Business new briefs

Housing starts down

Home builders in 2009 started construction on 3,545 homes in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Hernando counties.

That's compared to 4,721 home starts in the 2008, according to Houston-based Metrostudy, which compiled the numbers.

Builders began the year poorly, starting construction on 710 homes in the first quarter. By the third quarter, however, deals were boosted by the first-time homebuyer tax credit. Construction started on 1,031 homes during that quarter. There were 880 starts during the fourth quarter.

One positive noted by Metrostudy is the number of completed homes sitting vacant. That number has decreased 11 consecutive quarters in the Tampa area. In the fourth quarter, there were 1,931 finished, vacant homes in the area.

House starts in recent years have been lackluster compared to the real estate boom times at mid-decade. For perspective, in just one quarter in 2005 - during the home construction boom - builders started work on more than 6,600 homes.

Rail funding pledge

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has said he expects the Obama administration to approve Florida's request for high speed rail stimulus funds to create a Tampa-to-Orlando route by 2014 that could create thousands of jobs.

"I think the decision has already been made," Nelson told a group of more than 50 business and elected officials gathered at Union Station, where rail advocates made an 11th-hour plea to lobby the White House for Florida's $2.3 billion bid. "I think it will be favorable for us for a number of reasons."

Nelson said top Washington officials with whom he has spoken will not reveal the funding decision before the White House makes its announcement sometime this winter - perhaps within a matter of weeks.

But he said Florida will prevail, based on talks with Administration officials in addition to rationale in Florida's favor including the state's "ready to go" project has a right of way, environmental permits and job creation plans in line with stimulus goals.

Nelson said as many as 23,000 jobs, including 600 permanent ones, could be created. The state has estimated 15,000 jobs could be created for construction alone of the Tampa-to-Orlando route.

Airport traffic surge

Passenger traffic at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport rose 23 percent in November to 49,653 travelers, all of them on domestic flights.

USA 3000 resumed service between the Pinellas airport and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Dec. 17; Locair began Bahamas flights on Dec. 18; and Sunwing Airlines resumed Toronto flights on Dec. 21.

Allegiant Air, which serves 20 destinations from the airport and accounts for 87 percent of the passenger traffic there, added flights to Bangor, Maine, on Nov. 20.

More Trump suits

Ten more individuals and companies have joined a lawsuit against The Trump Organization and Donald Trump, saying they were duped into investing millions of dollars in the failed Trump Tower Tampa Project. There are now 41 plaintiffs, and they say they purchased because they thought Trump himself was building the property.

The real developer was SimDag/Robel LLC. Trump leased his name to be used on the project to induce buyers to purchase, according to the lawsuit, which was originally filed in November in Hillsborough County Circuit Court. Because of jurisdictional reasons, the suit has been moved to U.S. District Court in Tampa.

The 52-story tower was supposed to be built along the Hillsborough River on Ashley Street in downtown Tampa. The developer ended up filing for bankruptcy. Trump sued SimDag in 2007 for unpaid fees and for not completing the tower. A settlement agreement was reached in that case, but Trump filed another suit against four of the company's principals in December. According to that suit, the defendants stopped making payments.

Cypress Gardens bought

The company behind Legoland in California and other parks in Europe has purchased the struggling Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven.

A spokeswoman for U.K.-based Merlin Entertainments Group said the company bought Cypress Gardens, its Splash Island water park and the botanical gardens for an undisclosed sum. Julie Estrada, Merlin's U.S. spokeswoman, wouldn't give any further details, but said it would reveal its plans for the property at a Thursday press conference.

Merlin operates 59 attractions, six hotels and two holiday villages, according to a company statement. Its holdings include Legoland, a theme park based on the children's toys, which has locations in Carlsbad, Calif., the United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark. It also operates other attractions including the Madame Tussauds wax museums and a chain of aquariums called Sea Life.

Merlin bought Cypress Gardens from Mulberry-based Land South Adventures earlier this month, according to Polk County public records. While Merlin wouldn't reveal its purchase price, it appeared from land records that Merlin paid $22.3 million for the park. That is based on the amount of documentary stamp taxes that Merlin paid on the property, said Mike Hartnett, real estate director for the Polk County Property Appraiser's Office.

-MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE