LEALMAN — About three years ago, a county study identified the five poorest areas in Pinellas. Now Pinellas officials are considering trying something new — for them — to help lift the people in one of those areas out of poverty. If creating a community redevelopment area works in unincorporated Lealman, it could be expanded.…
For decades, discussions about housing development in Manatee County have focused on accommodating suburban-style development. Among the results: Suburbia is sprawling eastward, farther and farther from the county’s historic core. With the exception of master-planned Lakewood Ranch, the typical development is low density, dominated by single-family housing in subdivisions disconnected from commercial and community venues.…
VENICE – An old idea became new again as the Venice City Council decided to explore buying property to expand parking options. During a special meeting Wednesday to review funding big-ticket items over the next five years, the council decided the best place for a parking structure, or simply a parking lot, might be the…
BOYNTON BEACH — It’ll be months until Boynton Beach officials decide whether to renew the Community Redevelopment Agency director’s contract, but one city commissioner is already saying he won’t, unless her performance changes. At Tuesday’s CRA board meeting, Commissioner and CRA Board Member Mack McCray said he won’t attend private meetings with CRA Director Vivian…
BRADENTON — Bradenton officials Wednesday agreed to move forward with a vote to disband city community redevelopment agencies in favor of one CRA board, which would be made up of the Bradenton City Council. CRAs receive specific tax increment funds to pay for projects within district boundaries. The primary goal of each CRA is to…
PLANT CITY — City business and government leaders drew a panoramic picture of Plant City Tuesday, from its available acreage, to its easy-access transportation routes, schools, work ethic and amenities. Hosting its first-ever economic development forum, this community east of Tampa and west of Lakeland, known best as the winter strawberry capital of the nation,…
Miami-based Jaxi CMD LLC has purchased the old Cypress Club high-rise site in downtown Fort Myers for $4,675,000 and plans to begin sales for a luxury condominium there next year. If Jaxi starts construction in 2017 as planned, it will be the first high-rise to get underway in downtown Fort Myers since Oasis broke ground…
CLEARWATER — The city of St. Petersburg’s effort to transform its poverty-stricken southern neighborhoods took a major step forward Tuesday when the Pinellas County Commission endorsed a new approach to community redevelopment. The commission voted 6-0 to move forward with the Southside Community Redevelopment Plan — and to try to get it done on the…
On the first day in Boulder, Colorado, Tallahassee leaders and professionals got a taste of Pearl Street and the importance of supporting local businesses. Watch the video
If the RiverFest celebration Saturday was a coming out party for downtown Tampa’s expanded Riverwalk, then the Cannella Elementary rock band stole the show. Clad in Converse and sequined aviators, the kids drew a crowd of rowdy spectators as they belted radio hits and jammed to a song one member penned about her very curly…
PANAMA CITY — The Downtown Improvement Board is hosting a new way to explore downtown Panama City: a scavenger hunt. Visitors have until May 6 to return the Spring into Downtown Panama City Scavenger Hunt form to the DIB office at 413 Harrison Ave. Hunters can explore downtown businesses to find the answers to questions…
ZEPHYRHILLS — Zephyr Plaza shopping center in Zephyrhills may soon receive a face-lift with the property redeveloped as a storage facility along with a retail store and a restaurant. On Monday, the Zephyrhills City Council unanimously approved a conditional use permit to allow a mini-storage, which was not permitted under the property’s current zoning. The…
TAMPA-HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY EXPRESSWAY AUTHORITY (THEA) REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES RFQ No. C-00815 Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority (THEA) is soliciting responses from qualified firms interested in providing innovative marketing and communications services that will inform current customers and the general public of THEA’s activities and provide support to THEA’s Communications Director. The…
CLEARWATER — Here’s another idea that’s being kicked around for moribund downtown Clearwater: Why not turn the center of it into a pedestrian mall? Downtown leaders have been debating the possibility of blocking off part of Cleveland Street to vehicular traffic. City staffers have been asked to weigh the potential pros and cons of a…
NEW PORT RICHEY — City officials are hoping a new development agreement will revive the long-troubled Main Street Landing project in downtown New Port Richey. The city is negotiating with Gainesville developer Ken McGurn in hopes he will complete a project that Mayor Rob Marlowe once called an eyesore. During a meeting last week of…
NEW SMYRNA BEACH — City leaders Tuesday listened to two development proposals for a waterfront site on the North Causeway, but decided not to consider a third for a 200-unit condominium project because it didn’t meet a deadline. Anthony DiMucci, president of DiMucci Companies in Port Orange, sent a letter to New Smyrna Beach officials…
Economic development practitioners from 8 cities bordering US1 corridor, collaborated to discuss ways to revitalize this corridor, and create a better environment for business, eliminate blight in the Corridor and provide social and educational activities in these areas. A recent Corridor Improvement Study was completed by The Volusia Transportation Planning Organization which provided vital information…
NEW PORT RICHEY — When the owners of a Main Street produce market decided in 2008 to turn it into a cafe and creamery called Market Off Main, they picked an unlikely place to put it: in a run-down house. “It had been unoccupied for several years,” said Jerry Kuss, 72, who found the building…
The young, upbeat restaurant manager tapped into the power of Clematis Street one weekend a couple of years ago. A group of college students wandered into the Wine Dive bar and eatery for brunch and asked him to play some party music. He obliged and, with the beats cranked up, the kids went wild, dancing…
About 2½ years after a $15 million upgrade and 32-suite expansion at the Inn on Fifth, hotelier and restaurateur Phil McCabe wants to go bigger. Read full article
ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rays may not be banking on an influx of residents and activity in the westward expansion of downtown, but a developer and grocer see it and are getting ready. ARC Group is planning a 50,000-square-foot retail center with a 32,000-square-foot grocery store for 700 Central Ave. There will be…