Fort Myers city officials have to scour for $11 million to upgrade the Harborside Event Center if they want a hotel to go up right next to it. That was the request of the would-be hotel developer John Meshad, who has been eying the grounds between the event center and the detention basin. Though he…
Today Next City launched The Shared City, a new daily blog about the rise and consequences of the sharing economy, in which social and governmental systems play new roles to enable less individual consumption and more collaboration. The column is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, where Carol Coletta is vice president for…
ST. PETERSBURG For the past two years, the city has grappled with the hidden cost of a booming downtown scene. Overtime for police officers who patrolled the large weekend crowds skyrocketed to 300 hours a month. City leaders held countless meetings and created regulations for bars that wanted to stay open later. They prodded business…
FROSTPROOF | Chamber of Commerce members have their go-ahead to plant 18 foxtail palms downtown. The Frostproof City Council gave final approval Monday to a Frostproof Chamber of Commerce plan to replace downtown shade trees that have “failed to thrive,” as described by DeDe LeFils, chair of the chamber’s Beautification Committee. The plan also will…
PLANT CITY The Red Rose Inn and Suites and thousands of acres owned by the Madonia family will be up for auction next month. Evelyn and Batista Madonia Sr. hope to repay debts and remain in farming with proceeds from the sale of the iconic hotel and other properties. In March the couple filed for…
After spending nearly two hours in a community forum that addressed a wish list for future tax dollar spending — this time focusing on the south side — I found myself paying more attention to the landscape as I drove north from the North Florida Fairgrounds back to the Democrat building on Magnolia Drive. I…
DUNEDIN — The Gateway, a $15 million mixed housing-retail project that city leaders hope will spur similar development throughout downtown, received a tentative green light from city commissioners Thursday. But first, developers had to answer a few questions commissioners had about parking and an unprecedented incentive package city staffers had proposed to jolt life into…
TEMPLE TERRACE — Dwight James Baum, who created John Ringling’s lavish Ca’ d’Zan palace in Sarasota, also designed dozens of Mediterranean Revival-style homes in Temple Terrace, the largest collection of the famed architect’s work in the Southeast. To take advantage of the town’s architectural history, the City Council has invited citizens, especially owners of historic…
During the Great Recession, some parts of South Tampa felt like a ghost town. Now that the economy is improving, many shop owners and Realtors believe there is a resurgence in not only South Tampa in general, but in Hyde Park Village in particular. Rich Wills of Lakeland believed in the area enough to open…
ST. PETERSBURG — A century-old home once marked for destruction as the site of a condo high-rise will see new life under the developer behind downtown’s buzzy Birchwood hotel. Chuck Prather bought the Mansion by the Bay late last month for $2 million, property records show, with plans to restore it as an annex half…
DELAND — City officials received an update Monday night on a proposed multi-use development in downtown DeLand being undertaken by the White Challis Redevelopment Company, along with an idea of how the group plans to market the new homes and retail spaces. The development, known as the Woodland Block project, was approved last November and,…
DELAND — A New York City real estate broker has purchased a 90-year-old downtown DeLand landmark that once served as a retreat for wealthy Northerners and plans to return it to its former glory. Soly Halabi, senior managing director at Venture Capital Properties in New York City, purchased the Hotel Putnam at 225 W. New…
An estimated $1.4 million is being invested into Lafayette Street in Cape Coral to make storm water improvements, road enhancements and Florida-friendly landscaping to one of the city’s oldest districts. City officials see the renovation, which runs between Cape Coral and Vincennes streets, as a template for the rest of the area when it comes…
NEW SMYRNA BEACH — A proposed Community Redevelopment Area here accounts for more than half of the city’s crime and almost 40 percent of it’s code enforcement problems. That’s according to a study by Kimley-Horn and Associates of blighted conditions in the prospective CRA that would have U.S. 1, called Dixie Freeway in New Smyrna…
Lee and Charlotte counties receive $321,960 to provide rental assistance to homeless veterans HUD presents check to the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers FORT MYERS, Fla. (July 15, 2013) – The U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development recently presented the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers with $321,960 in supportive…
Florida Housing Coalition’s Statewide Affordable Housing Conference SHIP Awards Call For Nominations Housing Administrators and Advocates: Don’t miss your opportunity to showcase your SHIP success stories! The Florida Housing Coalition is holding a competition to highlight the tremendous value of SHIP across the State of Florida at this year’s Annual Affordable Housing Conference. Getting your…
Miami Beach commissioners generally agree with their city manager’s recommendations to dramatically down-scale proposals to redevelop their 52-acre convention center site — but indicated they would support some small-scale residential development to help bring life to the site. A week ago, City Manager Jimmy Morales had suggested turning the proposed apartment buildings that would surround…
Two downtown Ocala development projects still in the works Developers are continuing to explore the feasibility of building a hotel and renovating the former Sprint building, two projects that could change the face of Ocala’s downtown. “We are still in the due diligence period,” said Albert Peek of Ocala Development, who, along with his son,…
CRA funding $3.1 million in road projects in Innovation Square The future site of Innovation Square now stands as a fenced, 16-acre grass plot along Southwest Second Avenue. As companies continue to announce plans to locate in the technology hub, the City Commission has approved plans for the Community Redevelopment Agency to fund the bulk…
The blight on U.S. 19 shouldn’t be ignored Pasco Commissioner Kathryn Starkey said, “When my family comes up here, I never take them on U.S. 19.” Given that a large portion of the county that she represents are residents of the older neighborhoods located along the U.S. 19 corridor, exactly what is she doing to…
Germane Barnes, a 27-year-old artist who relocated six months ago from Los Angeles to Opa-locka, could be remembered as a pioneer in 2026. By then, when Opa-locka will celebrate its centennial, city officials and community activists believe the city with a reputation for violence and drugs, would have turned into a thriving arts district. Barnes…