SARASOTA – Berenise Ahumada wanted to get foot traffic. The owner of leather goods store Eleganza, Ahumada opened a storefront January in downtown Sarasota. She has operated a second store at Tampa’s International Mall for 14 years. By moving downtown, she thought customers would be more likely to stumble upon her store. Ahumada is part…
DetailsDELAND — A Courtyard by Marriott hotel could break ground by the end of the year, bringing more than 100 new hotel rooms to downtown DeLand. DeLand City Commissioners cleared the way for the hotel project Monday night when they approved with very little discussion the demolition of two historic buildings on the north end…
DetailsSARASOTA, Fla. – The detour signs went up Monday night on 1st Street across from Sarasota City Hall. It’s in preparation for the big change coming Wednesday at the busy downtown intersection at Main and Orange, as city commissioners approved $1.3 million for a roundabout. So how will closing down this major intersection affect nearby…
DetailsSARASOTA – The city and county both desperately want something from each other, but it’s unlikely either will get its wish. For the city, it’s an extension of the Downtown Community Redevelopment Agency, which has funneled $76 million into projects in Newtown and the urban core. Commissioners voiced unanimous approval for extending it — perhaps…
DetailsPANAMA CITY — After about a decade of living in the heart of downtown Panama City in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Gayle Paynter and Brian Humboldt are eager to get back to where they feel most at home. “It’s a modest home, not huge … but very industrial,” Humboldt said Wednesday, pointing out…
DetailsOn Monday, Sarasota city commissioners will revisit an issue that has important implications for the future: the community redevelopment district, whose key funding source is scheduled to expire in September 2016. The funding mechanism — known as tax-increment financing — has helped grow the downtown tax base by more than 300 percent since 1986. More…
DetailsTAMPA — After decades of growing out, Hillsborough County now wants to grow from within. To get there, the county is jumping onto the latest trend in urban planning: building an innovation district. Hillsborough’s proposed 2016 budget includes $2 million to create a master plan for redeveloping the area around University of South Florida. The…
DetailsTAMPA — The group that helped create the Riverwalk wants to pay tribute to three of the most significant events in Tampa’s history. Friends of the Riverwalk unveiled concepts Friday for monuments honoring the introduction of the cigar industry to Tampa, the connection of Henry Plant’s railroad to Tampa’s port and World War II. “We…
DetailsHOLLY HILL — The former school property on Center Street just north of LPGA Boulevard may appear nondescript, but Jayson Meyer sees in it a golden opportunity. The owner of Daytona Beach-based Synergy Billing envisions turning the 25-acre former Holly Hill Middle School property into a “Google East”-style office park, similar to those in Silicon Valley. His…
DetailsPLANT CITY City code inspectors say Cornerstone Center has removed overgrown vegetation and an infestation of wasps that led to the city issuing code violations last month. A reinspection found that the alleged violations have been corrected at the historic building, City Code Enforcement Manager Tray Towles said. This was the second time this year…
DetailsWhen it comes to downtown neighborhoods, Fort Myers residents are mainly concerned with one thing: getting around. About 70 people attended a public meeting Tuesday about the redevelopment of central Fort Myers, hoping to share ideas, visions and concerns about what the future might hold. Central Fort Myers – which is bordered by U.S. 41,…
DetailsThe Miami Worldcenter retail and residential complex won approval Tuesday for a special taxing district in the city’s Overtown neighborhood, fending off a fierce challenge by community and labor organizers. At issue was a taxing mechanism designed to let developers fund about $72 million in infrastructure improvements through a special assessment charged on their properties’…
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