5 things to start the day: Kforce CEO’s compensation triples, and what would your walk-up music be at work?

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The total pay package for David Dunkel, chairman and CEO of Kforce Inc., nearly tripled in 2014, compared to the prior year, a proxy filed by Kforce(NASDAQ: KFRC) showed. Dunkel pulled in $6.8 million in total compensation last year, a 196 percent increase over $2.3 million in 2013. A big part of the increase came from $2 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation, or a bonus pegged to performance thresholds for revenue, earnings and individual accomplishments. He also received a separate… …read more

23-story tower on downtown Tampa’s Grant block to break ground this summer (renderings)

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The 23-story tower Atlanta-based Carter USA proposed last fall in downtown Tampa is moving forward, with plans to start construction in the summer.

Conor McNally, Carter chief development officer, said Friday that the group is “highly confident” in its plans, which include 360 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail space. The site is referred to as the Grant block and is one block north of the historic Kress building on North Franklin Street.

“We’re happy to have gotten to a point where… …read more

Lincoln Property planning 400 apartments north of Straz Center in downtown Tampa

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A Dallas developer is planning a new apartment complex on the northern fringe of Tampa’s urban core.

Lincoln Property Co. is in talks with the city to build a 408-unit, five-story apartment building north of the David A. Straz Jr. Center for Performing Arts, on a surface parking lot adjacent to the Barrymore Hotel. The land is owned by New Jersey-based Denholtz Associates, according to county property records.

Named the Aspire, the complex would have six stories of parking with 866 spaces, according… …read more

‘Seven figures’ into Vinik’s reinvention of Channelside Bay Plaza, a new sense of energy and an increase in sales

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Tampa Bay Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik is “seven figures” into cosmetic upgrades of Channelside Bay Plaza — and within months of finalizing a long-term plan for the beleaguered waterfront mall.

Vinik won the ground lease to the property on Aug. 19 and tapped commercial real estate firm Franklin Street and Tampa developer Anthony Everett to take the lead on renovating the plaza. Franklin Street CEO Andrew Wright said the group is working with Alfonso Architects in Tampa on a design for the property… …read more

Dawn of a new city in downtown Tampa

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Downtown Tampa isn’t a thriving 24/7 neighborhood yet — but the numbers are trending that way.

Vacancies are down across every sector of commercial real estate in the city center, and prices are creeping up to the point that could justify new construction.

Residential development, urban renewal experts say, is the foundation of a thriving downtown. It creates a customer base for the retail and restaurants that make a neighborhood a destination, and a tax base to fund amenities like parks and… …read more

Florida Poly gets go-ahead to build second residence hall

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The most recent Florida university got a thumbs-up on a second residential building on its campus.

Florida Polytechnic University, in Lakeland, will complete a 543-bed, 131,000-square-foot, five-story facility in July 2016. It has hired Vestcor Communities Inc. of Jacksonville to build and maintain the facility, which includes an outdoor pool and volleyball courts.

Vestcor handled the university’s first residence hall, which holds more than 400 students. The goal is 750 beds available on campus… …read more

5 tips for avoiding the blowups in golf (and business)

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The more I learn this game of golf, the more I realize it is just like business and life. In life, you ride the roller coaster of victories and defeats, and with golf you can do that from hole to hole. As I work to bring my handicap down, one of the problems I’m having is the “blow-up hole.”

I was out the other day coming in off the front nine, at 4-over par. I start the back nine with a birdie (the second of the day) and boom, t happens. I hit a drive into the woods, hit the next …read more

No car, no problem? Vinik’s team wants to making driving optional in downtown Tampa

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Maximizing the walkability of Tampa Bay Lightning Owner Jeff Vinik’s development in downtown Tampa means more than a cool streetscape, the urban planning consultants on the project say. It means the potential to create — as unbelievable as it sounds — a place in Tampa where a person could choose not to own a car.

“People tend to forget the single greatest determinate of our health is for a number of reasons, not just walking, but being freed from the requirement to drive — between the lack… …read more

Tampa Housing Authority promotes Begazo-McGourty to CFO

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Susi Begazo-McGourty has been promoted as senior vice president and chief financial officer for the Housing Authority of the City of Tampa.

Begazo-McGourty previously was chief internal officer. In her new role, she will manage and oversee a $423 million budget, and lead the finance, accounting, IT and contract administration teams for the organization, according to a People on the Move submission.

Learn more about the Housing Authority of Tampa’s executive team with Executive Files with Leroy… …read more

Vinik’s billion-dollar neighborhood in downtown Tampa will be designed as a place that fosters innovation

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The urban planning consultants Jeff Vinik has hired to finesse the details of his billion-dollar development in downtown Tampa see their charge as creating more than a neighborhood — it’s about economic development.

The planners will determine the specifics of the vision the Tampa Bay Lightning owner unveiled in December — everything from road and sidewalk widths to building heights, storefront spaces and the placement of tree benches. The sum of those details, they say, are what creates a walkable… …read more