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Tampa Bay Business Journal
Don't give up on paper checks before considering all the consequences
Target Corp. stopped accepting personal checks for customer purchases earlier this month, joining the ranks of big businesses that have ditched the old-school payment method.<\p> It's a lineup that includes the likes of Whole Foods, Aldi and Old Navy, all of whom have canceled checks as a payment option. At the same time, digital payments through the likes of Venmo, Cash App, and other card- and phone-based systems have skyrocketed.<\p>
University of Tampa's new president ready to elevate its impact
Teresa Abi-Nader Dahlberg has been at the helm at the University of Tampa for just over a month and has already begun to establish deep roots in the community.<\p> Her days are filled with meetings with local community and business leaders. UT was founded in 1931 as a partnership between the education, business and philanthropic community, and she said she’s learned those ties are stronger than ever.<\p>
Rays turn focus to 'incredibly ambitious' timeline for new stadium
The Tampa Bay Rays will ceremonially break ground on their new stadium in downtown St. Petersburg within the first two weeks of 2025. <\p> With all the necessary government approvals in tow, the team and its development partner, Hines, must now focus on building the ballpark in time for the 2028 season. Rays Co-President Brian Auld acknowledged that it's an "incredibly ambitious" timeline. <\p>
Sembler, Argyle continue multifamily buying spree with 576 local units
Tampa Bay real estate investment firms Sembler Investments Real Estate Partners and Argyle Real Estate Partners purchased two luxury apartment complexes in the Tampa Palms area for their fourth and fifth acquisitions since partnering up in a multifamily-focused joint venture two years ago. <\p> Sage at Cypress Cay and Lantana at Cypress Cay in Lutz add 576 units to the firms' growing multifamily portfolio in the Southeast. Sale prices were not disclosed; the properties were built in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The firms were the first acquirers of the property post-stabilization. <\p>
Here's how much money you need to earn to join the top 1% in Florida
The latest SmartAsset study highlights how much a Florida resident needs to earn to be considered among the state's highest earners.<\p> The U.S. threshold for joining the top 1% stands at $787,712 in 2024, a 20% increase from the roughly $652,000 required last year, according to a new analysis of IRS data from SmartAsset. By comparison, SmartAsset said that the median annual income in the U.S. stands at about $75,000. <\p>
Luxury home prices hit a new high
The U.S. luxury housing segment has bucked some of the trends affecting the rest of the residential real estate market, in large part because those buyers and sellers are less affected by affordability issues.<\p> But like the broader housing market, luxury homes continue to see a surge in prices. In fact, luxury home prices hit a new high in the second quarter of this year, with a typical home in the category selling for $1.18 million, an 8.8% increase from the same quarter last year, according to Redfin Corp. data.<\p>
Worker identified in Tampa International Airport construction accident
The worker who died following a construction accident at Tampa International Airport has been identified as 29-year-old Cesar Hernandez Donu of Seffner. <\p> TPA Police received reports at approximately 7:40 a.m. on July 31 of an accident involving a construction equipment operator who was working on the Airside A shuttle guideway renovation project, which is near the Blue Arrivals area. According to TPA, construction equipment fell off the shuttle track with the operator inside. The worker died as a result of his injuries. <\p>
Post-storm rebuilding costs in Florida could pose problems
As the Atlantic Ocean shows signs of heating up, potentially fueling damaging hurricanes, a former state and national disaster chief warned Tuesday of working-class Floridians being priced out of communities in post-storm rebuilding.<\p> Craig Fugate, a disaster-planning consultant who previously served as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management and administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said financing and the availability of insurance will continue to be issues for some people trying to rebuild.<\p>
Ybor's Seventh Avenue bricking project begins, closures expected
A bricking project along historic Seventh Avenue in Ybor City is officially underway.<\p> The project aims to “help calm traffic” on the street, which sees a significant amount of pedestrian traffic, according to the city of Tampa. Bricking began on July 29 and will be done in phases. Phase one will lay bricks from North 15th and 17th streets across from Centro Ybor and is expected to take two weeks.<\p>
$3B investment administrator moves headquarters to Clearwater
Advanta IRA’s new headquarters location — two 16,000-square-foot offices — is more room than it needs for its current 50 employees, but founder Jack Callahan said he plans for the firm to outgrow the space just as it has at each of its former offices in Largo. <\p> The 20-year-old retirement account administrator’s headquarters move to Clearwater coincides with several other milestone achievements, including reaching 13,000 clients and $3 billion in assets under administration. <\p>
