On Thursday, April 19^th, 2012- City leaders celebrated Ink Trax’s grand opening with an after hours block party. “Driving through downtown a year before I got elected, I was thinking about revitalization and this just kind of gives me goose bumps. This is what it’s all about. This is what the CRA is supposed to be doing”. Mayor Greg Brudnicki says.

GREAT DAY!

• The newly approved Sign Guidelines are being distributed to Sign professionals and various committee members of the Downtown and Downtown North CRA Districts.

• Ongoing meetings with A. D. Harris Improvement Society, Inc. regarding lease compliance and operational matters of “The Learning Village”.
• Initial meeting of the Community Engagement component of CAP was a success. The Glenwood Neighborhood Watch meeting included several new attendees as well as speaker Sgt. Edmunson, PCPD, speaking on Community Policing. The meeting was held at the Learning Village, Saturday April 14, 2012 from 12 noon to 2:00 pm.  Thanks go to Sgt. Edmundson.
• The Glenwood Neighborhood Watch, assisted by CAP staff from Gulf Coast Workforce Board, the CRA staff from the DT North, William Whitson, Director and students from Bay High and Rutherford and Teen Court clean two yards Saturday, April 28, 2012.  After the cleanup, the group returned to the Learning Village for refreshments. It was a good day!
• Downtown North/ Glenwood Working Partnership Design and Planning Committee continue to meet on the ^1st and ^3rd Mondays at 11:30 in the CRA office.
• The CRA Alley Crew has cleaned a total of 23 alleys as of April 30, 2012, with a total of 15 loads in a 22 yard container each.  Trash consists of tree limbs; brush, leaves concrete, construction materials etc. Thanks goes to the folks over in Maintenance. GO TEAM!
• The Glenwood Working Partnership will host its monthly meeting May 10, 2012 at 6:00 pm. The meeting is held at the Glenwood Community Center, 722 East 9^th Court. The Public is welcome.
• The ADHIS monthly board meeting is May 17, 2012 which begins at 5:30 pm and is located at 819 East 11^th Street, The Village. Public is welcome.
• The Downtown North would like to implement a Sidewalk Program. Staff accompanied by Engineering Staff has completed a series of walks to identify sites with required Right Of Way to implement our program.  This project will come to the CRA Board in June 2012.

The proposed sites are:

• Massalina Drive, south of 6^th Street( US Business 98) to 4^th Street;
• 7^th Street west of MLK to Hamilton Avenue, linking into existing sidewalk;
• Hamilton Avenue,  11^th Street north to 13^th Street;
• 12^th Street, south side, Wilson Ave west to Jenks Avenue. This will run from east of Bay High school, Wilson Avenue, crossing over Harrison Avenue, by the side of Dan- D- Donuts continuing to Jenks Ave. This will tie into the Jenks Professional Corridor Improvement project while providing connectivity to the high school.
• Cove Blvd, south of 6^th Street (U.S. 98) both sides to 4^th Street.

By: John Rehill, Bradenton Times

BRADENTON — At Manatee’s South County and Midtown CRA’s, success is shining through. The plans have taken root and the results  are even better than expected. Midtown is the star of success, and South county is coming up not far behind. That’s what happens when the right  people are working with the right businesses to make a neighborhood all  it can be.

Being at “the brink of skyrocketing” is what Allison Hewitt called  it. She and April Childers have been performing like true champions when it comes to rescuing Manatee County blight from the jaws of down and out. They both saw that the weathered buildings and forgotten infrastructure couldn’t hide the spirit and strength of the generation-deep residents.They took that spirit, talent and knowledge and drove it to the doors of promise.

Their bake-offs, car shows and farmers market, topped with some trimmed edges, good information and great advice have yielded promising  results: business is up, profits are up and so is morale. They aren’t taking a victory lap yet though. There is so much they still want to do, but it seems that the south part of town is in pretty good hands.

