Don’t Believe the Anti-Hype

We’re hearing a lot lately about how Florida might never return to the good old days of booming commercial real estate values and stabilized occupancy. The experts aren’t buying any of that.

“Florida has always been very volatile in its cycles. We’ve always gone down hard, but we’ve always come back strong,” Larry Richey, senior managing director with Cushman & Wakefield in Tampa, told me for an upcoming article in Real Estate Forum. He sees absolutely no reason why the Sunshine State can’t rebound and regain as quickly as in past downturns.

CNL’s Olympic Connection

It isn’t just ice skaters, hockey players and even a curler that Florida has contributed to this year’s Winter Olympics. Orlando-based CNL Lifestyle Properties made more than $23 million worth of improvements to its Cypress Mountain resort in recent years and expects to reap big benefits once all the medals are awarded.

CNL Lifestyle, which bought Cypress Mountain in 2006, made capital investments including a new high-speed chair lift, new ski runs and a new three-story, 48,000-square-foot base lodge. The improvements were planned in anticipation of Vancouver hosting the Olympics.

Hooters: A Family Affair

Coby Brooks, the CEO of Hooters of America gives the impression that he’s a family guy. So he probably understands the risk he’s taking bringing in outsiders to run one of the world’s most successful restaurant concepts, which is hurting in the downturn like so many other casual dining chains.

Brooks, featured just last weekend on the new CBS reality show “Undercover Boss,” sent a letter to real estate and food industry executives this week attempting to quell rumors that the family business is about to be sold. The letter states that the company is “engaged in the financial market to find the right partner or partners” for Hooters, according to this story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

JLL Ramps Up Miami Industrial

Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle is increasing its industrial expertise in the Miami market by hiring three leading industrial brokers. Steve Medwin and Harry Wardell are joining the firm as executive vice presidents, while Nick Wigoda joins as vice president.

“Adding these three high-caliber industrial experts to our current industrial team will make for a powerful combination to provide a full range of industrial services to clients throughout South Florida,” says Kurt Keaton, JLL market director for Florida. The new hires will join the existing industrial team to provide expert counsel to individuals and companies leasing, purchasing, developing and disposing of industrial properties throughout South Florida and across the US.

South Beach Drag

Hotels are affected just as much by their neighbors as other commercial real estate forms. The latest example would be Miami’s Tides South Beach, which seems to be having a little trouble with a “drag” show going on next door.

As detailed in the Inside Track blog by our ALM kindred publication Daily Business Review, the Tides is upset with the shows going on at The Palace and have called code enforcement several times. The Palace’s manager stopped short of calling the complaints “gay harassment” but wonders aloud what is up with all the calls.

South Florida Mall Winds Down

Palm Beach Mall’s future looks bleak now that Simon Property Group has declined to dispute a $53.2-million foreclosure. The 1.2-million-square-foot retail property goes up for auction March 4, according to this report from the South Florida Business Journal.

Whether the 42-year-old shopping mall will remain a mall in the usual sense is questionable. It has already lost one of its three remaining anchors, the rest of it has gone dark and reviving it in its current form is doubtful in this economy.

Burger King: Help Needed

Miami-based Burger King Corp. thought it would be enough to offer a double cheeseburger for $1, thinking we would all flock there for more meat than their nearest fast-food competitors. Even though that helped boost its second-quarter profits, the chain managed to tork off its franchisees in the process.

You know something’s wrong when comics start jabbing at your restaurants, as The Onion did recently. And the prospect of being able to buy a beer with your next Whopper drew about the same reaction as Apple’s new iPad.

Amendment 4 Showdown at UF

The University of Florida, normally recognized as the home of football and basketball champions, will be the venue for a key real estate debate this month. A leading expert on growth management will host a discussion on Amendment 4 on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at the Bob Graham Center for Public Service on the Gainesville campus.

Bob Rhodes, Florida’s former growth management administrator, will lead the discussion of Amendment 4, which he calls the “elephant in the growth management policy room.” The referendum on the November ballot would require approval of all local government comprehensive plans and plan amendments by voters before becoming effective, part of a wider direct democracy movement that gives citizens a larger say in land use planning.