LAKELAND | Polk County Tax Collector Joe Tedder has a new award to hang up in his new art deco-style building. Well, it’s not exactly a new building. But that’s the point. Tedder was one of many who received a Historic Preservation Award from Historic Lakeland during an awards ceremony Monday in that renovated building…
LAKELAND | NOBAY Village was reaffirmed Monday as the preferred development to take over the downtown Lakeland Bay Street parking lot by a 7-1 vote of the Downtown Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board. The vote doesn’t change the status of NOBAY’s developer, Broadway Real Estate Services, as the unanimous favorite by a selection committee of…
LAKELAND | Development of the 14 acres near the Lakeland Police Department that city officials took by eminent domain and then left sitting after the 2008 recession could soon be back on track. Two Polk County developers have submitted proposals to City Hall to turn the blocks into a downtown residential area. But the public…
Problems at the West Palm Beach Housing and Community Development Department, ranging from alleged corruption to rampant mismanagement, stretch back years. So when Mayor Jeri Muoio abruptly fired Pembroke Pines consultant Community Redevelopment Associates on Wednesday, the news landed with a thud. It shouldn’t be this way. But it is, and it needs to change.…
As of May 2, the town of Longboat Key owns the 2.8-acre parcel behind Longboat Key Publix that the town commission hopes can become a town center for the key. The town agreed to purchase the property earlier this year for $1.5 million, in an effort to make a town center concept on the land…
DELAND — A project that would add lofts, townhomes and brownstones to downtown DeLand has been pushed back a year, as its developer works with a new business partner to finalize plans and secure financing. In February, developers Chris Challis and Jack White of the White Challis Redevelopment Co. informed the city they wouldn’t meet…
PANAMA CITY — Members of the Downtown Improvement Board (DIB) heard signs of a positive outcome for their debt woes during a special meeting Thursday. Board members originally discussed selling downtown parking lots owned by the DIB to pay its $58,789 in outstanding debt. About $50,000 of the debt is accruing interest at 4.75 percent. DIB members…
When you see Fort Lauderdale’s new free downtown transportation, you might do a double take: It could be a bus masquerading as a trolley. It’ll have bigger windows and a boxier shape more typical of a standard bus. It’ll also include a cupola, bell and design finishes typical of a trolley. The trolley-style bus also…
On a ragged stretch of downtown Fort Lauderdale straddling the railroad tracks, a rebirth is coming. All Aboard Florida, the company that plans to launch Orlando-to-Miami roundtrip passenger rail service, has been quietly assembling land in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The scope of its deals — covering a large swath north of Broward Boulevard near the…
SARASOTA – A building boom unlike any the city has seen in almost a decade could soon be underway in Sarasota’s urban core. Some two dozen potential developments in or adjacent to downtown’s Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) are in some stage of construction or planning — and many are stalled projects from the housing bubble of…
If all goes according to plan, Homestead’s somewhat forlorn downtown will get a $60 million facelift in the next decade or so, with a new city hall, police station, library and parking garage, and a restored Art Deco movie theater. In addition, there is talk of building a 556-foot observation tower, akin to Seattle’s Space…
LAKE ALFRED | The downtown business district in Lake Alfred is getting closer to hav ing long-desired signs to help guide people around both sides of the business corridor. The City Commission will be asked to choose a sign design and accept proposed sign locations when it meets at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Since U.S. 17/92…
VENICE – Business and city leaders regard Venice’s vibrant downtown shopping district as their city’s centerpiece. If downtown experiences an economic decline, they believe the consequences will be felt citywide. That is why City Council member Emilio Carlesimo says he wants a public discussion about the concept of a “community redevelopment area” for downtown. When…
MOUNT DORA — A mound of dirt and a handful of shovels lay in the middle of the historic downtown area where city officials, residents and merchants joined Mayor Cathy Hoechst today in a ground breaking ceremony to kick off phase two of the streetscape construction project. The $3 million construction effort calls for updates…
ORLANDO, FL, (May 6, 2014) – on March 18, 2014, a strategic vision plan created by VHB for an East Town Center District in central Florida was adopted. FRA member VHB, a national planning, design and engineering firm, has its Southeast headquarters in Orlando. The East Town Center Strategic Vision Plan study area is 47…
Florida Brownfields Association Applauds Legislature’s Passage of Brownfield Legislation April 30, 2014 – The Florida Brownfields Association (FBA) applauds the Florida Legislature’s passage yesterday of new Brownfield legislation designed to further the cleanup and redevelopment of Brownfield sites, create jobs, and improve Florida’s communities. The legislation will soon be sent to the Florida Governor. “The…
AUBURNDALE | City officials want more restaurants, multifamily residences, offices and manufacturers downtown, and they’re willing to pay. Over the past 12 years, the city has been sprucing up its downtown with the help of its Community Redevelopment Agency. The focus has been on maintaining the area and making aesthetic improvements. Now, the CRA is…
ST. PETERSBURG — On a budget, the City Council will have to decide which parts of St. Petersburg’s coastline are worth including in long-term plans. Last month, the city contracted with AECOM, a Los Angeles-based global consulting firm that worked on Vision 20/20 to develop the city’s land use regulations, to devise a similar plan for…
Tallahassee’s Community Redevelopment Agency on Thursday swapped property with Florida State University in a move officials said would benefit efforts to develop Cascades Park and the Civic Center. The CRA unanimously accepted transfer of the Firestone Building and the Bloxham Annex along East Gaines Street from FSU in exchange for a 5.3 acre lot next…
SPRING HILL — Although it may be difficult to imagine today, 25 years from now Spring Hill’s original town center — Kass Circle — could be full of thriving businesses, green spaces, bike paths and a community center. At least that’s the picture University of South Florida professor Trent Green painted Wednesday evening for about…
LAKE WORTH — Near the corner of Second Avenue North and North H Street, 9-year-old Aida was getting her hand painted by an AmeriCorps volunteer, just after she had run around the new shiny playground. When asked if she had fun at the new park, she answered, “Yes!” with a big smile, nodding her head…