Good News From Florida’s CRAs

Panama City Civic Plaza and Marina Park

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — Most will say it’s the renowned beaches or the arts-infused atmosphere that comes to mind at the mention of this Southeast Volusia city. But among the beachside condos and frequent downtown festivals, golf courses and boat launches is a neighborhood struggling to deal with deteriorating buildings and lack of interest in…

VENICE – Twenty-five years ago, downtown Venice desperately needed help and its merchants and property owners knew it. Suburban shopping plazas had been siphoning off customers for some time. Already gone were many of the mainstay businesses that had made downtown Venice a place to shop for everyday goods and services — Dick & Meadows Pharmacy,…

State legislators Monday approved a request to audit the agency, which is in charge of eliminating blight and creating economic development in areas of the city. Sen. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Royal Palm Beach, presented the item during a committee meeting in Tallahassee and it was immediately unanimously approved. “It is my belief and intent to have…

The City of South Daytona completed the first section (both Phases I and II) of their US1 Streetscape project in January 2013. This project transcends a simple beautification project by incorporating aesthetic, safety and sustainability features into its design. Innovative project elements are visually attractive while enhancing safety along the corridor including undergrounding of utilities,…

The Community Redevelopment Agency decided it would be penny-wise and pound-foolish if it followed a recommendation by staff to discontinue funding of its major events. Therefore, the Community Redevelopment Agency will continue to spend $31,000 to fund events such as the four bike nights, the Arts Festival and other high foot-traffic events that draw upwards…

BOCA RATON — Before approving a development that would add more than 4,000 new car trips daily to downtown Boca Raton, most of the City Council members offered this concession: Yes, Boca traffic can be frustrating. Complaints that the area east of the 378-unit rental complex is already too congested are borne out in traffic…

In the redevelopment debate, county, cities should get to ‘yes’ This past week, the Volusia County Council voted unanimously to continue the countywide discussion regarding Community Redevelopment Areas (CRAs) for an additional 60 days. The main goal of this continuance was to ensure that all stakeholders involved — the county and municipalities — have accurate…

DAYTONA BEACH — After years of setbacks — hurricanes, economic crises, shuttered stores and crumbling husks of closed hotels — the struggling beachfront along State Road A1A might have found its way forward. A wave of new hotel construction and reopenings — including the building of a $150 million condo-and-hotel complex — is set to…

BRADENTON – Recession-battered merchants here are feeling more confident about the future as ambitious projects, such as the new theater, bring positive attention to the city’s urban core. The multimillion-dollar home for the Manatee Players caps off a string of new developments near downtown Bradenton that many officials and merchants believe can lift the community…

Developer Dan Bellows is asking Winter Park leaders to establish a community development district for his Ravaudage project. The districts, known as CDDs, have become an extremely popular mechanism for financing development since their creation under a 1980 state law. But is a CDD the right move for Winter Park? The City Commission is set…

OVIEDO — After years of delays, the long-planned new “downtown” for Oviedo is breaking ground. Oviedo on the Park will move off the drawing boards and into development during ceremonies Thursday afternoon at the site bordering Oviedo Boulevard, where dignitaries will turn the first shovels of dirt. City officials, who finally will see construction toward…

Mayors and city representatives from across Volusia County drove to DeLand on Thursday to argue against a sweeping set of changes to Community Redevelopment Areas. Then they didn’t say a word. The County Council — hit with stiff opposition from cities in the days after the major CRA funding changes were floated earlier this month…

Mayors, city managers and city attorneys representing most of Volusia County’s cities are lining up to oppose new rules proposed by the Volusia County Council that would make it harder to create redevelopment districts and funnel tax dollars there to tackle blight. Officials from Deltona, DeLand, Holly Hill, South Daytona and other cities are writing…

DADE CITY — Downtown Dade City Main Street, a nonprofit group that was established in 1987 to promote the downtown area, announced Tuesday it will end its operations next week. “The purpose of Main Street was always to revitalize the downtown district,” presi­dent Nancy Johnson said in a prepared release. “We have accomplished that goal…

HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from…

SARASOTA – If this city had a collective book club, this month’s pick would be “Walkable Cities.” More than a decade after Sarasota embarked on its Downtown Master Plan 2020 — meant to make the city’s core more connected and pedestrian-friendly — Jeff Speck, who helped work behind-the-scenes on the plan, is revisiting the city.…

BRADENTON — It’s hard to imagine Bradenton without the Manatee Players Riverfront Theatre.For 60 years, starting with its inaugural production of the sentimental “I Remember Mama” and ending with its exuberant staging of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” the theater has been an essential element of its city’s geographical, social…

PANAMA CITY — An agreement lasting 20 years was struck by city commissioners last week that will prevent the Downtown Community Redevelopment Agency from expiring in April of next year. “That would have meant the portion of funds for downtown police would go away,” said William Whitson, CRA director. “That would mean no more grants,…

UMATILLA — City Manager Glenn Irby stepped out of a recent City Council meeting and saw something for the first time in his six-plus years at the city’s helm: people browsing along the sidewalks — at night. “It was around 9 p.m.,” Irby said. “There were lights on at businesses across the street from City…

Affordable housing and spaces for local businesses have been scarce in South Miami’s historically black neighborhood.. But the city is moving forward with plans for a commercial and residential complex, named Madison Square, to be built on three sites locates south of Southwest 64th Street and west of 62nd Avenue. The Community Redevelopment Agency board…