Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Talk of the bay: Condo's first step will mean big traffic jam
By Times Staff Writers
Published March 2, 2007
A big building demands a big pour. Pinellas County's most expensive building, the $125-million, 36-story Signature Place condominium tower at 100 First Ave. S, will gum up 11 city blocks Saturday morning to make room for 147 concrete trucks. How much of the stuff will feed the tower's foundation Saturday? Let's say it's enough to lay a sidewalk nearly 5 miles. Signature developer Joel Cantor said the glass, sail-shaped building should open in March 2009 with condos costing about $700,000 apiece. Growing company to pump out jobs Like a healthy heart, business at Oscor Inc. keeps on beating. The Palm Harbor company, which designs and manufactures components for implantable medical devices like pacemakers, has announced plans to create 55 new, skilled jobs within the next two years. Oscor also plans to build a 20,000-square-foot facility adjacent to its existing 40,000-square-foot building. CEO Thomas Osypka says that revenue has grown 100 percent over the past two years. The private company currently has about 110 employees in Palm Harbor and 60 in the Dominican Republic. Citizens dutiful in lawmakers' service Talk about mixed messages: Citizens Property Insurance has been told by the state Legislature for years that the state's insurer of last resort has to shrink. But lawmakers also ruled that the bonuses private companies get for taking policies out of Citizens must also get smaller, and the companies have to keep the policies longer. So Thursday, Citizens' Board of Governors voted to lower the bonuses from $200 to $100 and make companies keep the policies five years instead of three. It also acknowledged discounts for hardening homes will double. "The savings for policyholders are considerable," said Chairman Bruce Douglas. "Affordability is another matter." The board also reported that its new commercial account should be writing policies by June 1. Want to comment? Have something to say about a business story? Send your letter to tampabay.com/letters. Aselection of readers' letters appears in Sunday's Business section.
[Last modified March 1, 2007, 23:15:47]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
