Revitalization of Leesburg’s Pine Street Children running to a nearby ice-cream truck gave the only sign of activity Friday afternoon along a stretch of boarded-up businesses near dilapidated structures and vacant buildings in the 300 block of Pine Street. Hoping to rejuvenate what’s left of the once flourishing black commercial section in the city, a…
1000 Friends of Florida is presenting its “Community Steward Award” to the Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Consortium at the December 10 meeting of the Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency. “Lake Worth is to be commended for its vision and creativity,” says 1000 Friends of Florida President Charles Pattison. “Thanks to a strong and effective partnership,…
Consultants recommend initiatives for revitalizing downtown Tallahassee Downtown Tallahassee, poised for a resurgence on several levels, can build on its current successes by maintaining that momentum and implementing six priority initiatives, consultants recommended this morning. The downtown area has been the subject of “reconnaissance and strategic assessment” the past three months by the Montreal consulting…
After decades of debate, South Miami breaks ground on public pool When former Harlem Globetrotter (and then-South Miami city commissioner) Leroy “Spike” Gibson proposed building a public pool in the city in 1968, the project seemed to fill a necessary void in the community. This month, South Miami finally broke ground on the Murray Park…
Rail company unveils plans for downtown Lauderdale station FORT LAUDERDALE — A largely ignored area at the north edge of downtown could be transformed into a new city center, with housing and retail rising around a landmark rail station that connects people to trains, buses and streetcars. All Aboard Florida, the private Miami-Orlando passenger rail…
First Ever Conference on Reuse of Closed Gas Stations We were excited to announce earlier this week what we believe is the first-ever national conference to focus exclusively on the redevelopment and reuse of closed gas station sites across the United States. The event, scheduled for May 20 – 23, 2014, and conveniently located in…
Fernandina CRA Advisory Board weighs strategies for success On November 14, 2013, the second floor conference room at Fernandina Beach City Hall was the setting for the first post-election meeting of the CRA Advisory Board. Members briefly discussed the resounding defeat in the November 5 election of the referendum to remove a 2% arbitrary size…
State CRA Audit Plans Change A Florida Legislature’s joint auditing committee is dropping its inquiry of Hallandale Beach’s questionable use of local redevelopment funds at the urging of two area state senators, one a longtime acquaintance of Mayor Joy Cooper. Democratic Sens. Eleanor Sobel and Oscar Braynon II, representing portions of Hallandale Beach, could not…
ORANGE PARK – A plan that would allow beautified gateway-like entrances to be established in the Town of Orange Park is up in the air. Vice Mayor Marge Hutton has been leading the discussion on what are called Community Redevelopement Areas or CRAs. The town’s Economic Development Committee has identified an area of town that…
Biltmore hotel’s days may be numbered BELLEAIR – Town commissioners gave tentative approval to create a new zoning designation at their regular meeting on Nov. 19 and it fits with what might happen on the 20 acres of land now occupied by the empty Belleview-Biltmore Hotel. In fact Belleair Commissioners seemed to be prepared to…
Developer plans 1,000-foot bayfront tower in downtown Miami A prominent Miami developer is getting ready to unveil a proposal for a colossal bayfront observation tower and vertical — not to say vertigo-inducing — amusement center in downtown Miami that he believes will become the city’s analogue to the Eiffel Tower. The SkyRise Miami tower would…
Finding a solid direction for Fairbanks Avenue – Winter Park Sometimes, Commissioner Steve Leary said, charting your future can be as simple as giving someone directions. When institutions in Winter Park give people directions to get here courtesy of a highway exit that goes through Orlando – and not through Winter Park itself – that…