The CRA’s took a neighborhood survey of 250 business people and the returns told a very good story. There were 49 businesses expecting to continue to hire, 45 buying equipment, and crime was reported to be going down. See for yourself: get down south of town and check out a success story in the making. Johnny at J&J Bar-B-Que, or any of the many other business owners will be glad to attest to the area’s burgeoning success.

View the original article here.

By: Alyssa Cutter, Sun-Sentinel

Pawnshops and car repair stores are now banned from Margate’s Community Redevelopment Agency.

The city commission passed the ordinance after determining the area had enough of both types of businesses and decided to close it. The existing 81 car repair shops and nine pawnshops will be allowed to stay, but those types of businesses need no longer apply for vacant spaces within the district.

“We’re closing a loophole so that business owners do not get the impression they can open those businesses, come before this body, ask for an exception, and then get upset because they’ve invested. They’ve tried to move their business forward only to find out it’s inconsistent with the CRA plan,” City Manager Yolanda Rodriguez said. “We’re not getting rid of them, we’re just putting a moratorium on the number.”

Originally, the law would have also done away with secondhand stores, but commissioners and city residents asked for a better definition of what types of secondhand shops would be banned.

“What about thrift stores? There’s a heck of a lot of Margate citizens that use them, a heck of a lot of prominent Margate citizens, and even elected officials who have owned them,” Margate resident Robert Perkis said. “I don’t have a problem with them and I strongly object to anything that tries to get rid of them. I don’t think thrift stores, particularly charitable thrift stores, should have any restrictions on them.”

The commission took out the part about secondhand stores during the ordinance’s second reading. According to Director of Economic Development Ben Ziskal, city staff has a solution.

“We did realize that this is a broad brush strike-through of secondhand goods at the direction to remove the board brush addition of secondhand goods and staff has met and had delineated a list of different used items that we find desirable to the downtown, including record stores, baseball card stores, book stores,” Ziskal said. “There’s a whole number of different beneficial of secondhand goods.”

Resident Phil Hylander told the commission that this law could be damaging to Margate in the future, especially since if one of the current pawn or car repair shops went out of business and a new pawn or car repair shop didn’t replace it within six months, that space would no longer be available for those two types of businesses within the CRA district.

“I just think there are a lot of unintended consequences that are possibly going to come out of this, but we won’t know it for years down the road,” Hylander said. “But it could very well happen.”

However, Margate officials and city staff are confident the change will be for the best.

“We’re not banning these places of business in the city of Margate, just in the CRA area,” Commissioner Frank Talerico said. “We’re trying to improve the CRA area, we’ve done it with monument signs in the past [and] we’ve [had] a lot of improvements with plantings and greenery. We’re trying to make the city look nice. Again, we’re not trying to put someone out of business we’re just putting them in different parts of the city, that’s all.”

Something as simple as freshly painted entry signs can help rejuvenate the city’s eastern neighborhoods. Other projects on the city’s wish list, such as a world-class medical complex that would bring jobs and tax revenues, might be more difficult to accomplish. During a workshop, Sunrise officials discussed ways to encourage investment and redevelopment in the city’s struggling areas. Read the article here.

Turning blight into a destination

Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist’s “Innovation Destination” plan may be ambitious, even grandiose, but it offers a promising way to revive blighted neighborhoods in Tampa and Hillsborough County. Some areas within the community development district would be designated for tax increment financing, where any increases in property tax revenue are returned to the neighborhood for roads, drainage, street lights, police substations and other infrastructure needs. Read the article here.

Belleair demands Biltmore owners do more to protect it, or risk going to court

If the owners of the Belleview Biltmore don’t take definitive action to protect the historic landmark from further damage, the town of Belleair may take them to court. Read the article here.

County to hold meeting on proposed Mount Plymouth-Sorrento community redevelopment area

An informational meeting about the status of plans for a community-redevelopment area in east Lake will be held Thursday. Read the article here.

