Heading to a downtown restaurant in Boca Raton or planning to meet friends in West Palm Beach’s trendy Northwood neighborhood? Forget about driving. A free ride is on the horizon. Both Boca Raton and West Palm Beach are among several cities in Palm Beach County planning to expand trolley or shuttle services over the next few years after the Great Recession…
There are those who say it’s too costly to spend a few million dollars now to create a pedestrian skywalk or underpass to move visitors safely between CityPlace and the Palm Beach County Convention Center and hotel. We disagree. The potential cost of doing nothing is greater. Read full article
Bonita Springs’ community center was filled with the spirit of civic engagement Tuesday afternoon as a steady stream of residents entered to educate themselves on the proposed downtown improvements project and leave city leaders comments, suggestions and no shortage of concerns. “I think change is difficult. Period,” said Councilman Stephen McIntosh. “We didn’t have a…
NAPLES, Fla. – Naples City Council will hear several presentations on the history of Central Avenue and future plans on Wednesday, when business owners are expected to fill council chambers to complain. Follow Naples Daily News reporter Aisling Swift for live updates from the meeting beginning at 8:30 a.m. The business owners are opposed to a plan by the…
Legacy Trail, the popular biking and jogging path built on a former railroad corridor in central and south Sarasota County, will be connected to downtown Sarasota under tentative plans approved by Sarasota County commissioners today. The additional segment would extend from the current cutoff in Palmer Ranch north to Payne Park, creating nearly 20 miles…
In Manatee, overweight residents made up about 36 percent of the population, but nearly two-thirds of residents in both counties exercised for more than 150 minutes per week, a marker of physical well-being. “Our research very consistently shows that people that have high well-being scores in all five elements, which Sarasota-Bradenton-North Port have, consistently outdo…
INVERNESS — It’s not just county officials giving the Inverness City Council a hard time about its plans to expand the community redevelopment area (CRA) district. About 20 residents of a neighborhood off Vine Street, near a mobile home park and an orange grove, asked the council at a meeting Tuesday evening to exclude their…
DELAND — City officials are inching closer to deciding how to use $429,000 that became available after a proposed downtown mixed-use development fell through last year. The downtown Community Redevelopment Agency board, made up of the five-member City Commission plus two downtown business owners, met recently and went over the results of a January public meeting…
SEBRING — The sale of two historic downtown Sebring hotels have been finalized. Developer Tony Collins bought both the Santa Rosa Hotel at 509 N. Ridgewood Drive and the Nan-ces-o-wee Hotel at 139 N. Ridgewood Drive, according to press releases from real estate agent Madge Stewart. Collins has said that he plans to redevelop the two…
One by one, your excuses for not making downtown Stuart’s entertainment district your regular weekend spot are getting scratched off the list. Read full article
TAVARES — City officials are poised to start a worldwide search for developers and investors to build a recreation, retail and entertainment square in downtown, adjacent to City Hall. The plaza dubbed “Tavares Square” would take over the property of the clerk of courts’ Public Records Center, which the city agreed to buy from Lake County for about…
The city of Tavares, which transformed itself from a dreary government town with nowhere to get lunch into America’s Seaplane City over the past several years, is about to take the next step — but it should tread carefully. The new idea is to demolish the building where the clerk of the court’s recording section remains…
PANAMA CITY — One boat is fully submerged in Watson Bayou, with only its mast sticking up out of the water. Another is partially submerged, and a few more are just falling apart. The Panama City CRA wants to clear these and several others — at least five vessels — out of the Bayou. “Watson…
Downtowner Car Wash owners appeared before the CRA Commission Monday night following the City Council meeting at City Hall with a proposed development for their third location in Cape Coral. It amounted to a courtesy presentation since the proposed site for the car wash is located outside the CRA’s core area on Cape Coral Parkway…
SEBRING — The Sebring Community Redevelopment Agency has a deal for local builders and it involves free land. The CRA and the City of Sebring are seeking proposals from licensed contractors and developers for the residential development of five city-owned vacant lots located in the CRA district. The successful applicant will be given the parcel…
Central Avenue business owners will be armed with evidence next week when Naples City Council discusses the avenue’s history, proposed traffic-calming measures and a 2005 plan they hope council again will adopt. Read full article
The Florida League of Cities (FLC) offers new and ongoing training through a variety of methods: regional summits, workshops and presentations for local and regional leagues, webinars, training for new and veteran elected officials and more! The FLC University was designed to offer our cities a variety of excellent Florida specific classes, with plenty of…
The New Market Tax Credit Program (NMTC) was established by Congress in 2000 to spur new or increased investments into operating businesses and real estate project located in low-income communities. The NMTC Program attracts investment capital to low-income communities by permitting individual and corporate investors to receive a tax credit against their Federal income tax…
The Bo Diddley Community Plaza has just been closed for a year-long renovation project that will give the public space a fresh look and new features for people to enjoy once it eventually reopens. The plaza officially closed March 1, forcing any homeless people who were staying there as well as the weekly Union Street…
Michael Mitchell, the event coordinator for the Civil War re-enactment Raid on the Suwannee, informed the Live Oak Community Redevelopment Agency of the success of last year’s event during a recent CRA meeting. Mitchell said he was able to return money back to the CRA, per an agreement, and received a lot of positive feedback…
AVON PARK – It has now been over a year and a month since the vote was taken to officially pursue grants in an effort to beautify and upgrade the blight while bringing back the positive vibrancy of its yesteryear. Jan. 8, 2014, the five-member Avon Park Southside Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) voted unanimously to…