One Liners

► Polk County employee Burt McKee (pictured above) will be honored by the Florida Division of Emergency Management/State Emergency Response Commission, on January 17, for his work protecting Polk’s residents from hazardous materials.  ► S&D Real Estate, in Lakeland, was awarded the “2023 Best of Florida Award” by The Guide to Florida.  ► Advanced Drainage

► Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants opened its second Tampa area location, at 28963 State Road 56, in Wesley Chapel.  ► Morton Plant North Bay Hospital received an “A” for the eighth consecutive time from the Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization that promotes patient safety.  ► The Point Distillery, in New Port Richey, has

► Florida Polytechnic University will begin construction on the Gary C. Wendt Engineering Building, the school’s third academic facility on campus, in the spring of 2024. (Rendering above) ► Lakeland City Commissioners voted unanimously this week to accept a $1.685 million grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to help remove algae from Lake Bonnet. 

► Mast Capital, a real estate development and investment firm based in Miami, and Rockpoint, a real estate private equity firm based in Boston, topped off their newest luxury apartment development, at 5101 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, which will encompass 248 apartments within three, four-story elevatored buildings across 16- acres of land. (Rendering

► Marcus & Millichap announced the listing for sale of Centre Shops at Longboat Key, for $7,590,000.  ► Tidewell Foundation received a grant of $10,000 from the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation to support Tidewell Grief Care’s Blue Butterfly Family Grief Program.  ► Douglas Elliman opened a new office, at 1350 Main Street, in Downtown Sarasota,

► Terrace Community Middle School, a charter school in Hillsborough County, is celebrating its 25th year anniversary. (Photo above) ► The Board of Directors of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay named Mellissa Longo, of Pathways, as chair and Tim Traud, of Jabil, as chair-elect for the 2024 financial year. ► Frank Rygiel joined CSI Construction

► COhatch, an Ohio-based co-working company, opened, at 15 8th Street N., in St. Petersburg. (Pictured above) ► Adieu-glu, a gluten-free bakery, opened, at 1942 1st Avenue South, next to Pinellas Ale Works Brewery, in the Grand Central District. ► Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and Pasco Counties broke ground on 12 single-family homes, in

► The owners of Mullet’s Fish Camp & Market, located at 3901 6th Street South, St. Petersburg, are opening a dessert bar, at 3910 6th Street South, St. Petersburg. (Pictured above) ► Clearwater Marine Aquarium added Marian Goodman and Matt Novak to its board of directors.  ► Wealth Care University signed on as a U-Haul neighborhood

► General contractor Summit Design + Build, in Tampa, began the build-out of Taverna Toscana, a luxury Italian steakhouse and seafood restaurant, in Bradenton. (Rendering above) ► Shutts & Bowen named Amanda B. Buffinton as managing partner of the firm’s Tampa office.  ►  The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts opened the doors to its new

► BSWANKY, a Sarasota luxury handbag brand, was named a finalist, for the second year in a row, in the Design Excellence Awards Competition by The Accessories Council. (Pictured above) ► Ringling College of Art and Design’s varsity esports team, the Ringling Rollers, has opened its dedicated esports arena, which includes 10 gaming stations, a lounge

► Bank of Central Florida was honored with the George W. Harris, Jr. Success in Large Business Award. (Pictured above) ► Florida Polytechnic University announced a new name for its research building, the Barnett Applied Research Center.  ► Berkadia announced it has secured a $53.7 million loan to acquire Lakeside Village, a 460,000-square-foot, open-air lifestyle center,

► Pura Vida, a Miami-based café, is expanding into Sarasota at the University Town Center and will open a 2,000-square-foot restaurant, in 2024. ►  The Sarasota County Commission awarded Art Center Sarasota a $72,855 Tourist Development Cultural/Arts grant to help fund its 2023-2024 exhibition season, which runs through September 2024.   ► WUSF Public Media