Good News From Florida’s CRAs

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…

Daytona Beach and the surrounding community are right to think big when it comes to economic development. Attracting shiny new hotels and high-end retailers, condominium complexes and other multi-million-dollar projects would inject much-needed capital into this area and raise its public profile. But to succeed, officials need to focus on the smaller, disheveled things first.…

It’s difficult to imagine that Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach was once one of the most dangerous streets in South Florida. Today, it attracts flocks of diners and shoppers just about every night. It has recently set retail real estate sales records. But in the 1980s and early 1990s, it was mired in blight. Plenty…

Ocean Breeze East, a vital development to jump-starting the revitalization of the Heart of Boynton neighborhood, is back to the drawing board. Ocean Breeze East is the second phase of a Heart of Boynton redevelopment project, which includes retail space, a medical office, office space and 200 rental units on a 4.5-acre lot on the…

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — The Brannon Center, a 50-year-old building that has served as the city’s prime place to hold large meetings and social functions, is scheduled to be torn down beginning next month. Demolition of the Riverside Drive building, which was originally used as a city library, is targeted for May 14 and would…

INVERNESS — Inverness City Manager Frank DiGiovanni presented to city council members at their budget workshop Monday estimates of how much money an expanded community redevelopment area (CRA) would bring in for the city. The revenue ranged from $747,082 to $3.6 million. Read full article

The Bight Management District Board has agreed to hand over $1.3 million from its reserves to the growing construction budget for the new City Hall in Key West — now pegged at $18.8 million. The vote Wednesday evening was 4-2 in favor. A tie vote would have meant the motion failed. The seven-member board is…

CRYSTAL RIVER — Crystal River officials were happy with what is moving forward as the city’s inner district plan for the future. Board members of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency — all sitting city council members — voted Monday to push a revised CRA plan through to the planning committee for further review and approval.…

BOYNTON BEACH — Two new restaurants are coming to Boynton Beach’s Ocean Avenue. The Boynton Community Redevelopment Agency board Tuesday night chose master pizza chef Sal Campanile to buy both the Oscar Magnuson house and Ruth Jones cottage. He will open The Little Pizza Shack in the Ruth Jones cottage at 480 E. Ocean Ave.…