The Lynn Haven Community Redevelopment Agency and Florida Architects laid out improvement plans for Ohio and Florida Avenues during a workshop last month. The plans include new sidewalks, extensive landscaping, buried utility lines, lights and widening Florida Avenue sidewalks between 7th and 12th streets. “So one of the things that our citizens have mentioned to…
Riviera Beach is on the hunt for qualified developers to help “reimagine” 12 acres of waterfront property in its Marina District. The city and the Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) are searching for developers to “design, finance, construct, operate and maintain” a mixed-use development as part of its Marina Village project, which will feature dining…
A developer is ready to breathe new life into McCollum Hall after more than 20 years of vacancy. But first, they need financial support from the city of Fort Myers. Miles Alexander, the real estate developer behind the project, presented plans for McCollum Hall, also called Thirty Eight Collective, at a recent budget retreat attended…
Kader is the manager at Pizza Kitchen, a new business off North Florida Avenue. He explained the owner saw the location’s potential. “He saw how everything’s kind of moving this way, especially with the new developments over by the transit station,” said Kader. “He thought this would be a good location, and so far, thank…
A new hotel is on the verge of being built in downtown Fort Myers as soon as 2026, after city leaders approved a multimillion-dollar rebate for developers. The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) voted unanimously to accept a developer’s request for a $14 million rebate to start building a new hotel called Tempo by Hilton. The…
“One of [the properties], right on the corner of Orange and Pine Street, is 30 South Orange Ave. One is one of Orlando’s original skyscrapers right on Orange, which is 1 North Orange, and then [we have] two very strategic properties that are our gateway to Lake Eola at 205 East Central and 215 East…
It’s growing right beyond Welsh’s fence on Mapp Road. The growing Welsh sees is the result of the $6.7 million Mapp Road Town Center Project that is part of the larger community redevelopment area plan for Old Palm City, more than two decades in the making. “People were not coming here to put a business…
Michele Hylton-Terry Executive Director Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency Q: What is your best piece of business advice for a new FRA member? Michele: “The best business advice I would offer is to be intentional and focused on the goal you are working to achieve. It’s important to understand that it may not come together…
The Tampa Riverwalk has officially been named the second best riverwalk in the country, according to USA Today’s latest 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. It was selected from a group of 20 riverwalks across the U.S., with public voting determining the final results. Only Waterfront Park in Louisville, Kentucky finished higher. Located in the heart of…
The city of Apopka awarded a $5,900 grant to Domino’s Pizza for the renovation of the building’s exterior, which supporters hope will further boost the downtown district’s visual appeal and economic feasibility. Main Street Apopka has supported the facilitation of the Community Redevelopment Agency’s (CRA) Façade Renovation Grant for the Domino’s Pizza building at 2…
Once considered the gateway to West Tampa, the iconic park with ties to the community’s rich history will be upgraded to a vibrant, safe and popular gathering space. Salcines Park, named for longtime West Tampa Civic Leader Emiliano Salcines, will be transformed into a fresh, new space for residents and visitors to enjoy. The more…
Lake Wales is on the verge of reclaiming one of its most important downtown assets. The city and its Community Redevelopment Agency reached an agreement Friday with the owner of the Walesbilt Hotel to end a three-year legal battle. Under the agreement, the city will pay $450,000 to Raymond Brown, owner of Dixie Walesbilt LCC, to…
The Rotary Club of Sebring, the City of Sebring and the Sebring Community Redevelopment Agency came together Thursday morning for the groundbreaking for a brand new downtown public restroom facility at 122 N. Commerce Ave. in the heart of the CRA district. This project is led by the Rotary Club in honor of their 100th…
Jessica Carlson is Avon Park’s new Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Economic Development Manager as of last week. She’s spent her first week researching and listening, getting to know the people of Avon Park. She’s born and raised in Central Florida, graduating from the West University of Pensacola and started her career in high-rise real estate…
The Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency built the park in the vacant lot with the help of a private donor. The land is being leased to the CRA for 15 years until the owner of the land decides to move forward with it. This article includes dozens of beautiful photos of the park. Read the…
The City of Alachua welcomed dozens of local residents and business owners to Alachua’s Theatre Park on Main Street on March 27, 2025, to celebrate the receipt of a $50,000 grant from T-Mobile. Alachua was one of just 25 municipalities to receive the Mobile Hometown Grant this year. According to a T-Mobile representative who presented…
For more than 15 years, the historic Gulfstream Hotel has sat vacant—its once-grand halls silent, its future uncertain. But after years of delays, legal battles, and development hurdles, the iconic property is finally showing signs of life. Construction is now underway at the nearly century-old hotel, and General Manager Lawrence Cassenti said big changes are…
CRAs preserve and showcase an area’s history and cultural heritage – the rooms of the 73-year-old Alice S. Williams Library may come alive again with the sights of small children learning in a new child care center. Pensacola officials are weighing what it would take to turn the old Segregation-era library, located at 1015 N. E…
The David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts will introduce a new restaurant, cafe, bar and a terrace with a large arch facing the downtown Tampa Riverwalk. The David A Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts broke ground on a $100 million expansion project Monday. The private campaign named “Boundless” will introduce an indoor…
Margate is taking the first steps toward developing City Place, a 50-acre property located at the intersection of Margate Boulevard and State Road 7. In a unanimous 5-0 vote, the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) board agreed to begin negotiations with Brookfield Properties to develop the site. To inform the public and encourage community input, CRA…
CRAs create affordable housing and homeownership opportunities! The Greater Bond Neighborhood Association’s Neighborhood First plan, adopted in 2018, includes strategies, like promoting financial housing assistance programs and increased homeownership. The Tallahassee Community Redevelopment Agency voted to provide $6.4 million to the “Neighborhood First” plan. That includes an initial funding of $500,000, and a commitment for…