When real estate developer Linda Rozynes lost a South Miami-Dade apartment building to a storm in 2000, she knew she would rebuild the property -- as medical offices.
The hard numbers were sobering. It wasn't just the stats -- like 85 percent of our population can't afford the area's median-priced home -- that were tough to swallow in the 82-page Workforce Housing Needs Assessment put out by FIU's Metropolitan Center and released by the Greater Miami Chamber last week.
When he sat down with Business Monday, Joe West was getting ready for a triumphant return to China. The outgoing dean of Florida International University's School of Hospitality & Tourism Management would leave the next day for Tianjin, home of FIU's new hospitality school. Built by the Chinese government but staffed by the North Miami school, it graduates its first class of 29 students this year.
At the Cool-de-Sac Play Café, you can find a Lego station with millions of Legos color-sorted and stashed in bins; an arts and crafts center where kids can paint paper plates or ceramic pigs; a bank of gleaming white Apple iMacs on knee-high tables; and naturally, pizza.
MONEY TALKS
Last week, The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting story about Wachovia. It seems a Wachovia mortgage lending executive named Robert Verrone was leaving. Through the years, he'd been nicknamed ''Large Loan Verrone'' due to a proclivity for $50 million-plus commercial mortgages.
BUSINESS BOOKS
Right of the Dial: The Rise of Clear Channel and the Fall of Commercial Radio. Alec Foege. Faber and Faber. 320 pages. The name ''Clear Channel'' became shorthand for everything wrong with terrestrial (nonsatellite) radio: Lack of diversity, repetitious music, boring programming, too many commercials, censorship, jingoism, ad nauseam.
JOB FILE
Juggling the demands of seven different parties in seven separate banquet rooms at once might seem daunting. When the parties in question involve the very well-heeled who are used to pampering, the challenge becomes even more intense.
SMALL BUSINESS
''Hispanics cultivate the most extensive personal and professional networks both online and offline among those studied, attesting to the potential effectiveness of grass-roots and viral campaigns,'' reported Theresa Rice, director, U.S. Hispanic for Burson-Marsteller, a global public relations and communications firm.
MY VIEW
Limousines overflowing with investors seeking real-estate bargains are now trolling the streets of South Florida looking for properties to
COVER STORY
Despite a slowing economy, companies looking for office space now will likely still have trouble finding deals on rent and high-end digs, especially in downtown Miami and the Brickell area.
It's been the dream of millions -- a home by the sea in sunny Spain. People from all over Europe have invested hard-earned savings in coastal villas and apartments.
HOMEBUILDING
Despite some encouraging environmental and energy-efficiency developments in recent years, none of America's 13 largest publicly traded homebuilders has ''fully embraced the emerging market of sustainable building design and construction,'' according to a new study by Calvert -- one of the nation's leaders in the field of sustainable and responsible investing.
CocoWalk tenant praises new owners As a new tenant at CocoWalk, I would like to reply to the article titled ''Adios Tu Tu'' [May 7]. The article seems to portray the new owners of CocoWalk as the greedy bad guy who is unsympathetic to the history of the Grove and simply wants to get rid of nonpaying tenants. This is not the case.
SMALL BUSINESS
With Memorial Day just weeks away, many people are thinking about taking time off during the summer. Small business owners need to be doing some planning too, to be sure employee vacations don't cause strife in the workplace or a drop-off in productivity.
MONDAY Anatomy of a World Class Medical Campus: The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce's transportation and infrastructure committee examines the University of Miami and Jackson Memorial Hospitals' planned roadways and future workforce housing; 11:30 a.m., Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, 1601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; $25 admission. 305-577-5491.
ACCOUNTING Leo Chomiak has been hired as a tax partner at the accounting firm of Grant Thornton. Previously, he was the local tax lead partner for KPMG's South Florida business unit.
Filings for the Southern District of Florida: Pronto Shutter Manufacturers, 8527 NW 66th St., Miami. Chapter 7. John M. Cruz II, 305-249-2070.
Here are the film and TV productions in Miami-Dade County this week: Pink Sneakers Productions, 1000 Color Place, Apopka. ''Luke's Parental Advisory.'' Through May 30, countywide.
Location: 2090 NW 13th Ave. Seller: Wes Investments of Hillsborough, represented by Tony K. Leung, president/manager. Buyer: USA Beauty Care, represented by Kyung A. Chung, president.
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SPECIAL REPORT
Sales of commercial real estate have fallen sharply in the past year. Just like the residential market, investors aren't finding the bargains they expect given the economy, yet sellers aren't ready to cut prices.
