It could just be an office building. But indications are that Baptist Health Care would like the redevelopment project it is considering at its Moreno and E streets headquarters to be more. The hospital’s project, which is in the preliminary planning phase, is being thought of as catalyst for injecting new economic and social life…
PORT ORANGE — City officials will break ground today on more than $1 million worth of improvements to its riverfront, including a canoe and kayak launch on the Halifax River. Riverwalk Park will be built a few blocks north of Dunlawton Avenue, and this phase of construction will include the canoe launch, a trailhead facility…
The panhandle city of Lynn Haven offers young families a balance of affordability and quality. The median home value of $182,800 is 18% below the top 10 average of $223,930, and more than a quarter of households are families with children. Lynn Haven was first settled in 1911, and the downtown around Main Street has…
A recent morning in downtown Tampa could not have been more perfect had city boosters photoshopped the whole thing. Sunlight bathed the tall shiny buildings as people walked and jogged the newly opened ribbon of Riverwalk, following its curves along the edge of the city. A leashed beagle stopped to socialize with a setter. People…
THE ISSUE: Inverness CRA expansion. OUR OPINION: Approval promises to make Inverness even better. The foresight of Jim Sanders converted open pastures into the development of Sugarmill Woods, known for its unique natural greenbelt. Stan Olsen’s imagination transformed an abandoned limestone quarry into a world-class golf course. And the farsightedness of Sam Tamposi created the Villages of Citrus Hills, that’s among…
Should the city of Jacksonville get into the property management business? That’s really what the city would be doing by creating a land bank, an idea being championed by Councilman Bill Gulliford as a way to turn blighted properties from derelict sites to property gems, from civic eyesores to eye-catching developments. Gulliford’s idea could hold…
TALLAHASSEE — Florida legislators late Monday night completed work on a new state budget, securing $29 million for two major construction projects at the University of South Florida and rejecting a third. In an avalanche of spending deals ratified shortly before midnight, lawmakers agreed to give $17 million to USF to move the Morsani College…
The city of Gainesville is considering making part of northwest Gainesville a new Community Redevelopment Area, and on June 25 the public will have a chance to learn more about this process during an informational meeting. To address blight as well as other issues, local governments can create CRAs. Tindale-Oliver and Associates was hired by the…
DAYTONA BEACH — When Danielle Kaeufer opened her medical supply company on Orange Avenue, friends wondered why she chose Midtown. “Why are you going there?” Kaeufer, who owns Daytona Peoples Medical Supply, recalled being asked. “People didn’t understand. They were afraid to come into the area.” With some encouraging and convincing, customers eventually began coming.…
LAND O’ LAKES — Every day, Elizabeth Villanova drives past a series of vacant buildings and eyesores that dot the 7-mile stretch of U.S. 41 between the State Road 54 intersection and her home in Connerton. She’s waited eight years for things to improve. When they didn’t, she and other Land O’ Lakes residents asked…
ZEPHYRHILLS — The Zephyrhills Community Redevelopment Area neighborhood cleanup program will hold its first one-day cleanup from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 25, according to CRA Director Gail Hamilton. The first cleanup will be in the areas between Sixth and 12th avenues and Seventh and 20th streets. Those participating in the cleanup campaign…
The City of New Port Richey is seeking “Statements of Qualifications” from professional firms to provide assistance in amending the City’s sign regulations. The scope of work to be performed includes the drafting of amendments to the sign regulations in the City’s Land Development Code, ordinance preparation and presentations to the Land Development Review Board…
On June 9, 2015, the Fernandina Beach City Commission held a special meeting to discuss partnering with the Amelia Island-Fernandina Beach-Yulee Chamber of Commerce to support the Florida Main Street Program. The vote was 4 – 1 on the motion to have the city attorney prepare a resolution of support for the June 16 regular…
CRYSTAL RIVER — A project intended to revitalize Crystal River’s downtown is one step closer after city officials approved a three-year budgetary pledge on Monday. Members of the of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) — who also sit separately as the city council — approved $104,212 to be allocated the Florida Main Street Program…
CRYSTAL RIVER — Crystal River officials will vote this evening to invest in their downtown. Board members of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) will vote on whether to budget $104,212 over the next three years to fund a nonprofit group consulted by the Florida Main Street program. Florida Main Street is part of the…
TAMPA — Luring development into vacant or rundown areas has been a go-to strategy for the administration of Mayor Bob Buckhorn, with projects such as the Ulele Restaurant at the Water Works Building and Le Meridien Hotel in the historic Federal Courthouse. But city officials are more cautious about a proposed development in the rundown…
By the numbers, Sarasota’s downtown redevelopment efforts are a huge success. Yet, as Vice Mayor Suzanne Atwell reminded her fellow commissioners last week, much work remains undone. From the Ringling shopping plaza, to judicial center expansion, to the bayfront, Newtown and the North Trail, hoped-for projects await funding, partnerships and the political will to move…
TAMPA — With demolition expected to start in late 2016, the first resident has moved out of North Boulevard Homes, with about 2,000 more to follow over the next 18 months. But for the moment, City Hall and Tampa Housing Authority officials have decided this isn’t the time to seek a $30 million federal grant…
Next Monday, June 15, the White Springs H.O.P.E. (Helping Our People Excel) Summer Enrichment Program for youth begins its 6th year. The program is 6 weeks long, Monday–Friday from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm and FREE to community families. It is a partnership between Hamilton County School District, the Department of Health, Miles of Smiles Dental Bus, CareerSource North Florida,…
Through an agreement with FHWA, the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) is providing free, short-term technical assistance to transportation planners serving rural or smaller urban areas. This assistance is focused on helping planners with their identified issues of stakeholder involvement in planning processes, whether in reaching out to low-income and minority communities as part of…
Community Policing Initiatives in High Springs are not limited to the “Citation for a Cookie” program. Other programs currently implemented include: Coffee with the Chief – is aimed at providing residents with an opportunity to personally meet Chief Anterio in a friendly, casual and informal setting such as a local restaurant, coffee shop or park. At “Coffee with…