Alvin Brown’s downtown bill raising questions for Council about old ‘redevelopment areas’

To judge pieces of Mayor Alvin Brown’s downtown legislation, Jacksonville City Council members may need a history lesson on some past redevelopment bids. City General Counsel Cindy Laquidara told members of the Rules and Finance panels Wednesday she’s working on a white paper that breaks down any powers the council delegated away when it set up community redevelopment areas (also called CRAs) and boards to run them, something that started about 30 years ago. Read the article here.

An economic tale of two cities in Florida

Tourism will always shape central Florida’s image, but a very real, very modern economy also has emerged. Read the article here.

ST. PETERSBURG — The city’s downtown waterfront parks are a gem. Actually, says Phil Graham Jr. with conviction, they’re St. Petersburg’s most important asset.

The descendant of one of the city’s earliest settlers and landscape architect of the new Dalí Museum has come up with an idea to burnish the parklands in the city’s downtown that edge Tampa Bay.

His proposal, to create a Downtown Waterfront Park Foundation that would provide supplemental funding for maintenance and improvements for the city’s “cherished jewel,” was presented a few months ago to the City Council’s public services and infrastructure committee.

“Great memories are experienced and enlivened in the setting of the waterfront park environment. In fact, I’ve heard St. Petersburg’s beautiful waterfront compared to Monte Carlo … without the mountains,” Graham said.

“I decided that there are enough people in this city that love the waterfront parks as I do and would work to preserve and maintain them to the highest standards.”

The council supports the idea of the nonprofit, independent volunteer group. The idea is embraced by leisure and community services administrator Clarence Scott.

“We welcome the opportunity for the partnership and see it as a win-win opportunity,” he said.

As municipal budgets shrink, Scott said, “the phenomenon of the establishment of parks foundations is taking off across the country.”

St. Petersburg’s parks and recreation department has faced several years of cuts, he said. In 2000, the department had just under $1 million for maintenance of plants and turf, Scott said. In the past few years, though, money for such tasks as planting, fertilizing and sodding has dropped to about $290,000.

Speaking before the council committee, Graham said the financial constraints have been evident in fewer plantings of trees and seasonal flowers, replacement of shrubs and refurbishment of grassy areas. “The parks are losing their luster for lack of funds,” he said.

The foundation would help fill the gap, he promised.

Graham is already involved in a similar effort. He is a board member of the foundation that recently helped redevelop Pioneer Park at Central Avenue and Beach Drive, where an obelisk bears the names of St. Petersburg pioneers.

John Green, also a Pioneer Park Foundation board member, said the group contributed $46,900 to the recently completed project, which Scott said cost approximately $100,000. Pioneer Park, in the shadow of Bayfront Tower, was initiated by the foundation, Green said, which contracted with the city to build it and has provided funding through the years to help with maintenance.

The new foundation will focus on parks stretching from Flora Wylie Park, at 13th Avenue and North Shore Drive NE, to Poynter Park, at 1000 Third St. S.

A formation committee will meet in about a month.

“It’s really an opportunity to continue funding our parks to the brightest shine we can,” Graham said. “It’s like a gem and you want to keep polished.”

View the original article here.

The meeting will be at City Hall, 10770 W. Oakland Park Blvd.

Last week, commissioners approved a new incentive program that aims to lure investors to Sunrise by waiving up to 85 percent of prior outstanding liens upon compliance — with the opportunity to have the last 15 percent of the liens forgiven.

Investors also could be reimbursed up to 75 percent of the costs of building permit fees for qualifying commercial and multi-family properties.

“This incentive program is the first step in a multi-phase approach aimed at improving the vitality of our neighborhoods and business centers, including the original heart of the city,” said Mayor Mike Ryan. “It will support the city’s overall economic development goals of creating jobs, attracting capital investment, increasing commercial sales activity and lessening the tax burden of residents.”

For information about economic development and redevelopment incentive programs in Sunrise, call Economic Development Director Lou Sandora at 954-746-3430.

