The recent debate about Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) appears to be an effort to mislead the public into believing that their tax dollars are being misused. This isn’t the case, and this inflammatory rhetoric, which pits residents against each other, can be extremely harmful to communities. It has been alleged that “some of South Florida’s…
DetailsBOYNTON BEACH — The Boynton Beach City Commission is expected to vote tonight on whether to allow a waterfront townhome community to be built along Federal Highway, a project strongly opposed by residents to the immediate south. But there’s a chance that the commission again will delay the vote, which has been postponed twice since December.…
DetailsBOYNTON BEACH — For the past nine months, David Grzech has fielded calls from The UPS Store customers who want to know if the store in the Boynton Plaza is open. It is. But it’s difficult to tell because the shopping center, anchored by what will be a new, modernized Publix, is under renovation. While the stores are…
DetailsWEST PALM BEACH — The light is green for West Palm Beach’s bicycle rental program, even though the bikes probably will be blue. The board of West Palm Beach’s Downtown Development Authority voted unanimously last week to close what would be a 10-year deal with consultant P3GM. Read full article
DetailsBOYNTON BEACH — The Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency will host a free Movies in the Park event at 7 p.m Friday. The movie “Penguins of Madagascar” will play on a large inflatable screen at Ocean Avenue Amphitheater, 129 E. Ocean Ave. Attendees are encouraged to bring a beach chair or blanket. Food and beverages will…
DetailsMOUNT DORA — Described by residents and visitors as “charming” and “quaint,” Mount Dora needs to be protected, several residents say. And they say a proposal to allow 50-foot-tall screens at the EPIC Theatres location off U.S. Highway 441 between Target and Wal-Mart could usher in development of taller buildings in the downtown commercial area.…
DetailsParking spaces are a hot commodity in Boynton Beach‘s downtown. That’s why on Tuesday the city will make a deal with the city’s redevelopment agency to get a few more. At the city’s regular meeting, the commission will decide whether to transfer the city-owned property underneath the now-closed Little House restaurant to the city’s Community Redevelopment…
DetailsWEST PALM BEACH — After sweating through another round of discussion, local developer Navarro-Lowrey got the nod Monday for the old West Palm Beach City Hall site. Commissioners, sitting as the board of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, voted unanimously to start talks with Frank Navarro’s firm. They picked him over New England-based architect Hasham…
DetailsPANAMA CITY — Property owner George Kingston and the Panama City Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) are hoping a demolition will be a catalyst to downtown improvement. Kingston owns the buildings, now a quickly diminishing pile of rubble, in the 200 block of East Sixth Street across the street from Grocery Outlet. Construction crews equipped with…
DetailsThe Live Oak Community Redevelopment Agency approved a budget request of $15,000 for the Jazz, Arts and Blues Festival that will take place in Festival Park [across from Millennium Park in Live Oak] in October 2015. The request was presented by Chairman Keith Mixon, who originally presented a budget request of $20,000. Last year, the…
DetailsLAKELAND | A new plan, new leadership and a new sense of camaraderie has brought new optimism about downtown, district leaders claim, but can declarative sentences about the city’s central business district be written by an alphabet soup of organizations? Yes, Julie Townsend said, grimacing at the phrase that she admits she might have first…
DetailsFrank and Fran Hilgenberg didn’t plan on celebrating Theatre Downtown’s 25thanniversary this way. The husband-and-wife team behind Orlando’s most iconic community theater is packing up a quarter-century’s worth of props, costumes and equipment while looking for a new venue. “I’m trying to keep from crying when people walk in because they’re coming in with tears…
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