The city has committed $25 million to the arts complex, which Thursday secured an extension to meet its contract requirements. Less than three weeks before a deadline, the Straz Center has secured a two-month extension to fulfill its contractual requirements with the city for its multimillion-dollar expansion. Tampa’s downtown Community Redevelopment Area committed $25 million…
After approximately $2 million in renovations, the City of Margate has unveiled a new Serino Park located at 5600 SW 8th Court. The Margate Community Redevelopment Agency funded the upgrades as part of its public purpose to improve parks, playgrounds, and other municipal facilities. Single-family homes surround the neighborhood park. The initial proposed renovations included a…
Just days before thousands of students will fill its halls, Miami Dade College Homestead Campus and the City of Homestead celebrated the grand opening of the Student Success Center. The new, modern facility serves as a connection between Downtown Homestead and the MDC Homestead Campus serving both the student and business communities. Dozens of…
You’ve probably heard of development grants, activities, and events sponsored by the “Downtown CRA” or the “DDB,” but you may not know what they are. A CRA is a “community redevelopment agency,” and it is a tool urban planners and local governments use across the country to help redevelop struggling or blighted urban areas. They were…
In August, Coral Springs approved a new “master plan” for the downtown area. It’s a state-required plan that offers conceptual ideas on improving and modernizing the 136-acre downtown corridor in the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency district. The 479-page plan outlines concepts for redeveloping buildings and street intersections, including already-in-the-works projects such as the new apartments…
The Southeast Overtown/Park West Redevelopment Agency has come to the rescue of a historic Overtown church. Days before the historic property in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood was scheduled to be sold in foreclosure, a saving grace came Friday. The SEOPW CRA bought the property so its loan could be paid off, and will give repurchase rights…
The Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater will commemorate 110 years of history, culture, and entertainment excellence on Nov. 18, at the iconic theater located at 819 NW Second Ave., in Miami. Under the theme “The Crown of Overtown,” the Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater is celebrating this historic milestone, paying tribute to its timeless legacy…
The city known for its sunrises is proud as a peacock because of four outdoor murals. The Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency created the Peacock Arts District to do improvements with the goal to invigorate the once vibrant downtown and stimulate the economy. “This is extremely difficult actually to do especially in this heat. But I…
When Dorothy Scott Wilson was growing up in northwest Lake Wales, folks would buy their fruits and vegetables at a small business corridor that included Wade’s Grocery Store. As corporate chain supermarkets came in during the 1950s and 1960s, stores like Wade’s closed, leaving what Wilson calls a “food desert.” That desert, however, is now…
The Homestead Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) kicked off its Southwest Neighborhood New H.O.M.E (Home Ownership Made Equitable) Initiative and Rock the Block neighborhood beautification on SW 6th Street. On Saturday, August 29, 2023, dozens of volunteers, city employees, and elected officials gathered to clean up SW 6th Street from 6th Avenue to 10th Avenue. Participants collected trash,…
Jimmy Buffett, the singer-songwriter who died at 76, has deep connections to South Florida, including a cruise ship branded with his song “Margaritaville,” based in Palm Beach County, and a resort in Hollywood. Next door to the port, developers want a Margaitaville-branded hotel. “It’ll be a hotel restaurant,” Riviera Beach Councilman Douglas Lawson said. “It’ll be a…
Downtown Gainesville’s signature outdoor gathering spot, the 32-acre Depot Park right at the junction of Depot Avenue and South Main Street, is hard to miss. In a way, it is Gainesville’s equivalent of New York’s Central Park. There’s something for everyone – regardless of age or physical ability. Runners, walkers, joggers, picnic-goers, families, including those…
A proposed affordable housing project planned for an 18-acre city-owned lot in Allapattah could benefit from tax increment financing since its inclusion in the recently expanded Omni redevelopment agency boundaries. In July, the City of Miami authorized the continued existence of the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (Omni CRA) throughout 2047 with an increased area spanning…
Thanks to a new app designed by the University of South Florida, you can now watch three murals come to life in Downtown Clearwater. It’s called Artours Clearwater (stylized “ARTours”), and it’s a fun, free new way to explore downtown Clearwater before you attend your next concert at The Sound. The City of Clearwater commissioned…
A trend born out of necessity during a global pandemic is becoming permanent in downtown Winter Haven. “I go to and frequent St. Pete quite a bit as a vendor, and I love the option to sit outside,” said Prima Burney. Burney is the co-owner of Agape Agora and Obscure Wine Company, two companies located…
An emotional scene played out in the Daytona Beach City Commission Chambers as the Community Redevelopment Agency and the commission unanimously approved the donation of seven lots to Mid-Florida Housing Partnership Inc. The Aug. 16 decisions came with some tears and the calling out of a former commissioner for not developing properties she has owned…
The members of the Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board (CRAAB) were presented Thursday evening with a can that they don’t think needs to be kicked down the road. It’s a piece of waterfront land that has almost been protected from flooding, almost worked into a parking lot with the same spaces that were there all…
Earlier this month, Coral Springs approved a new “master plan” for the downtown area. It’s a state-required plan that offers ideas on improving the 136-acre downtown corridor in the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency district. The 479-page plan outlines concepts for redeveloping buildings and street intersections, including already-in-the-works projects such as the new apartments and retail…
The city of Orlando plans to provide funds to a new events space for the Downtown Arts District — one that’s slated to be a bit unusual due to its location and construction materials. Orlando’s Community Redevelopment Agency’s advisory board on Aug. 23 will consider a recommendation to provide $161,632 toward the costs of site…
Good riddance to one of Temple Terrace’s most glaring blights. That was the message the Temple Terrace City Council sent at its most recent Community Redevelopment Agency meeting, voting unanimously to demolish a dilapidated former restaurant at 8447 N. 56th St. and include the $50,000 cost to do it in the CRA’s fiscal year 2024…
The company selected to transform long-neglected city land overlooking the Hillsborough River is asking the city of Tampa for millions more in funding for a project that raised concerns over fairness when it was approved two years ago. Last month, Miami-based Related Group asked the West Tampa Community Redevelopment Area to provide $4.25 million extra…