The Bradenton Beach ScenicWAVES committee, which oversees improvements to the scenic highway portion of Gulf Drive, was asked to consider installing a kinetic wind sculpture by Utah-based artist Lyman Whitaker. Whitaker is a sculptor with more than 30 years of hand-building metal wind sculptures. And members of the Anna Maria Island Garden Club are keen…
Congratulations to the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency, for winning the 2022 FRA Outstanding Housing Project Award for West End at City Walk. Located along Fort Myers’ palm-lined McGregor Boulevard, West End at City Walk is an attractive mixed-use apartment complex replacing a deteriorated strip mall on this historic Florida Scenic Highway. The community…
12/14/22 Renowned Sculptor Fred Eversley has been commissioned by Related Companies in a public-private partnership with the City of West Palm Beach’s ArtLife WPB public art program and The Community Redevelopment Agency to create a site-specific public art installation in downtown. Slated for completion in spring of 2024, Portals will include eight parabolic shapes in transparent, violet-hued…
12/8/22 The Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami has announced an open call to South Florida-based artists to submit their work for MOCA’s 2023 Art on the Plaza series. Art on the Plaza was inaugurated in 2021 with a series of temporary public art installations on MOCA North Miami’s front plaza, inviting artists to activate…
12/9/22 At the regular Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting on November 29, 2022, County Planning Administrator Michelle Miller and Connie Green, the President of the Tax Redevelopment Advisory Committee (TRAC), presented two proposed maps of the South Brooksville Community Redevelopment Area (CRA). TRAC created one map, and Miller and her staff created another map.…
12/9/22 Financing and rebate programs, and providing permits in under two days, are among new initiatives City of St. Petersburg administrators hope will encourage homeowners to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Councilmembers have increasingly looked to ADUs, also known as garage apartments or carriage houses, to help mitigate the ongoing affordable housing crisis. During Thursday’s…
Congratulations to the City of Niceville, CRA, for winning the 2022 FRA President’s Award for the Old Town Landing Redevelopment Plan. The concept of the revitalization of the Niceville historic downtown was first identified in the original Niceville CRA Plan in 2015. Since then, the concept has been expanded to include a 6-acre site…
An engineering firm has been chosen for the redesign of Cassen Park. The Ormond Beach City Commission unanimously approved on Tuesday, Dec. 6, a $202,155 contract proposal from local company Zev Cohen and Associates for the design and required permitting for the project, to be funded with Community Redevelopment Agency dollars, since the park is…
Congratulations to the City of St. Petersburg, for winning the 2022 FRA Out Of The Box Award for Sankofa on the Deuces. Through a first-of-its-kind partnership, the City of St. Petersburg and the nonprofit Sankofa Group are collaborating to co-develop a transformative three-part project on the historic 22nd Street South (aka the Deuces). The…
City and state transportation planners have coalesced around a vision for the future of South Florida Avenue that includes two 10.5-foot travel lanes and an 11-foot center strip of turn lanes with some medians. Twelve-foot-wide landscaped sidewalks shared by pedestrians and bicyclists would replace the current narrow walkways and temporary concrete barriers on both sides…
Miles Ballogg FRA Board of Directors Practice Group Leader/Director Brownfields & Economic Development Stantec Q: What is your best business advice for a new FRA member? Miles: “Consider Brownfields redevelopment in your CRA to leverage resources to support equitable redevelopment.” Q: If you had a superpower, what would it be and why? Miles: “To deliver…
Congratulations to the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (BBCRA), for winning the 2022 FRA Management Programs & Creative Partnerships Award for the Neighborhood Officer Policing Program Activities The Neighborhood Officer Policing Program (NOP) was created in FY 2015 – 2016 to cultivate high levels of mutual trust, understanding and respect between police and the…
The Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority moved closer to its takeover of the Old School Square campus in November when city commissioners gave the DDA $25,000 to run the Cornell Art Museum. “It’s a short-term agreement,” City Attorney Lynn Gelin said at the Nov. 15 City Commission meeting. It will terminate when the overall deal,…
During the Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust’s (MDEAT) November meeting, trustees approved an action item to double the home-buying subsidy to $28,500 for qualified borrowers. The agency ensures Black residents participate in the county’s economic growth by making the homebuying experience more affordable. The agency is governed by a board of trustees appointed by the Miami-Dade…
In May, the City Commission approved the $600,000 purchase of the former Pinecrest Golf Course property just north of Taylor Lake Park. The goal was to turn the 21.4-acre site into a regional stormwater retention area that could aid private construction in the medical arts district to the north. But before the city would close…
Jaye Matthews has made his career finding the bright spots when the blight seems to be sweeping through the community. As an operations officer for the Baltimore Housing Department, she said she helped bring 1,345 residential units, a school, two new parks and a $22 million recreation center renovation to a community in need. Now,…
Congratulations to the North Miami Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, for winning the 2022 FRA Cultural Enhancement Award for Banners, Brochures and Bites Boost Business. North Miami Beach (NMB) has an ethnically diverse population and is a melting pot of cultural heritage. The CRA recognized the opportunity to capture new audiences, promote incentives and support…
For years, West Palm Beach leaders have pushed for redevelopment of the Northwood district, but it’s been to no avail — until now. On Tuesday, the city’s planning board greenlit the first project: A plan by Gilbert Benhamou’s Immocorp Capital for 382 apartments, 63,200 square feet of commercial uses and roughly 13,000 square feet of…
Alisa Burleson FRA Board of Directors CRA Administrator, CRA-City of Fort Walton Beach Q: What is your best business advice for a new FRA member? Alisa: “Gather as much wisdom as you can from the experts in their field. Don’t expect perfection but if you seek it, you will get as close as possible.” Q:…
In addition to dozens of rides, attractions, and world-class family entertainment, The Fair at Margate will thrill and amaze crowds this holiday season with drawings for three Toyota Corollas. The event is sponsored by Al Hendrickson Toyota of Coconut Creek. “Being in South Florida for 33 years, Al Hendrickson and Al Jr. are proud to…
A Tampa Bay nonprofit dedicated to repairing homes, revitalizing communities and rebuilding lives was recently selected by its national office to spearhead Hurricane Ian relief efforts throughout Florida. Headquartered in Tampa and with an office in St. Petersburg, Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay (RTTB) provides home rehabilitation and modification services at no cost to low-income families.…