy Students

Therigy, LLC Launches Internship Program for Pharmacy Students

ORLANDO, Fla. - Therigy, LLC, the Orlando-based company that focuses on the specialty pharmaceutical industry, has launched an internship program to provide pharmacy students a first-hand look at the research and development side of the pharmaceuticals industry.

Joseph D. Morse, president of Therigy, said the internship program has already welcomed its first participant, a student at the University of Florida’s College of Pharmacy in Gainesville.

“Our program focuses on the drug information side of the industry and provides students with a unique opportunity to learn about the high growth specialty pharmaceutical segment,” Morse said.

Pharmacy students in Florida are required to complete 11 months of Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) for graduation. Students participate in one-month rotations at a variety of institutions.

Therigy develops information products and provides consulting services to support specialty pharmaceuticals – biotech and high cost medications that require unique distribution, patient support and reimbursement services. The firm works with pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacies and payors to assure appropriate use and optimal outcomes.

Therigy is a member client of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program.

For more information, please contact:
Joseph D. Morse, President, Therigy, LLC, 407-992-8752; Joseph.Morse@Therigy.com;
Gordon Hogan, Site Manager, UCF Business Incubation Program, 407-882-1577; Bizdev@mail.ucf.edu;
Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications Inc., 407-644.4142; lvershelco@aol.com.

About Therigy Corporation:
For those who invest in, manufacture, dispense, pay for, and administer specialty pharmaceuticals, Therigy is the healthcare industry’s trusted source for rapidly changing business, clinical, and operational intelligence as well as vital advisory and consulting services that assure appropriate use and optimal outcomes. Therigy’s well-known experts track and report on industry advances delivered through subscriptions as well as providing hands-on engagement to assist organizations in operational evaluation and optimization, planning and development of best-practices and clinical protocols, or a variety of other specialized research and analysis. Therigy clients include Allergan, Cigna, McKesson, PrecisionRx, Prime Therapeutics, and many others.

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 Greater Orlando community, the Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between the University of Central Florida, 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/.