View the original article here.

Turning blight into a destination

Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist’s “Innovation Destination” plan may be ambitious, even grandiose, but it offers a promising way to revive blighted neighborhoods in Tampa and Hillsborough County.

He plans to discuss the proposal at Wednesday’s commission meeting.

Some areas within the community development district would be designated for tax increment financing, where any increases in property tax revenue are returned to the neighborhood for roads, drainage, street lights, police substations and other infrastructure needs.

Crist says tax incentives and a variety of other mechanisms would be used to fund improvements, attract private investment, create jobs and stabilize neighborhoods. With USF at the heart of the zone, he envisions it being attractive to innovative enterprises.

The concept faces considerable challenges and will demand collaboration among different governing bodies, but if it functions as Crist predicts, it would bring investment and renewal to blighted neighborhoods.

And as Crist points out, these impoverished neighborhoods, left to deteriorate, ultimately contaminate surrounding communities.

The proposed boundaries would run from Sligh Avenue in Tampa to the apex of I-75 and I-275. Florida Avenue would be the western border and I-75 mostly the eastern border.

The targeted area would include Sulphur Springs, New Tampa, Temple Terrace and the area around the University of South Florida, including the troubled neighborhood commonly known as Suitcase City.

It seems a cumbersomely large area, but Crist says it allows the needs of adjacent communities to be coordinated. He points out that crime in northeast Tampa threatens Temple Terrace; Suitcase City’s problems undermine neighborhoods to the north.

“One area affects another,” he says. “This was a way to look at things holistically.”

Guiding policy would be elected officials from Tampa, Temple Terrace and Hillsborough County and representatives of the affected communities. Crist stresses citizens must be involved to help make decisions at every level.

Crist points to the University Area Community Development Corp., which works on improvements in the Suitcase City area, as an example of a board that represents a community’s diverse interests.

The Innovation Destination plan builds, as Crist readily acknowledges, on the Tampa Innovation Alliance formed by the University of South Florida, Busch Gardens, the Moffitt Cancer Center and Florida Hospital Tampa.

The alliance, formed last year, seeks to refurbish the now unsightly roads leading to the university, the hospitals and the theme park. The group also wants to rebrand the North Tampa area.

The Innovation Destination plan would expand the goal to revitalizing neighborhoods throughout north Hillsborough.

If that’s accomplished, rebranding will take care of itself.

There are a lot of moving parts to this and exceptional intergovernmental cooperation would be required, but Crist’s creative approach could help bring economic development to persistently troubled neighborhoods. It merits serious analysis and discussion.

View the original article here.

ZEPHYRHILLS — City officials have been developing a vision for a thriving community, and on Monday evening, the council took the first step toward bringing those dreams to life.

The council gave its initial blessing to an ordinance that would nearly double the size of the Community Redevelopment Area, the specially targeted area for revitalization efforts. Council members also embraced a proposed Community Redevelopment Plan that provides a list of improvements for that targeted area.

The proposed plan includes creating more parking in downtown, beautifying the area, making the roads more user-friendly through design and street signs, creating more recreational facilities, such as expanding the tennis courts at Zephyr Park; creating greater tourism opportunities like hike and bike trails; and re-establishing Zephyrhills Spring Water as a destination and attraction by partnering with the water company.

“It looks like Disney World, so I’m thrilled,” council president Kent Compton said after he and the rest of the council members, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, accepted the plan.

The council later voted unanimously (with council member Jodi Wilkeson absent) to give initial approval to both ordinances. The measures will return for a final vote May 14.

Assistant city planner RJ Keetch said city and business leaders see the CRA and downtown development “as part of an overall economic development strategy and vision” and pointed to a recent Economic Development Task Force report stating its economic vision:

“The community of Zephyrhills will have a viable, renewable economic engine, which can support the needs and enhance the lifestyles of those living and working in the community. The task force envisions Zephyrhills as a model city that is a Mecca for healthy living and recreation, is a place with strong connected community that is showcased in a revitalized downtown, and is a place with a globally competitive business climate.”

