A controversial plan to eliminate two road-improvement fees charged to developers and replace them with something called a mobility plan, with rates some argue are too low, will be considered by Sarasota County commissioners at a public hearing Tuesday. If adopted, the mobility plan would supplant the existing system of road impact fees that Sarasota…
DetailsDick Rosedale remembers a time in the 1980s when “you could roll a bowling ball” down Canal Street because of the lack of activity in the the city’s mainland downtown district. While the business climate there has waxed and waned since then, it seemingly hit critical mass in June 2011 when Canal Street was pocked with empty…
DetailsNEW SMYRNA BEACH — City commissioners voted 4-1 on Tuesday to approve the request by developers of a proposed 114-room beachfront hotel to build closer to the ocean, a critical step for the project to move forward. Poseidon Hotel Ventures, which is planning to build a SpringHill Suites by Marriott on about 1½ acres just…
DetailsIn April, a Palm Beach company paid an eye-popping $20 million for two buildings in downtown Delray Beach. The buildings, at 326 and 400 E. Atlantic Ave., are known as the George buildings, after the family that owned them for decades. Now, at least one of the buildings is getting a face-lift. Menin Development recently…
DetailsIt’s common for a shopping center in Boynton Beach to get a facelift. It seems like it’s happening all the time in the city. But what’s likely to happen at Riverwalk Plaza at Woolbright Road and Federal Highway will be more than a facelift. The plaza currently has a vacant Winn-Dixie as its anchor, and…
DetailsOn August 25, 2015, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner announced the designation of Crystal River and Fernandina Beach as Florida Main Street communities. Main Street designation offers a comprehensive strategy from the statewide Florida Main Street Program to support local revitalization and historic preservation efforts. “As the Florida Main Street Program celebrates its 30th…
DetailsFlorida Community Loan Fund is pleased to announce it is a recipient of $3.5 million from the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund. • $2 million in Financial Assistance (FA), and • $1.5 million from the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI). FCLF’s Award is the largest of the 5 Florida organizations to receive an award through this competitive process. Since…
DetailsTAMPA — Jeff Vinik’s ambitions go beyond winning Stanley Cups and revitalizing downtown Tampa. He says he also wants to help improve the health of the community. “We’ve got the $1 billion-plus real estate development going on, and wellness and health (are) such a big part of what we are thinking,” the developer and owner…
DetailsCalifornia has moved one step closer to the return of redevelopment and the controversial power to seize private property through eminent domain. The state Senate approved legislation Wednesday that would give local governments the power to create new entities, known as community revitalization authorities, to stimulate economically-depressed or crime-ridden areas. Assembly Bill 2 would grant these new…
DetailsDespite lingering questions about funding, Tri-Rail trains are expected to begin operating between downtown Miami and Palm Beach County by 2017, the commuter rail service’s chief said Wednesday. “It’s going to happen,” said Jack Stephens, executive director of Broward-based South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, SFRTA. “We’re looking at having it operational in the first or…
DetailsSARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — For 70 years, the 30 acres between South Tamiami Trail and the Intercoastal Waterway near Sarasota Square Mall have remained relatively untouched. Oliver Mitchell bought the land in 1935 at a great depression discount, and in 2006, grandson Elling Eide sold part of it for 30 million dollars. When asked how…
DetailsWhile many of the stakeholders in the CRA district think that streetscaping is a great way to improve the look of the area, the plan to make it happen through revolving loans might not be the best way. That is what a packed house at the Chester Street Resource Center told the CRA advisory board…
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