Published Jan. 26, 2011
TWISler Breakdown: DEAL or No DEAL
This week the TWISler’s going to play a little game called DEAL or No DEAL. That’s because last week residents of the Suncoast were treated to the unexpected news that all of the economic development entities that currently exist in Sarasota and Manatee Counties will soon be housed under the same roof. That roof will be located in Lakewood Ranch and will sit on top of a 72,000-square-foot, three-story building that goes by the name Design & Economic Acceleration Lab, or “DEAL†for all you acronym junkies. Now, we have plenty of usual gripes about the progress of local developments, but “it happened too fast†is rarely one of them. Alas, with an estimated construction cost of $14.2 million and a proposed grand opening only 18 months away, that may actually be the case when it comes to the DEAL deal. In a town with such a determined lack of urgency to complete things, how did a project of this magnitude manage to advance from idea to implementation in less than eight weeks? Right now we’re chalking it up to some sort of miraculous divine intervention. Of course, we’d never rule out the possibility of a good ol’ fashioned shady backroom DEAL. With this many huge players involved, God only knows what all’s been said. But we can give you a general overview of how the project came about. Basically, the story goes like this: (more…)Tag: Design and Economic Acceleration Lab
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TWISler Breakdown: DEAL or No DEAL
Published Jan. 26, 2011
TWISler Breakdown: DEAL or No DEAL
This week the TWISler’s going to play a little game called DEAL or No DEAL. That’s because last week residents of the Suncoast were treated to the unexpected news that all of the economic development entities that currently exist in Sarasota and Manatee Counties will soon be housed under the same roof. That roof will be located in Lakewood Ranch and will sit on top of a 72,000-square-foot, three-story building that goes by the name Design & Economic Acceleration Lab, or “DEAL†for all you acronym junkies. Now, we have plenty of usual gripes about the progress of local developments, but “it happened too fast†is rarely one of them. Alas, with an estimated construction cost of $14.2 million and a proposed grand opening only 18 months away, that may actually be the case when it comes to the DEAL deal. In a town with such a determined lack of urgency to complete things, how did a project of this magnitude manage to advance from idea to implementation in less than eight weeks? Right now we’re chalking it up to some sort of miraculous divine intervention. Of course, we’d never rule out the possibility of a good ol’ fashioned shady backroom DEAL. With this many huge players involved, God only knows what all’s been said. But we can give you a general overview of how the project came about. Basically, the story goes like this: (more…) -
TWISler Update: The real deal with the DEAL
Published Feb. 3, 2011
TWISler Update: The real deal with the DEAL
Alrighty folks, the TWISler has some good news and some bad news for ya. The bad news is in last week’s Breakdown of the Design and Economic Acceleration Lab, aka the “DEAL,†we didn’t exactly frame the whole concept behind the project with perfect accuracy. The good news is that’s because none of the other local news sources managed to get it right either. But it’s understandable, seeing as how at the January 18 press conference Lars Hafner, president of the State College of Florida, said the DEAL would be a “new educational model housing all the agencies essential to the economic development equation.” Apparently, the plan is not to relocate all the economic development entities in Sarasota and Manatee Counties to Lakewood Ranch, only to provide an arena where all those groups can join forces and tag team businesses that are interested in moving to the area, while having all the resources and information they might need right there at their fingertips. (more…)