Brownfields grant to assist with redevelopment along U.S. 41 in Bradenton, Palmetto

MANATEE — As the U.S. 41 corridor is targeted for redevelopment, some developers may have a perception that there is an environmental problem on potential sites. Manatee County, in partnership with Bradenton, Palmetto and the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization, has received a $500,000 Brownfields grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA awarded the…

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Sights Set on Rental Homes: Lakeland Proposal to Battle Blight Picks Up Steam

LAKELAND | A registration and inspection program would put rental homes on the code enforcement department’s radar and give the city another tool for maintaining the quality of neighborhoods to the level residents expect. “We are responding, or trying to respond, to pleas from our neighborhoods to improve conditions, improve accountability of landlords and hopefully…

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Sarasota leaders ponder future of CRA

SARASOTA – Sarasota’s main redevelopment agency faces elimination next year, and its leaders have begun sketching out a final budget. The Downtown Sarasota Community Redevelopment Agency seeded downtown and Newtown neighborhood projects with more than $95 million over the past three decades, according to a financial update on Thursday. Among them were the Palm Avenue…

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Bartow Community Redevelopment: Agency Focusing on Increase Housing

BARTOW | Bartow’s Community Redevelopment Agency shifted focus Wednesday in funding for non-profit groups, directing its attention toward housing development while maintaining its commitment to community events. That shift came when Jeff Bagwell, president and executive director of the Lakeland-based Keystone Challenge Fund, offered Wednesday to partner with the CRA to build two houses for…

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Bradenton officials vote 4-1 to assume control of community redevelopment agencies Jan. 1

BRADENTON — Rolling the political dice against public opposition Wednesday, Bradenton City Council members voted 4-1 to assume control of the city’s three community redevelopment agencies effective Jan. 1. About a half dozen citizens once again asked councilmembers to slow the process, expressing concerns the city is moving forward without an established restructuring plan. There…

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