Industrial Isn’t That Bad … Yet

A veteran industrial broker has a few things to say about Susan Ruby’s recent column for GlobeSt.com observing whether the industrial sector has bottomed out in Florida. Ted Bywater, chairman of Orlando-based Bywater Co., has a deeper perspective on the sector dating back to the mid-1970s downturn.

“In those days, there was almost no business. No one was moving into town and no one was expanding,” Bywater recalls. Even after an Orlando economic development group placed ads in the Wall Street Journal offering warehouse space for sale as low as $7 per square foot, there were still no takers, he says.

Panama City Clear for Takeoff

It appears the $500-million investment in Panama City’s new international airport is already starting to pay dividends, with Southwest Airlines pledging to start jet service to and from the Panhandle vacation spot next spring. The popular Dallas-based low-fare carrier has a strategic alliance agreement with the airport’s developer, Jacksonville-based St. Joe Co., for eight daily nonstop flights.

Southwest’s arrival is expected to stimulate job growth and economic development within Northwest Florida, along with providing another option to bring travelers from around the country to its beaches, says Britt Greene, St. Joe president and CEO. The major state landowner is building the airport on 4,000 acres as part of its massive 75,000-acre Bay West development.

Seminoles Put On Pressure

The Seminole Tribe of Florida, which already has a potentially lucrative gambling pact with Gov. Charlie Crist, is trying to convince the state Legislature to approve it. Their message, in so many words: We want it all and we want it now!

James Allen, CEO of gaming operations for the Seminoles, made the tribe’s wishes known at the Florida Gaming Summit on Tuesday in Hollywood, as covered by the Miami Herald. Lawmakers might have heard him better had he made his remarks in Tallahassee, but Hollywood just seems a friendlier venue to make an argument for more gambling, doesn’t it?

Rubbing a Genie Lamp

The so-called “great recession” may be over by now, but the recovery process will still take some time, says a University of Central Florida economist. Sean Snaith, director of the UCF Institute for Economic Competitiveness in Orlando, likens the recovery to a “genie lamp” rather than a “gravy boat,” reflecting the longer recovery period that will likely last into 2011.

“We are now in the recovery/rehabilitation phase after the economy’s treatment for the credit infarction,” Snaith writes in the center’s most recent US forecast. “The economy is not out of the intensive care unit, but still in serious condition. The quadruple policy bypass performed by the Federal Reserve Bank and the federal government did indeed save the economy from a much more dire fate, but the recovery from this trauma will be slower than many had hoped it would be.”

Looking Toward Atlanta

You can’t blame commercial real estate developers in Florida for becoming Atlanta Falcons fans this NFL season. But it has little to do with the fact that our three teams down here have four wins between them so far.

Orlando-based New Broad Street Cos. and St. Petersburg-based Sembler Co. remain in the running to redevelop General Motors’ former plant site along Interstate 285 in suburban Doraville, GA. Both firms have mixed-use plans for the 165-acre site that include a new stadium for the Falcons, whose owner Arthur Blank wants to move from the Georgia Dome in Downtown Atlanta.

What To Do With Empty Space?

Ever wonder what else could become of all our vacant buildings and lots while landlords clamor for tenants? BusinessWeek magazine has some interesting ideas, some of which might work pretty well in Florida.

The magazine put out a call for various ideas and ran them unedited. Many of them came from architects, who are constantly striving to turn lemons into lemonade when it comes to empty shells and wide open spaces.

Magazine Seeks Women, and Other Notes

As we plow our way into an uncertain fourth quarter, here are some notes and news you can use:

• Real Estate Florida magazine is now accepting nominations for its Women of Influence feature, to be included in the November/December issue. Click here for the nomination form.

Women have come a long way in commercial real estate over the last few decades, and even though they are still in the minority they are often achieving more than their male peers in the industry. Many throughout the state are among the most knowledgeable, accomplished and respected professionals in the industry.

Getting Closer to the Bottom

Even as the Florida housing market is starting to improve, many are concerned that commercial real estate will drag behind for a while. Jeff Sweeney sees things differently.

The president of Orlando-based Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida believes the CRE market will fully improve in the second half of 2010, though there are already positive signs of a recovery. A lot depends on the willingness of banks to get back to lending on commercial projects, he says.

RealShare South Florida Highlights

Here are a few more notes and quotes from last week’s RealShare South Florida conference in Miami, which was attended by 275 people and deemed a solid success. In case you missed it, or even if you were there, you can read more about it here and here, but here are some other highlights:

• The region’s current oversupply of residential condominium units could be absorbed over the next four years, according to panelists of a discussion on the multifamily sector. There is still plenty of interest in both individual and bulk unit acquisitions, particularly from private-capital investors and foreign buyers from Canada and Israel.