Tampa – Channelside 2.0

TAMPA — Developers envisioned a bustling entertainment and dining district on the edge of downtown Tampa when Channelside Bay Plaza opened 15 years ago. Built along Tampa’s seaport, there wasn’t anything like it downtown. The $49 million outdoor complex was meant to be a hang-out spot for locals and also serve tourists who stayed in…

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Building art is the new chic

The original plan for a mural on the ocean-facing wall of Fat Kahuna’s Beachside Grille in Cocoa Beach called for a shark. However, Cocoa Beach, which provides matching funds for murals and other artistic beautification efforts, nixed the shark idea. While the city did want a beach/ocean motif, sharks were not the image Cocoa Beach…

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Polk County Hotel Boom

LAKELAND — Claudia Tritton and other members of the Lakeland Economic Development Council recently met with some of the city’s largest employers. Part of the LEDC’s mission is to generate jobs and capital investment by attracting companies to the area and helping existing businesses expand. Tritton said one of the biggest takeaways from those recent…

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Jacksonville Addresses Blight

Jacksonville has well-documented blight issues: so well documented, in fact, there was a city council special committee to deal with that issue alone. Though legislation was passed earlier in 2016 regarding the city’s inventory of 436 tax-reverted parcels, the reality is that the number of properties with active liens on them dwarf that. Liens can…

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