CONSTRUCTION Development in (Florida) accounts for nearly 13 percent of retail assets under construction nationwide. So reveals an August report authored by JLL Partners, a New York-based private equity firm that specializes in leveraged buyout transactions. Tampa Bay leads the way in terms of square footage under construction (1.43 million square feet). Case in point is the Sarasota Mall at University Town Center, which opens in mid-October. The $315 million project, totaling 880,000 square feet, has been under construction since 2012.

Want more evidence of a construction boom? Since opening a regional office in Orlando three years ago, Moss & Associates has been busy. Projects range from Tampa’s new Crescent Bayshore apartment community and hotels under construction in St. Petersburg to construction planning for Orlando Health’s former downtown property and for a large-scale
hospitality project in Daytona. EDUCATION. Robert Huth, vice president for business and chief financial officer at Stetson University, was named 2014 Distinguished Business Officer by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Huth oversees the university’s budget and financial functions, including technology, human resources, investments and facilities. Notably, facility-related projects that Stetson completed in the summer of 2014 total more than $3.5 million.

The University of Florida is leaving few stones unturned in its quest to gain preeminence official designation as one of the nation’s top 10 public research universities. At the core of its Preeminence Plan is the mass hiring of top-tier faculty. UF is also offering a Trailing Spouse Program by finding or creating positions for them in their areas of expertise. In addition, UF has a referral program for the non-academic partners of new faculty. Armed with $15 million in annual state preeminence funding, UF plans to hire as many as 130 new faculty to support preeminence.
Label this cashing inn.  At its one-year anniversary, the Alfond Inn at Rollins College is exceeding expectations. High occupancy rates at the 112-room boutique hotel have resulted in $3.2 million in projected net operating income for 2014, which will fund full scholarships for students at the nationally ranked liberal arts school. Owned by Rollins, the inn cost $32.5 million to build and was funded in part by a $12.5-million lead gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation; the additional $20 million was financed by the school’s cash reserve.