Ryland Homes embraces the Internet

Mar. 5--M/I Homes has moved into its new division headquarters at 300 Colonial Center Parkway near Lake Mary. The 35,000-square-foot operation includes a 7,100-square-foot design center that is scheduled to open in May.

Most home builders probably feel the same way, but Bass has had especially satisfying results from the World Wide Web. "Just five years ago, Internet leads accounted for well under 10 percent of new-home sales, and builders were wondering whether the Internet would ever prove a substantial factor," Bass said.

But it has. Bass said that last year 34 percent of Ryland's Orlando division sales started with an Internet contact. Such contact arrived through both the company's Web site and from various Realtor Web sites, Bass said.

The average price of an Orlando Ryland home sold last year: $334,000.

New home

Moving up

Longtime local real estate executive Marc S. Reicher has been appointed senior vice president of operations at ChampionsGate, the 1,500-acre resort under development southwest of Walt Disney World. Reicher has been involved in the resort since the beginning.

Leasing. . .

Silicon Optix Inc. rented 18,425 square feet in the Challenger South building in Central Florida Research Park in east Orange County. Jeff McFadden and Heidi Adams, both of Taurus Southern Investments LLC, and Mark Stratman of the Staubach Co. handled the transaction. . . .

Your Office USA will open an executive suite operation in 19,000 square feet on the 15th floor of The Plaza's north office tower in downtown Orlando. Roger Soderstrom, owner of Stirling Sotheby's International Realty, which is opening a real estate gallery on the top floor, is a partner in the mini-suite project. . . .

Wells Fargo Bank N.A. leased 6,988 square feet of office space at Capital Plaza Two in downtown Orlando. Catherine Reeves of Highwoods Properties and Shane O'Neil of Studley Inc. were the brokers. . . .

Ghyabi and Associates of Ormond Beach took 6,000 square feet of office space at 255 Primera Blvd. in Lake Mary. Ida Rood of Crescent Resources and John Wickert of NAI Realvest handled the transaction. . . .

Solis Brands Inc. rented 2,573 square feet of space at North Lake Business Center in Altamonte Springs. Mary Francis West of NAI Realvest represented the tenant.

Construction. . .

Clancy & Theys Construction Co. was the contractor on the $1.2 million remodel of BB&T Bank's offices at 605 N. Orlando Ave. in Winter Park. . . .

Roger B. Kennedy Inc., Altamonte Springs, was selected for $1 million in work on the Johnny Miller golf course at Harmony in Osceola County. . . .

Pertree Constructors, Orlando and Jacksonville, is working on the first phase of Gibbs Plaza in DeLand. The contractor also is building the initial phase of Seminole Business Center Two on State Road 46 in Sanford. . . .

Kelly Electric LLC is wrapping up electric work at the Disney Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. Hardin Construction Co. is the construction manager. Kelley currently is involved in other projects totaling more than $19 million. . . .

Aagaard-Juergensen completed the $725,000 remodel of the two-story, 5,800-square foot-office building at 1089 Morse Blvd. in Winter Park. . . .

Mainsail Development Group LLC, Orlando, has started work on the 27,000-square-foot Cypress Station retail/office plaza in Winter Haven. . . .

Rey DevCo -- the land-development arm of Rey Group -- is building the 20,000-square-foot, $3.5 million Toscana Office Park at 1720 N. Goldenrod Road. The project is scheduled to be finished by April. . . .

Tri-City Electrical Contractors, Altamonte Springs, is doing $2.5 million in electrical work on an elementary school in Melbourne. The company finished work on the Embassy Suites Hotel at Lake Buena Vista. . . .

Success

D&A Building Services has boosted revenue from $7 million to $18.5 million in five years. The staff has increased from 500 to 950. The company just relocated its offices from Altamonte Springs to Longwood.