Commercial Update from SW Florida by LandQwest January 8, 2008

Innovative prepares for growth

Innovative Development Group of Port Charlotte says it began 2007 with the first local home engineer-certified from "slab-to-roof" to withstand Category 5, 160 mph hurricane-force winds, well above the local construction code, which is for 130 mph.

The partnership with the city of Punta Gorda and The Housing Corp. of Charlotte County also created another "first": Innovative ended the year with the first affordable homes that not only meet their Category 5 criteria, but also include all the new "innovative building standards."

Ultra-low-cost carrier Skybus Airlines delivers fliers and hope

Tourists and businesses

In recent years, visitors to Charlotte County have numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and they have left behind an economic impact nearing $300 million.

Bed taxes alone have hovered around the $1 million mark in recent years.

A majority of visitors to Charlotte County last year -- 59 percent -- were from Florida, so Skybus pulling in people from other states will swell the ranks.

Skybus does not book connections from its Columbus hub to any of its other 12 destinations and in fact discourages them in order to avoid the risk of missed connections. But Skybus executives admit that a lot of people connect to get to Florida.

 

Last stretch of major north-south road corridor through Collier and Lee counties expected to open by end of month

This project is just one of many planned in Lee County this year, as new road improvements will break ground over the next 12 months.

Check out the  article for a current list of the  projects in Lee County.

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