Dwarfed by construction cranes already on the job site, city and county tourism officials joined representatives from Kolter Hospitality and KAST Construction for a groundbreaking to celebrate the Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Delray Beach. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By Christine Davis
Kolter Hospitality, the company developing the new Courtyard by Marriott, will move its headquarters from West Palm Beach to Delray’s Pineapple Grove District next summer. That news, announced by Kolter President Scott Webb after ground was broken for the hotel in July, is expected to bring 50 jobs, along with another 60 needed to run the Courtyard by Marriott, in addition to the 75 to 125 construction workers needed to build the hotel.
The 150-room hotel will have 2,000 square feet of meeting space and a rooftop pool and should open by September 2019. Rendering provided
The Courtyard by Marriott, at 135 SE Sixth Ave., will be Kolter’s second hotel in town, joining Hyatt Place. It is scheduled to be completed by September 2019.
“We see the value of investing in Delray’s economy and we are once again demonstrating this commitment,” Webb said. “The interesting thing about the hotel business is, we are not competitive with the local economy, but rather more symbiotic in nature. This hotel will put, on average, about 175 people every day out into the community looking to eat and shop, and this, in turn, will create even more jobs for Delray.”
According to Kolter’s website, the hotel will have 150 guestrooms, 2,000 square feet of meeting space, a rooftop pool and parking.
Jeb A. Conrad started work as the new president and CEO of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce in May. Previously, he was the president of the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce in Indiana. Conrad, a graduate of Indiana University School of Business, held leadership roles at Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance and Indianapolis Economic Development. He also worked for Simon Property Group and the Indianapolis Water Co., both based in Indianapolis.
During the second annual Downtown Delray Beach Summer Sidewalk Sale, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 25-26, shops and galleries will offer savings and a chance to win a “Summer Fun Delray Beach” prize package. For details, visit DowntownDelrayBeach.com/SidewalkSale.
As it does each August, the Boca Chamber is facilitating community-building events during Boca Chamber Festival Days 2018. Events pair the chamber’s for-profit members with nonprofit members. Held at various locations in South Palm Beach County, wine tastings, museum visits, cocktail parties, pizza tossing, bowling, and a karaoke contest will raise money and awareness for nonprofit members. To take part, visit bocaratonchamber.com and click on events, then choose community events from the drop-down menu. Navigate to August for a full list.
The Boca Chamber Education Foundation’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy is enrolling students in grades 6-12 through Sept. 14. During the 25-week curriculum, students will work with leaders of industry, community members and educators to develop life skills, generate business ideas, conduct market research, write business plans and launch their own companies. The program culminates with a shark tank-style event where students will pitch their ideas to a panel of investors and ask for funds to support their business ventures. For more information, go to bocaratonchamber.com/yea.
Ranked from nearly 14,000 U.S. real estate sales associates, a handful of local agents made “The Thousand” list, which is compiled by Real Trends, an online real estate research and consulting firm, done in partnership with The Wall Street Journal. For individual agents to be ranked, they must have closed 50 sides of a transaction or $20 million in closed sales volume in 2017.
Paul Saperstein of Re/Max Advantage Plus of Boynton Beach closed 137 sides, and was ranked 198. For volume, David Roberts of Royal Palm Properties, Boca Raton, was ranked 34, with a volume of almost $189 million in closed sales. Pascal Liguori, an agent with Premier Estate Properties, Delray Beach, was ranked 45, with a closed sales volume of $167.759 million.
For team rankings, the team must have closed 75 sides of a transaction or $30 million in closed sales volume in 2017. Boca Raton’s Premier Estate Properties team, D’Angelo/Liguori, with Carmen D’Angelo, Gerard Liguori and Joseph Liguori, ranked 241 with a closed sales volume of $126.11 million.
Gail Adams Aaskov, broker of Ocean Ridge Realty, has moved her office to 326 W. Boynton Beach Blvd., Boynton Beach. Her real estate office had been a fixture in Ocean Ridge since 1981. Agents Maria Carrasco, Christiane Francois, Al Fries, Albert Medina, Denise Medina and Sandy Wolforth and Administrative Assistant Sonia Wexler will continue their real estate work from this new location. Contact them at 276-3220.
Next month, Lang Realty will launch a lifestyle real estate channel, Lang TV to stream worldwide online (at (langrealty.tv), featuring South Florida agents, real estate, lifestyle activities, interior design and travel.
“As marketing platforms continue to evolve, this innovative format is designed to provide our agents with a competitive advantage in connecting with potential home buyers, sellers, other agents and local businesses throughout South Florida,” said Scott Agran, president of Lang Realty.
Produced by BYL Network, Lang TV will stream on smart TVs and will broadcast throughout Lang’s 11 offices and online at langrealty.com. For more information, call 998-0100.
More than 300 guests attended the opening of the new Movie Bistro Restaurant and Bar in May. Following complimentary cocktails and appetizers, guests attended a complimentary movie on Cinemark Palace 20 and XD’s Premier level. Movie Bistro, a full-service restaurant at Cinemark Palace 20 and XD, 3200 Airport Road, Boca Raton, offers lunch, dinner, happy hour and dessert, whether diners plan on going to movies or not.
The second annual Culinary Job Fair is set for 2 p.m. Aug. 7 at Benvenuto Restaurant in Boynton Beach.
It’s the brainchild of Sherry Johnson of the Secret Garden, a culinary business development center.
Sponsored by the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, the city of Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County, PNC Bank, Community Action and PBC Career Resource Center, it’s meant to help anyone looking for a job in hospitality. That includes chefs, front- and back-of-house workers, prep cooks, stockers, deli specialists, nutritionists, bartenders and dishwashers.
The list of vendors participating is available online at cccgbb.org/culinary-job-fair.
Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.
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