County responds to school board's lawsuit over Nov. tax referendum
The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners has responded to the school district’s lawsuit claiming it has a duty to put a tax referendum on November’s ballot.<\p> The county commission said the Hillsborough County School Board’s lawsuit is “premature and unripe” since the commission’s action was a recommendation to put it on the ballot in 2026, not a final decision to call for a vote in 2026.<\p>
Pinellas County approves Tampa Bay Rays' $1.3B stadium
The Tampa Bay Rays have received county approval for a new $1.3 billion ballpark in St. Petersburg.<\p> The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-2 on Tuesday to allocate $312.5 million in tourist tax dollars to the stadium, plus interest. The approval follows the city of St. Petersburg's decision on July 18 to spend $287.5 million on the stadium. <\p>
Tampa firm to lead construction of Tampa Museum of Art expansion
The Beck Group in Tampa will manage the construction of the Tampa Museum of Art's centennial expansion project. <\p> Beck has managed construction of other prominent cultural institutions, including the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. Beck has been in Tampa for 30 years. <\p>
Go inside USF Health's new pharmacy college in downtown Tampa
The USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy has officially opened its downtown Tampa facility, nearly five years after receiving a $10 million donation from local philanthropists Jugal and Manju Taneja.<\p> Founding Dean Dr. Kevin Sneed said the new space within the USF Health downtown Tampa building will play a key role in allowing the university to build the best pharmacist clinicians in the country. The new facility is the clinician portion of the program, with the remaining elements — like the laboratories — staying on the main campus. <\p>
First Benfica soccer academy in the US coming to Tampa Bay
Starting fall 2025, Saint Leo University will be the official home of the first Benfica Residential Academy in the United States.<\p> Sport Lisboa e Benfica (SL Benfica), an international professional soccer club based in Portugal, is expanding its reach to the United States by offering a soccer academy for highly talented high school student-athletes (coeducational, grades 9-12).<\p>
Judge throws out Harbour Island hotel petition in sweeping ruling
In response to a hotel rezoning dispute, a Hillsborough County Circuit Court judge has issued a sweeping ruling that challenges Tampa City Council's authority to make land use decisions. <\p> Judge Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe on July 29 dismissed a petition for writ of certiorari from Tampa-based Liberty Group, which was seeking to overturn Tampa City Council's denial of a new AC Hotel by Marriott on Harbour Island. She wrote that she lacked "subject matter jurisdiction" because the council, as a legislative branch of municipal government, lacks the legal capacity to exercise quasi-judicial power. <\p>
Florida's Medicaid enrollment decreases
Enrollment in Florida’s Medicaid program continued to decrease in June, as a federal judge weighs whether the state improperly dropped people from the program after the end of a public health emergency linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. <\p> Florida’s program included 4,363,948 beneficiaries in June, down from 4.423,280 in May, according to newly posted state data. The program had nearly 5.78 million beneficiaries in April 2023, but enrollment has steadily decreased since the end of the federal public health emergency. <\p>
Citizens nears 1.229 million policies
The state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. ended last week with nearly 1.229 million policies, as Florida gets ready for the most-active parts of hurricane season. <\p> Citizens had 1,228,928 policies as of Friday, up from 1,223,778 policies a week earlier and 1,220,271 two weeks earlier, according to data on the Citizens website. Citizens, which was created as an insurer of last resort, has become the state’s largest carrier in recent years as private companies dropped policies and raised rates because of financial problems. <\p>
Podcast: OrthoNow's Badia on life as a surgeon, founder and disruptor
South Florida Business Journal Editor-in-Chief Mel Meléndez recently spoke with Dr. Alejandro Badia, surgeon and founder of OrthoNow, for the latest segment of the Florida Business Minds podcast.<\p> Sponsored by TECO Peoples Gas, the audio series features candid conversations with business leaders from the South Florida, Orlando, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville regions.<\p>
TGH, USF researchers develop heart transplant device
Tampa General Hospital has announced the development of a new device that optimizes donor organs and makes more donor hearts eligible for transplantation.<\p> The project was conducted by Dr. Lucian Lozonschi, professor and director of the division of cardiothoracic surgery and transplantation, and Dr. Ruisheng Liu, professor in the department of molecular pharmacology and physiology at the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine. They received $500,000 for two years from the Interdisciplinary Research Award at USF.<\p>
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