Leesburg has approved a temporary waiver of municipal impact fees to encourage redevelopment in certain areas of the city. City commissioners unanimously agreed Monday night to waive impact fees for new businesses moving into and refurbishing existing structures within Leesburg’s three community redevelopment areas. The waiver covers utility, police, fire and recreation impact fees for qualifying businesses…
DetailsKenya Young flashed a wide smile and raised her arms high in the air Monday afternoon to celebrate her family’s new apartment as they aim for the American dream of owning a home. “We get to move in on Friday!” said the 35-year-old mother of four, who found out three weeks ago that her family…
DetailsLAKE WORTH — A bright mural nearing completion downtown — featuring an owl, members of a native tribe and booming speakers — had onlookers talking Sunday. “I love it,” said Leslee Scruggs, who lives in Lake Worth, as she snapped shots with her camera phone. “I didn’t realize it was happening. Usually you have to…
DetailsLAKE WORTH — Downtown Lake Worth is getting more color. Over the weekend, three sleek murals were decked on the walls of retail buildings on Lucerne Avenue during the Going-A-Wall live-painting event. It featured live music, food trucks and several paint-covered artists in action. On one wall, the side of Bruce Webber’s Art Gallery building,…
DetailsThe Delray agency responsible for keeping the city free of slum and blight is being asked to dish out more money this year. The Community Redevelopment Agency board will consider approving budget requests from the city and several nonprofits on Thursday and they could find themselves spending more money. But the group will likely have…
DetailsTAMPA — To enliven downtown, Tampa has tried: • Coloring the Hillsborough River kelly green for St. Patrick’s Day. • Creating a mac-and-cheese festival. • Putting a pop-up golf driving range on N Franklin Street. • Trucking in loads of white sand for a summer beach volleyball court. Now comes a hot pink pingpong table…
DetailsTampa, Florida –The federal government says Hillsborough County misused almost a million dollars in grants during its “Fight the Blight” campaign and it wants the money back. The inspector general of the Department of Housing and Urban Development released a scathing audit of the county’s use of federal Community Development Block Grant money for these…
DetailsLive Oak — Local residents, business leaders and city officials filled the Passenger Train Depot Tuesday evening to discuss the future of Downtown Live Oak and to prioritize a list of projects they would like to see done in the upcoming CRA fiscal year. As a result, the group decided roadways, a medical clinic facility…
DetailsOxford Road in Fern Park is not one of Seminole County’s prettiest streets. The sidewalks are cracked and broken. The landscaping is either bare or filled with weeds. And empty parking lots are littered with liquor bottles, beer cans and other rubbish. Fernwood Boulevard, which runs alongside the Jai-Alai fronton and crosses Oxford Road, is…
DetailsTampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik isn’t ready yet to unveil a gleaming architectural drawing of how everything in the new Channelside Bay Plaza will look, partly because that plan won’t exist for many more months. However, on Friday some of his lieutenants sketched out a timeline for when they hope some of the major…
DetailsMercury Advisors is moving forward with its latest Channelside development, finalizing a joint venture with an Atlanta group and planning a fourth-quarter groundbreaking. Mercury will partner with Daniel Corp. on the apartment-and-retail development proposed on the block between East Twiggs and Madison streets, along Meridian Avenue, Principal Ken Stoltenberg said Friday. The project has been proposed as Martin at Meridian,…
DetailsThe fight for Channelside Bay Plaza is officially over. Now begins a new challenge: remaking downtown Tampa’s Channel District. Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik is Channelside’s new owner, thanks to the last-second settlement that ended the yearlong court fight over downtown’s outdoor mall. The deal was hammered out Sunday night and approved Monday by…
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