Daytona preparing for development boom Three years ago, Daytona Beach was a city so wounded it launched a self-affirmation campaign with billboards and newspaper ads aimed at restoring a little pride and hope. The town’s unemployment rate was flirting with double-digit range, housing prices had hit bedrock and too many oceanside lots were the butt…
DetailsPier funding will “take funds from the general fund for Pinellas County” and St. Pete, says Ford St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster and challenger Kathleen Ford tangled over paying for the Lens, the proposed pier replacement, at a debate last week. Foster said the money was use-it-or-lose-it, while Ford said the plan takes money from…
DetailsBartow’s Historic Wonder House Abandoned, Falling Into Ruin Decades ago, the Wonder House stood as a Bartow landmark. Postcards touted its state-of-the-art construction, and Depression-era sightseers paid a dime just to tour the engineering marvel. But no more. The house, built in the 1920s and 1930s, has become the casualty of divorce. Chuck and Helen…
DetailsBuilding Momentum for Community Revitalization – Workshop Creating a successful downtown is a challenging goal for city commissioners. You must address the expectations of many diverse interest groups, adopt a plan that may not completely satisfy all stakeholders, and maintain the course over a number of years and election cycles. This workshop series will focus…
DetailsSTUART — The city is advertising for an economic development consultant to train the staff and help the city focus its resources on attainable goals. [Read full story]
DetailsThe Northwood Village Shopping Center has a new owner with plans to rehabilitate the center and draw in new tenants to take advantage of the Walmart Supercenter that opened next door in February. Forman Capital of Palm Beach recently bought the center for $1.7 million and has partnered with a developer that specializes in Walmart…
DetailsWEST TAMPA — Tampa housing officials are discussing the future of a 44-acre site of North Boulevard Homes, an aging public housing complex that is slated for demolition and redevelopment. The Tampa Housing Authority also is looking at how the property plans might fit within a broader plan to redevelop portions of West Tampa and…
DetailsTEMPLE TERRACE — Three years after breaking ground on the city’s decade-long vision for a new downtown, city leaders are trying to severe ties with the only developer so far to promise to give residents a much-sought-after town center. The city’s aim to dissolve its relationship with development group, Vlass Temple Terrace LLC, is facing…
DetailsSEBRING – In June 2013, Push Event Productions, a collaboration between Gray Dog Communications (Casey Wohl) and Plan B Promotions (Lora Todd), received partnership commitments from the Sebring Community Redevelopment Agency, the City of Sebring and the Highlands County Convention and Visitors Bureau to produce, manage and promote six, multi-day festivals in historic Downtown Sebring…
DetailsHall’s Seafood Restaurant, a longtime fixture just north of the Pensacola Bay Bridge that was known for senior citizen deals and piping hot hush puppies, has shut its doors. A simple sign on the door of the popular eatery that was located at 920 E. Gregory St. reads “Thank You for Your Patronage Over the…
DetailsPANAMA CITY — Members of the Downtown Improvement Board (DIB) Main Street group are looking at putting some BP funds toward historic plaques on downtown buildings over 50 years of age. During Tuesday’s Main Street meeting, members discussed each building erected after 1963 being considered for a plaque costing from $90 to $150 apiece. According…
DetailsBELLEAIR — Conceding that options for restoring the historic Belleview Biltmore hotel look bleak, the Belleair Town Commission on Tuesday directed city staffers to explore zoning changes that would allow other types of development on the property. The hotel’s owners want to tear down the landmark, which is on the National Register of Historic Places,…
Details
