New project with shops, homes may be on tap for area near SunRail station

A South Florida developer is eyeing 18 acres near the SunRail station in southwest Orlando for a possible mixed-use development. Miami-based developer MIR Developments LLC is marketing a project that would include apartments, luxury townhomes and a two-story office-and-retail building on Sand Lake Road and Orange Avenue near the existing commuter rail station. Landowner Sandlake…

Zoning changes would protect ‘unique character’ of downtown Pensacola, firm says

Zoning changes could protect the character of downtown neighborhoods, the Pensacola City Council and planning board heard during a presentation Monday. Pensacola’s Community Redevelopment Agencyhired the urban design and planning firm DPZ to develop new overlay zones to guide revitalization in the city’s three Community Redevelopment Agency districts. Marina Khoury, a partner at the DPZ firm,…

Redevelopment Worked

The 2018 Legislative Session concluded with no changes passed to the laws that govern Community Redevelopment Agencies! We want to thank our intrepid lobbyists, our members, our community leaders and the citizens of Florida for believing in #CRAs statewide. You are the reason #RedevelopmentWorks. To learn more about the 2018 session, read our latest newsletter here!

‘Don’t Fort Lauderdale St. Petersburg.’ Dunkin’ drive-through fails

ST. PETERSBURG — Business owner Sarah Arrazola delivered the rallying cry Wednesday for those opposing a developer’s bid to open a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-through in downtown: “Please don’t Fort Lauderdale St. Petersburg,” she told the Development Review Commission. The Orlando developer, Jonathan Moore, defended the project from charges that it would dilute the city’s local…

News from the SEOPW CRA

CRA Board Approves the Purchase of 19 Housing Units at Town Park Plaza North The Southeast Overtown / Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (“CRA”) can now add homeownership opportunities to its list of goals for Overtown. On March 1, the CRA Board of Commissioners approved $700,000 to purchase nineteen (19) townhouses at Town Park Plaza…

House bill could eliminate CRAs, lead to more sprawl in Florida | Thumb down

Treasure Coast Newspapers Editorial Board Treasure Coast Newspapers Feb. 28, 2018 Sometimes, legislative bills metastasize. Case in point would be Florida House Bill 883, which started out as a measure designed to expand Community Development Districts, or CDDs, which are created by property owners who then sometimes use the CDD to borrow money, make improvements,…