The city originally created its redevelopment area in 1998 in Zephyrhills’ downtown core. The designation sets aside a portion of the property taxes for redevelopment efforts in that area. Previous projects have included purchasing land to expand Zephyr Park and providing grants to help property owners fix up their buildings.

The existing redevelopment area covers 138 acres.

Officials are looking to add four more subdistricts totaling 119 acres near Hercules Park, the historic district, Shepard Park Community and Lake Zephyr Park Community. Expanding the area will bring more money into the redevelopment fund and gives the city the leverage to clean up areas of blight, Keetch said.

“The whole idea is that it creates more taxable value, more valuable properties for owners and more funding for the city’s CRA,” he said. “It’s a win-win.”

While some of the ideas are way down the road, Keetch and other leaders see some key pieces, like once again implementing grants for property owners within the district to fix facades and cleaning up zoning to add more mixed-use parcels, as must-dos in the near future. The most important suggestion, though, is creating a CRA “Champion,” which is something the task force also recommended.

“I think having one person responsible and I think accountable, definitely helps to forward the plan,” Keetch said.

“That a key in order to make it successful.”

View the original article here.

A few years ago, Mayor Bob Buckhorn said, the Channel District was a ghost town.

There were many abandoned warehouses. There was no residential development. The district’s primary function was ancillary use to Tampa’s busy port.

Not anymore.

Demand grew for residential and commercial development. Creating a vibrant downtown is about putting together a puzzle, Buckhorn said, and pieces are filling in.

“There has never been a more exciting time in downtown’s history than there is right now,” he said. “Ten years from now, you will not recognize this place.”

Six businesses in the district have opened within a half-mile radius since late last year. A seventh business, BoConcept, is slated to open in late May or early June.

“Urban design is what we’re about, and I feel like it’s an area on the up,” BoConcept owner Ray Priddle said.

The new businesses range from a coffee shop to a hair salon. So far they have created 78 jobs and more reasons for people to come to the district.

Four of the businesses are within Grand Central at Kennedy at 1208 E. Kennedy Blvd. They are: eleventwenty Café Bistro, Sea Dog Cantina, Ragin’ Grill and the salon 1.0.

The two other new businesses are Victory Coffee & Tea Bar at 101 N. 12th St., and Twelfth Street Studio at 101 S. 12th St.

“The area is a hidden secret,” said John Oraha, who owns Sea Dog Cantina. “People don’t realize how much fun downtown Tampa is.”

Oraha has lived in Grand Central at Kennedy for 3½ years and opened the cantina Dec. 19.

His business already has tripled.

One day Oraha sees the area being similar to South Howard Avenue.

“We’re definitely growing,” he said. “Other people are moving in. It’s just going to take time. … I think every week, every month it’s just getting better. There is a need for a place like this. There is a need for a coffee shop and the Ragin’ Grill.”

Terry Riney, another Grand Central business owner, opened a dry cleaning store there 2 ½ years ago and eleventwenty Café Bistro on Jan. 26.

“What’s coming here is optimism,” Riney said. “People are willing to come and work. The biggest need is better transportation – a way for more people to come to the Channel District, to Channelside, to Ybor, to downtown.”

When Powerhouse Gym moved into Grand Central in June 2009, “At night you wouldn’t see anybody,” owner Eddy Midyett said. “Tumbleweeds would go through here.”

Now the gym is a notable example of the district’s growth: It opened with 300 members and 17,000 square feet. It now has more than 5,400 members and almost 40,000 square feet.

For salon owner Sonny D, who opened his business March 8, there’s nothing but optimism about the district.

“I’ve been seeing the development happen and wanting to be a part of it,” he said. “I see this area becoming the prime destination to not only live but also work and play in the Tampa Bay area.”

View the original article here.