Tampa Bay Rays stalemate keeps two downtowns in limbo Here’s a question: How long should Jeff Vinik wait? The Lightning owner wants to develop his land around the Tampa Bay Times Forum, but the possibility of a baseball stadium in that location has kept him in limbo. Here’s another question: How long should Pinellas County…
DetailsWith Walmart’s riverfront property for sale, Tarpon Springs considers options TARPON SPRINGS — After causing years of hand-wringing by residents and environmental groups, Walmart has finally decided to put its 74-acre riverfront property up for sale. The property, thought to be home to bald eagles, gopher tortoises and sandhill cranes, is listed at $8.5 million.…
DetailsClearwater’s Gateway Farmers Market withers on vine CLEARWATER — After a debut that rubbed some property owners the wrong way, the Clearwater Gateway Farmers Market has been put into the deep freeze — and it may be permanent. A state grant has run out and city economic development officials won’t commit money for the next…
DetailsDeLand museum changes name, adds space downtown Knowledge is power; art imitates life; without knowing history we are doomed to repeat it. These familiar phrases formed the gist of Museum of Art-DeLand CEO George Bolge’s message to the community Sept. 4. At a news conference, Mr. Bolge said the name change, from Museum of Florida Art…
Details$25,000 grant to improve Palmetto’s downtown area PALMETTO — The Palmetto CRA received a $25,000 grant from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to help develop the downtown district. The grant will help Palmetto develop a downtown commercial core plan to address downtown parking, stormwater and transportation needs, said Jessica Sims, FDEO press secretary. “This…
DetailsMiami Overtown developers agree to split ‘transformative’ project In an unusual and unexpected move, a Miami commissioner on Thursday persuaded two developers competing to build a massive residential and commercial complex on public land in Overtown to split the baby, with each agreeing to take a city block to develop separately. The compromise, engineered by…
DetailsDelray CRA under scrutiny for funding nonprofits Delray’s Community Redevelopment Agency, the organization responsible for revamping the ‘village by the sea,’ has been giving money to nonprofits in the city for many years. But a complaint from a resident earlier this year about the CRA helping fund the library, Arts Garage and Spady Museum, among…
DetailsBoynton CRA director to get 4 percent pay raise BOYNTON BEACH — The executive director of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, Vivian Brooks, will get a salary boost of close to $5,000 — plus a $250 monthly car allowance — for the upcoming fiscal year, CRA board members voted Tuesday. In a 5-2 vote, the board…
DetailsCity of Miami to vote on $250 million Overtown development plan A Miami anti-poverty agency is poised to turn over two city blocks in the blighted but historic heart of Overtown to a prominent developer, who promises to spend $250 million to build apartments, a hotel, shops, restaurants and music venues on the long-vacant land.…
DetailsThe Rise of Cities and the Mayors Who Run Them This fall, two major American cities — Boston and New York — will elect new mayors. The pending leadership changes for these different but dynamic cities will be watched closely. Can the next mayors continue the success brought by the long-term administrations of Boston’s Tom…
DetailsDowntown Plant City festival will be the place to shop, learn PLANT CITY – As president of the Suncoast Native Plant Society, Devon Higginbotham is happy to spread the word about the virtues of landscaping with vegetation that grows naturally in the state. So she’s looking forward to the chance to speak at a downtown…
DetailsReviving Tampa’s Channelside Bay Plaza The Tampa Port Authority’s decision to buy Channelside Bay Plaza marks a fresh start for the retail center and a breakthrough for downtown. The move restarts the clock on turning a struggling public property into a thriving destination, and it gives the city more control over how Tampa’s channel district…
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