Opportunity has bypassed much of south St. Petersburg, leaving many largely African-American neighborhoods coping with unemployment, run-down housing and crime. Now city officials have proposed an innovative tax strategy to fight stagnation with job training and public subsidies for private businesses and property owners. It has the potential to help transform the area, and City…
DetailsThis Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is issued in accordance with Florida Statutes Section 163.380 by the Bradenton Downtown Development Authority (the “DDA”). The objective of this RFQ process is to ascertain the most qualified interest for the creation of an appropriate and sustainable private, mixed-use redevelopment of properties owned by the DDA. The successful respondent…
DetailsGive them a place to park and they will come. City commissioners on Tuesday will consider paying for a 609-space parking garage to serve what they hope will be a revitalized beachside. But this is not going to be any ordinary parking garage, rather it will be framed by three-story sails. It’s the next step…
DetailsHeading to a downtown restaurant in Boca Raton or planning to meet friends in West Palm Beach’s trendy Northwood neighborhood? Forget about driving. A free ride is on the horizon. Both Boca Raton and West Palm Beach are among several cities in Palm Beach County planning to expand trolley or shuttle services over the next few years after the Great Recession…
DetailsThere are those who say it’s too costly to spend a few million dollars now to create a pedestrian skywalk or underpass to move visitors safely between CityPlace and the Palm Beach County Convention Center and hotel. We disagree. The potential cost of doing nothing is greater. Read full article
DetailsBonita Springs’ community center was filled with the spirit of civic engagement Tuesday afternoon as a steady stream of residents entered to educate themselves on the proposed downtown improvements project and leave city leaders comments, suggestions and no shortage of concerns. “I think change is difficult. Period,” said Councilman Stephen McIntosh. “We didn’t have a…
DetailsNAPLES, Fla. – Naples City Council will hear several presentations on the history of Central Avenue and future plans on Wednesday, when business owners are expected to fill council chambers to complain. Follow Naples Daily News reporter Aisling Swift for live updates from the meeting beginning at 8:30 a.m. The business owners are opposed to a plan by the…
DetailsLegacy Trail, the popular biking and jogging path built on a former railroad corridor in central and south Sarasota County, will be connected to downtown Sarasota under tentative plans approved by Sarasota County commissioners today. The additional segment would extend from the current cutoff in Palmer Ranch north to Payne Park, creating nearly 20 miles…
DetailsIn Manatee, overweight residents made up about 36 percent of the population, but nearly two-thirds of residents in both counties exercised for more than 150 minutes per week, a marker of physical well-being. “Our research very consistently shows that people that have high well-being scores in all five elements, which Sarasota-Bradenton-North Port have, consistently outdo…
DetailsINVERNESS — It’s not just county officials giving the Inverness City Council a hard time about its plans to expand the community redevelopment area (CRA) district. About 20 residents of a neighborhood off Vine Street, near a mobile home park and an orange grove, asked the council at a meeting Tuesday evening to exclude their…
DetailsDELAND — City officials are inching closer to deciding how to use $429,000 that became available after a proposed downtown mixed-use development fell through last year. The downtown Community Redevelopment Agency board, made up of the five-member City Commission plus two downtown business owners, met recently and went over the results of a January public meeting…
DetailsSEBRING — The sale of two historic downtown Sebring hotels have been finalized. Developer Tony Collins bought both the Santa Rosa Hotel at 509 N. Ridgewood Drive and the Nan-ces-o-wee Hotel at 139 N. Ridgewood Drive, according to press releases from real estate agent Madge Stewart. Collins has said that he plans to redevelop the two…
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