Largo considers downtown development incentives LARGO — For more than a decade, the city has been trying to transform the West Bay Drive area into a bustling downtown district. The sluggish economy of recent years certainly hasn’t helped. Now that the economy is starting to pick up, Largo officials are preparing to offer businesses and…
STRAFFORD, Vt. — LOST amid the Supreme Court’s high-profile decisions on affirmative action, voting rights and same-sex marriage was another ruling that may turn out to have a profound impact on American society. The court handed down a decision on Tuesday that, in the words of Justice Elena Kagan, will “work a revolution in land-use…
$1.5M available in CRA as NSB program winds down NEW SMYRNA BEACH — While the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency won’t sunset for another two years, signs are evident in the next fiscal budget that it’s in the home stretch. The nearly $1.57 million proposed CRA spending plan for fiscal 2013-14 has no money budgeted for…
Another downtown Sarasota condominium proposed SARASOTA – A new condominium project proposed for Golden Gate Point marks the second multifamily residential development planned downtown this year, a sign of developers’ renewed confidence in Southwest Florida. Demand from retiring baby boomers and a dwindling supply of available units has spurred interest in luxury condos not seen since…
Talking turkey about CRAs in Florida and Fernandina Beach The Fernandina Beach City Commission, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), and its advisory board (CRAAB) came together on June 13, 2013 for a work session intended to de-mystify CRAs and discuss issues related specifically to the Fernandina Beach waterfront CRA. The session was led…
Rural Economic Development Boot Camp A follow-up to the Rural Study findings presented to the regions, the Rural Economic Development Boot Camp is intended to complement the activities undertaken by local and regional economic development organizations. The event features keynote presentations by Governor Rick Scott, Secretary of Commerce Gray Swoope, DEO Director Jesse Panuccio, and…
Two years later, Main Street debate persists It’s shortly after 5 on a weekday afternoon in downtown Gainesville, and traffic on Main Street is stacked up to the north and to the south of University Avenue. Northbound traffic stretches down to South Fourth Avenue. The tail end of the line of southbound traffic is back…
Venice wants to add more parking downtown VENICE – While Mayor John Holic has proposed a 500-space garage as a solution to downtown parking problems, city consultants said Thursday that other options should be considered first. Specifically, the consultants said the city should look at converting east and west lanes of Venice Avenue through downtown from…
Marianna eyes grant for downtown museum project The City of Marianna is again seeking money to turn a historic downtown building into a museum. On Friday morning city commissioners will convene for a special meeting. The sole agenda item is a proposed resolution to match funds for a $400,000 grant, the application deadline for…
Downtown: Congratulations to many in downtown area It was a full house at the COA River House May 30 when friends, fans and co-workers gathered to honor Cathy Brown as she handed over the reins to the new COA director Becky Yanni. Laughter and good cheer were the order of the day as Joe Boles…
Bonita Springs swaps CRA quest for Lee County cash Downtown Bonita Springs could start getting drainage and parking improvements next year. City Manager Carl Schwing met with Lee County staff Wednesday to work on creating an interlocal agreement to redevelop Bonita’s downtown. “They’re going to contribute as if we had a tax-increment financing agreement without…
Lake Worth CRA creating Neighborhood Enhancement Team LAKE WORTH — The Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency will hold an organizational meeting Wednesday for the Neighborhood Ehancement Team — residents who are interested in improving the neighborhoods west of Dixie Highway. Wednesday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the shuffleboard building, 1121 Lucerne Ave.…
Channelside tenants bracing for long, slow summer Summer is always slow for many businesses at Channelside Bay Plaza. Most of the cruise ships are gone. Hockey is over, and the concert schedule is light at the Tampa Bay Times Forum next door. With the retail complex’s future still uncertain, this year will be even more…
Unhappy Broward commissioners want more control over city CRAs Broward County commissioners vowed to seek changes in state law to give them more oversight over municipal redevelopment agencies after learning they cannot audit alleged misspending by Hallandale Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency. “We want to get back some control from the state,” County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger…
COMMUNITY GROUPS USE ART TO BEAUTIFY CONSTRUCTION FENCE The West Atlantic Redevelopment Coalition (WARC) and Milagro Center to install children’s artwork on fence banners of CRA-owned site DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — The Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), West Atlantic Redevelopment Coalition (WARC) and the Milagro Center will unveil a collaborative project of artistic fence…
SARASOTA – Developer Civix LLC has proposed building a 150-room hotel at Main Street and U.S. 301, a lodging property that, if completed, will be the first downtown in nearly a decade. But to do so, Civix would first have to swap the Sarasota County-owned parking lot at that corner with a nearby site now…
BOCA RATON The city’s downtown has fewer than 4,000 residents, and some say that’s not yet enough to support the businesses along East Palmetto Park Road, the city’s main thoroughfare. So the idea now is to increase the number of residents to help stamp out the bloom of vacancy signs in the heart of the…
Empty storefronts, a common sight during and after the Great Recession, are a thing of the past on Park Avenue. Retail space along the city of Winter Park’s well-known shopping street is fully leased for the first time in more than 25 years, according to Winter Park Land Co. An Ethan Allen retail-design center will…
DAYTONA BEACH — Bringing big hotel and retail developments to the beachfront used to take a big taxpayer investment. And that money was supposed to accomplish big goals: revive the beachside, attract tourists with more money to burn and draw conventions to the Ocean Center. Those goals are still there today — as big as…
MainStreet DeLand Association has found its successor for the executive director who is leaving the organization June 15. Beginning July 1, D. Wayne Carter will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mary Beth Harris, who is relocating to South Florida with her family. Carter was selected from 12 “qualified candidates,” said Savannah-Jane Griffin,…
AmeriCorps and Habitat seek to revitalize Pensacola neighborhood Habitat for Humanity staff and AmeriCorps volunteers kicked off the 2013 AmeriCorps Build-a-Thon in Pensacola today, a week of community development projects in the Westside Garden District Neighborhood in Pensacola.About 80 AmeriCorps volunteers from across the country along with about 20 Pensacola Habitat for Humanity volunteers and…