MARIANNA, Fla. – Counties from Escambia, to Jefferson, and everything in between, have vacant properties that just aren’t helping economic development. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection hosts an annual program that teaches county officials ways to help redevelop the properties. Often times, gas stations, laundromats, landfills and other old properties will be left vacant for years,…
DetailsThe city of Port St. Joe will seek to extend the term of its redevelopment agency, though the Board of County Commissioners has expressed its dissent. The Port St. Joe Redevelopment Agency, followed by the City Commission (all five commissioners sit on the PSJRA board with two at-large members) has approved moving ahead with extending…
DetailsOne of the big questions in urbanism is the degree to which culture shapes economic development. Traditionally, it was thought that culture follows from economic development: The more developed and affluent that a city becomes, the more money that it has to spend creating art galleries, museums, concert halls, and other cultural venues. But my own writing…
DetailsTampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn remembers how underutilized, underappreciated, and unattractive the city’s waterfront was when he first arrived in 1987. The blocks of offices and surface parking lots located downtown, near the confluence of the Hillsborough River and the bay, provided few reasons to come downtown beyond work. “The city had turned its back on…
DetailsNine groups are competing for up to $3 million in arts funding from the Tallahassee Community Redevelopment Agency. “The nine eligible applications will now be reviewed for compliance with Phase One criteria,” CRA Executive Director Roxanne Manning said. That criteria requires that the project be located within one of the two CRA districts and be…
DetailsThe Live Oak Community Redevelopment Agency rejected the bids on the project at Tuesday’s meeting, which would have added landscaping and bulb outs to the Court Street corridor in downtown. The low bid received was $83,774.06, which was more than $30,000 above the amount the board had budgeted for the project. The board had previously…
DetailsFort Lauderdale, FL (June 7, 2018) – On Friday, June 8th, 2018, the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale (HACFL), members of the StepUP Apprenticeship Initiative, along with Atlantic | Pacific Communities (A|P Communities) will be planting fruit trees donated by The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF) to the Northwest Gardens Pocket Park,…
DetailsWASHINGTON – Suwannee County Business Incentive Program has been recognized with an Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties (NACo). The awards honor innovative, effective county government programs that strengthen services for residents. NACo recognized “Suwannee County Business Incentives” program in the category of Community and Economic Development, this is a performance based tax…
DetailsAlmost from the day he joined the City Commission in 2014, Curtis Richardson has insisted on the need to expand the Greater Frenchtown/Southside Community Redevelopment District to include several blighted neighborhoods. “This is something I recognized as a need four years ago,” Richardson said today, after the Tallahassee Community Redevelopment Agency voted to expand the…
DetailsThere were no fireworks during Thursday’s Economic Opportunity Advisory Council meeting but the prospect for business growth was in the air. Economic board members heard updates on brownfields redevelopment, projects at Florida Hospital Flagler and plans by local fireworks maker Santore and Sons to expand operations in Bunnell. Read Full Article
DetailsMarriott International is bringing one of its upscale brands to the Cascades Project underway in downtown Tallahassee. AC Hotels by Marriott is building a $30-million, seven-story hotel with more than 5,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, which would be suitable for conventions, a longtime request of the business community. It also will have 154…
DetailsThe city has plans for an estimated $1.2 million Lake Lillian improvement project that includes a renovated community center, new playground, restrooms and trails. The city plans to pay for the project using proceeds from the Downtown Belleview Community Redevelopment Area. A portion of property taxes in the designated area go toward improvements. But the proceeds…
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