BUSINESS OBSERVER

+ Sotheby’s announces new two new leaders
Judy Green, president and CEO of Signature Sotheby’s International Realty, announced Jan. 30 Michelle Burke-Phillips as the managing broker of the Plaza at Five Points office in downtown Sarasota. Burke-Phillips takes over from Managing Broker Jodi Emrick, who will launch the firm’s newest location in Lakewood Ranch when it opens this spring.

The Lakewood Ranch office follows Signature Sotheby’s office openings in Clearwater, Sanibel and Captiva, signaling the company’s continued expansion in the Southwest Florida marketplace.

Burke-Phillips is relocating from Naples, where she served as managing broker of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s Gallery office. In her new role, she will oversee the Plaza at Five Points office at 50 Central Ave., which opened in December 2008, has since grown to be one of the largest in Sarasota County, with 90 agents and posting $253 million in sales in 2011.

Signature Sotheby’s continues to expand its Southwest Florida footprint with the opening of its new office in Lakewood in March.

For information, visit www.signaturesir.com.

+ Down south: Prolific builder expands his reach
Pat Neal hasn’t built homes outside of the Manatee-Sarasota region since the early 1980s. Back then, his firm worked on a development project in Panama City.

But the veteran builder, one of the most prolific on the Gulf Coast the last five years, is now ready to grow geographically in a more concrete way. The move will be to Lee and Collier counties, which, like the Manatee-Sarasota region, was battered by the housing bust.

“Most times after a challenge are times of enormous opportunity,” said Neal, president of Lakewood Ranch-based Neal Communities. “This is one of those times.”

With that as the creed, the firm will go south in a big way. The firm plans to have land positions in four or five prominent Lee-Collier markets by March, including Estero Bay, Vanderbilt Beach and North Naples.
Neal, furthermore, said the company has property under contract in Naples to start building by August. Homes will start in the mid-$200s, and run through the mid-$500s. Sizes will range from 1,431 square feet to 2,700 square feet.

The Lee-Collier office will be run out of Neal Communities’ Ranch headquarters for at least the next few months.

Lakewood Business Alliance names board
The Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance this month announced its 2012 Board of Directors.

The board includes:
Brian Volner, chairman, Community Bank; Bobbi Larson, past chair, American Red Cross National; Tommy Klauber, chair-elect, The Polo Grill and Bar; Barbara Jones, treasurer, Kerkering Barberio & Co.; Craig Cerreta, governmental affairs chair, Signature Sotheby’s International Realty; Marc Simms, programming chair, RPM Business Advisors LLC; Steve Hall, programming co-chair, Alltrust Insurance; Stephen Ackoury, membership chair, Synovus Bank; Victor Ernst, membership co-chair, Omega Office Systems; Annette Gueli, events chair, Pro-Motion Notions; Pam Lutz, events co-chair, Cornerstone Solutions Group; Dee Zulauf, public relations chair, EnviZage PR & Project Management; John Barnott, economic development, Manatee County government; Ian Black, economic development, Ian Black Real Estate; at-large members Vicki Vega, Sarasota Chamber of Commerce; Michelle Grunberg, IConnectU; Lou Marinaccio, MGA Insurance Group; and Warren Simonds, Willis A. Smith Construction Inc.; Rex Jensen, SMR liaison, Schroeder-Manatee Ranch; and Joseph Najmy, legal counsel, Najmy Thompson, P.L.