ORLANDO-Developer Philip Emmer defends his planned 252 unit, 816 bedroom, 45-acre Portofino community on grounds that two other apartment complexes and commercial ventures exist nearby in east Seminole County, five miles north of the 35,000-student University of Central Florida campus.

ORLANDO-Sluggish demand and mountains of sublease space translate to tighter guidelines, but prime existing and redevelopment projects can still qualify for 7% money, mortgage bankers tell GlobeSt.com.

ORLANDO-The executive vice president for sales and travel operations at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and his colleagues at the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, are racing the clock to rejuvenate the area's sagging hospitality industry.

ORLANDO-The executive vice president for sales and travel operations at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and his colleagues at the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, are racing the clock to rejuvenate the area's sagging hospitality industry.

ORLANDO-Poultry producer Tarek Fakieh of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, has opened Taza, a 7,000-sf, 180-seat restaurant on Sand Lake Road at the Florida Mall in south Orlando and plans to open two other units this year.

ORLANDO-Sluggish demand and mountains of sublease space translate to tighter guidelines, but prime existing and redevelopment projects can still qualify for 7% money, mortgage bankers tell GlobeSt.com.

ORLANDO-Aoki Corp., one of the top 10 general contractors in Japan and a hotel builder in Orlando, is restructuring and considering shedding its timeshare companies after filing for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo in November. The 400-unit Lake Buena Vista, FL resort near Walt Disney World, however, is still in business.

ORLANDO-George D. Livingston, the area's biggest real estate booster, tells GlobeSt.com in this exclusive article, "the economy has bottomed and Q1 2002 will be positive." Other industry watchers, however, aren't that confident. But all feel a major rally will be in the works by year-end.