Three big city building projects progressing in Gainesville In a large clearing at the back of a cluster of business parks in north Gainesville, a no-frills garage stands near an expansive slab of concrete. A newly built road complete with a sidewalk runs past the new construction and dead ends at a patch of woods.…
Tampa Bay Rays stalemate keeps two downtowns in limbo Here’s a question: How long should Jeff Vinik wait? The Lightning owner wants to develop his land around the Tampa Bay Times Forum, but the possibility of a baseball stadium in that location has kept him in limbo. Here’s another question: How long should Pinellas County…
With Walmart’s riverfront property for sale, Tarpon Springs considers options TARPON SPRINGS — After causing years of hand-wringing by residents and environmental groups, Walmart has finally decided to put its 74-acre riverfront property up for sale. The property, thought to be home to bald eagles, gopher tortoises and sandhill cranes, is listed at $8.5 million.…
Clearwater’s Gateway Farmers Market withers on vine CLEARWATER — After a debut that rubbed some property owners the wrong way, the Clearwater Gateway Farmers Market has been put into the deep freeze — and it may be permanent. A state grant has run out and city economic development officials won’t commit money for the next…
DeLand museum changes name, adds space downtown Knowledge is power; art imitates life; without knowing history we are doomed to repeat it. These familiar phrases formed the gist of Museum of Art-DeLand CEO George Bolge’s message to the community Sept. 4. At a news conference, Mr. Bolge said the name change, from Museum of Florida Art…
$25,000 grant to improve Palmetto’s downtown area PALMETTO — The Palmetto CRA received a $25,000 grant from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to help develop the downtown district. The grant will help Palmetto develop a downtown commercial core plan to address downtown parking, stormwater and transportation needs, said Jessica Sims, FDEO press secretary. “This…
Miami Overtown developers agree to split ‘transformative’ project In an unusual and unexpected move, a Miami commissioner on Thursday persuaded two developers competing to build a massive residential and commercial complex on public land in Overtown to split the baby, with each agreeing to take a city block to develop separately. The compromise, engineered by…
Delray CRA under scrutiny for funding nonprofits Delray’s Community Redevelopment Agency, the organization responsible for revamping the ‘village by the sea,’ has been giving money to nonprofits in the city for many years. But a complaint from a resident earlier this year about the CRA helping fund the library, Arts Garage and Spady Museum, among…
Boynton CRA director to get 4 percent pay raise BOYNTON BEACH — The executive director of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, Vivian Brooks, will get a salary boost of close to $5,000 — plus a $250 monthly car allowance — for the upcoming fiscal year, CRA board members voted Tuesday. In a 5-2 vote, the board…
City of Miami to vote on $250 million Overtown development plan A Miami anti-poverty agency is poised to turn over two city blocks in the blighted but historic heart of Overtown to a prominent developer, who promises to spend $250 million to build apartments, a hotel, shops, restaurants and music venues on the long-vacant land.…
The Rise of Cities and the Mayors Who Run Them This fall, two major American cities — Boston and New York — will elect new mayors. The pending leadership changes for these different but dynamic cities will be watched closely. Can the next mayors continue the success brought by the long-term administrations of Boston’s Tom…
Downtown Plant City festival will be the place to shop, learn PLANT CITY – As president of the Suncoast Native Plant Society, Devon Higginbotham is happy to spread the word about the virtues of landscaping with vegetation that grows naturally in the state. So she’s looking forward to the chance to speak at a downtown…
Reviving Tampa’s Channelside Bay Plaza The Tampa Port Authority’s decision to buy Channelside Bay Plaza marks a fresh start for the retail center and a breakthrough for downtown. The move restarts the clock on turning a struggling public property into a thriving destination, and it gives the city more control over how Tampa’s channel district…
Palm Beach’s Worth Ave. nominated in national “Iconic Street” contest Palm Beach’s most famous shopping district has been named to the national top 20 Iconic Streets, according to 10Best.com, a division of USA Today. Also included are two other famous Florida thoroughfares: Calle Ocho in Miami’s Little Havana and Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. The…
Port of Tampa set to buy Channelside retail complex for $5.75 million TAMPA — The Tampa Port Authority finally found the buyer of its dreams to purchase Channelside Bay Plaza: the Tampa Port Authority. The port’s governing board on Tuesday voted unanimously to buy the downtrodden downtown retail center for $5.75 million from the Irish…
City of Deerfield Beach embraces child-friendly plan for Sullivan Park In the end, it was what it afforded children that won residents and Deerfield Beach commissioners over to a plan to develop Sullivan Park, approved by the Community Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday [9/10]. Both plans presented to the Bermello Ajamil and Partners called for spending…
As hotel market warms, new Marriott planned for downtown West Palm Beach WEST PALM BEACH — Yet another hotel is planned for downtown. This time, it’s a nine-story, 152-room Marriott Residence Inn, to be built at 455 Hibiscus St., between Quadrille Boulevard and Dixie Highway. Read full story
St. Petersburg seeks to brand downtown medical, academic hub ST. PETERSBURG — Just south of downtown, a quiet section of St. Petersburg has evolved into a jumble of research, academics and jobs. Hospitals, government agencies and a university campus employ at least 8,000 people. About 6,000 students seek college degrees. The district’s economic importance to…
Bradenton holds high hopes for restored historic hotel BRADENTON – The Pink Palace blushes no more. When it reopens as lodging in mid-November, after a $15 million upgrade, it will be beige. But that is rightly so, say historians, since the old Manatee River Hotel was off-white when it opened in 1926, at 309 10th St.…
Brownfields Program Turns Polluted Sites Into Economic Potential The Florida Brownfields Program facilitates redevelopment and job creation by empowering communities, local governments and other stakeholders to work together to assess, clean up and reuse sites that may have been previously impacted by pollutants. Brownfields are properties where expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by…
Sanford looks at selling wealth of downtown real estate on Lake Monroe When Sanford decided to buy half a downtown block last month for $450,000, city leaders said the purchase would give them more control over development along Lake Monroe. But although he voted to buy the land, which has been used as a public…