Saying they want to build “the downtown Riviera Beach does not have,” supporters of a $250 million plan to revitalize the city’s waterfront will bring their proposal Wednesday to the city council and community redevelopment agency for approval. A vote to approve would allow to city to spend $29 million to start improvements at Bicentennial…
COCOA BEACH — Thousands of sunshine-seeking tourists and beachgoers are streaming downtown this weekend to bask in summer-like heat, clogging parking spaces and lots. They’re cramming vehicles into metered spaces. Pay-by-kiosk lots. Grassy pay lots manned by attendants. And alongside green curbs dating to last summer’s ill-fated pay-by-phone program. Downtown parking remains a perennial issue…
Shopping and crowds usually go together — but not in downtown Boca Raton, where the managers of Mizner Park say city events are crowding out their customers. In a letter from its lawyer, the owners of Mizner Park are demanding the city grant veto rights over what sort of acts and festivals the city brings…
Are you ready? Did you know CRA Annual Reports are due March 31, 2013? Here is a short summary of the requirements in Chapter 163, Part III. S. 163.356(3)(c), Florida Statutes “The governing body of the county or municipality shall designate a chair and vice chair from among the commissioners… An agency authorized to transact…
Small Business Banking and Human Capital Management Seminar at UCF Presented by BB&T and ADP Seminar will cover topics such as: Small business credit Banking benefits for you and your employees Ways to secure credit for expansion Small business risk assessment Merchant options Taxes and compliance Payroll services Human Resources Small business retirement options Event…
The unique neighborhood of Lincolnville is on its way to becoming St. Augustine’s newest Community Redevelopment Area. City commissioners this week unanimously approved a resolution: “finding (the) existence of slum and blighted areas” in the 541 acres making up the Lincolnville neighborhood. Mark Knight, director of planning and building, said the finding of blight is…
It is far from certain that Volusia County officials will grant New Smyrna Beach a new Community Redevelopment Agency district that would have U.S. 1 as its main artery. First, it could be a crowded field this year for applications for new CRAs to the County Council. Along with New Smyrna Beach, the cities of…
ST. PETE BEACH — Yvonne Marcus has seen lots of ups and downs in the 35 years she has run the Art Expo shop in the historic Corey Avenue business district. But she sees signs of a hopeful future in recent discussions among city and business leaders to revitalize this half-mile stretch — bounded by…
FORT PIERCE — Commissioner Eddie Becht likely would be the first to benefit from a zoning change the city is considering to allow bed-and-breakfasts and vacation rentals downtown to boost tourism and increase foot traffic to businesses in the area. Becht wants to rent the house at 219 N. Second St. he and wife Colleen…
Mount Dora City Council members have passed on an insurance company’s offer to sell the city 4.4 acres along Lake Dora — between the Lakeside Inn and Evans Park — for $4.6 million. The site is known as “Pineapple Point” and it is the last piece of undeveloped waterfront land available for sale next to…
After 2 1/2 years as a vacant, unfinished shell, the first-floor office space at the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency building has a tenant. Two weeks back, Gainesville-based technology firm SharpSpring relocated from the downtown Sun Center to the CRA building on the 800 block of Northwest Fifth Avenue. Rick Carlson, the founder and president of…
Community Maritime Park Associates board members will meet today to hear a detailed report on how to possibly improve the park’s cash flow. Former County Administrator Randy Oliver, hired by the city to assess the operating costs at the park, will detail his 24 recommendations for reducing the park’s projected $270,000 deficit this fiscal year…
NEW SMYRNA BEACH — With only about $214,000 left in the Community Redevelopment Agency budget this fiscal year for big-ticket grants, commissioners decided Tuesday to split it evenly between two projects. The grants were for opportunity sites, defined in the city’s CRA rules as “high priority” properties for redevelopment that would provide a “maximum positive…
PANAMA CITY — Commissioners acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) board will consider sponsoring a technology conference in downtown Panama City during today’s meeting. The $2,500 sponsorship would be split with the Downtown Improvement Board and the Economic Development Alliance (EDA) to promote Panama City as a future home of technology-based businesses. [Read Full…
The athletically inclined soon will have even more reasons to visit downtown Fort Walton Beach. Bikers, runners and walkers will see two new retail developments in the coming days, further solidifying downtown as a new hub for athletic specialty stores. On Tuesday, Run With It, which specializes in running shoes, is moving a few doors…
PANAMA CITY — Silicon Valley with a view or a self-sustaining communal fishing village? Take your pick. These are the directions city officials are hoping to take the two “downtowns” of Panama City. One is the easy-going waterfront of St. Andrews, the other the government hub and entertainment draw of downtown Panama City. Though contrasts…
BOYNTON BEACH — The city’s community redevelopment agency is launching www.catchboynton.com, a new Internet application that will provide one central location for local consumers to find businesses, sign up for deals, receive coupons, find a job and more. Business owners will be able to create interactive “micro web sites.” [Read more]
SAN ANTONIO — The only things missing were the guitar and the kumbayahs. Members of Pasco’s six city councils met Thursday night with county commissioners and staff to get a first look at the county’s economic development strategy, which planners unveiled in November after spending a year and a half working with business leaders, the…
CLEARWATER — Downtown Clearwater is not a place that’s widely known for its high-tech startup companies. It’s a long way from Silicon Valley. Still, the city estimates that roughly 600 people are working in more than a dozen software or information technology companies in and around the downtown district. Many are in the Clearwater Tower…
Sanibel City Council cleared a lot of routine items on its meeting agenda Tuesday, but Mayor Kevin Ruane suggested the commercial redevelopment report needs more time and discussion than it has received at recent meetings. “I just think we need to sit down as a council and have a discussion on this subject without distraction…
EUSTIS Staff Report When the city cut Eustis Main Street Inc. funding levels from $58,750 in 2011 to $25,000 last year, it left the nonprofit organization in a hole that’s proving difficult to escpare, city commissioners will hear tonight. The organization is currently facing a deficit of nearly $15,000 this year and has outlined several…