News Briefs 04.21.11

+ Man killed in single-car accident
A North Carolina man was killed April 17 in an accident off State Road 70, about one mile east of Verna Road.

A Florida Highway Patrol report states Roy Gay, 65, was driving westbound on S.R. 70 when he entered a curve and failed to negotiate it. The 2000 Lincoln Town Car he was driving left the roadway onto the north shoulder and continued westbound until it struck a tree.

Gay was pronounced dead on scene by Manatee County EMS.

+ Planners consider East County projects
Members of the Manatee County Planning Commission on April 14 made recommendations for several proposed East County developments, including a cement batch plant on 33rd Street East.

The commission has recommended:
• Denial of Tarmac America’s request to rezone property at 6520 33rd St. E., Bradenton from light manufacturing to heavy manufacturing.

• Approval of a master signage plan along University Parkway for University Park Center.

• Approval of a 180,000-square-foot commercial shopping center called Paley Place on a 23-acre project slated for the south side of State Road 70, west of Lockwood Ridge Road.

+ County sets new fees for reclaiming pets
Manatee County has created a simpler way for owners to reclaim pets impounded at Manatee County Animal Services.

Under a new fee schedule, owners of sterilized pets will pay $100 for cats or $115 for dogs the first time their pet is impounded.

Owners of non-sterilized pets will have two options: pay $180 for non-sterilized cats or $195 for non-sterilized dogs or to adopt the pet with complete rabies vaccination, immunization, sterilization and microchip with registration and required license tag for $130 for dogs or $70 for cats.

For more information on fees and a complete adoption fee schedule, visit www.mymanatee.org/pets or call 742-5933.

+ Lakewood Medical Office Building I sold
Some of Bradenton’s most prominent power players have sold Lakewood Ranch Medical Office Building I to investment trust Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II for $12.5 million.The price equated to $217 per square foot.

The 57,563-square-foot building was 97% occupied at the time of the sale.

The seven-year-old building was developed by former Florida Senate President John McKay, Gary Huggins and general contractor Ron Allen, whose firm NDC Construction built it and the nearby Lakewood Ranch Medical Office Building II.

Steve Horn, of Ian Black Real Estate, represented the seller, and Greg Endsley, of Madison Street Partners, represented the buyer.

“It’s important because a national institutional REIT came to Lakewood Ranch and was so impressed with the area and what was taking place that they were comfortable enough to buy the building,” Horn said. “The success of the building and the hospital goes hand-in-hand with the success of Lakewood Ranch.”

The purchase was a long-term investment, he said.

The building’s former owners currently are selling suites in Lakewood Ranch Medical Office Building II. Horn said they will be revising pricing soon there with the goal of selling the remaining 16,000 square feet.

+ Bennett lobbies for Benderson Park funding
State Sen. Mike Bennett introduced a bill amendment calling for at least $500,000 in state money to help build Nathan Benderson Park into a world-class rowing facility.

Monies would come from a new pool of economic development funds, which are expected to total more than $400 million.

+ SCF earns biotechnology grant
Local education officials last week announced a $187,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Technological Education Program will fund the Biotechnology Alliance for the Suncoast Biology Educators pilot project.

The program, developed and conducted by State College of Florida staff, integrates high school teacher training with the use of biotechnology tools in their classrooms, thus increasing the number of students who
are prepared for careers in the related fields.

“Earning this prestigious grant results from a true collaboration between educators at SCF and the local school districts,” SCF President Dr. Lars A. Hafner said. “This partnership connects a seamless sequence of science education from our schools to SCF to universities and to industry and institutes such as Roskamp, Mote Marine and Jackson Labs.”

The faculty-initiated program was developed by SCF life sciences faculty members Jane Pfeilsticker, Dr. Matthew Keirle and Dr. Andrew Swanson in conjunction with science curriculum specialists Susan Puchalla, of Sarasota County Public Schools, and Judith Griffin, of Manatee County Public Schools.

The joint announcement was made April 8 at an SCF biology lab where Pfeilsticker and Keirle demonstrated two “Labs in a Box”— “Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis” and “P Glow Transformation”— which are used to conduct experiments such as DNA fingerprinting for crime scene or paternity tests or for production of synthetic human insulin for diabetes treatment.