Good News From Florida’s CRAs

A long-vacant property in Plant City’s Midtown area could move closer to redevelopment after the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency selected Mosaic Development Group to begin negotiations on plans that include housing, retail and a grocery store aimed at reactivating the city’s core. City commissioners received three letters of intent for the property before the CRA…

The Community Redevelopment Agency unanimously approved a city of Winter Garden General Fund reimbursement for renovations for Zanders Park, as well as the purchase of furniture for the park. The improvements have included installation of new playground equipment, resurfacing of one basketball court, installation of new hoops, installation of three pickleball courts and a conversion…

The Newberry Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is expanding its Free Paint Voucher Program through a new partnership with Alachua Habitat for Humanity (AHH), providing additional assistance to low-income homeowners while supporting neighborhood revitalization and beautification efforts. According to an AHH release sent on Wednesday, the program provides eligible homeowners in the Newberry Community Redevelopment Area…

Coral Springs’ downtown area could soon come close to doubling in size if new zoning rules are approved this week. If accepted, the new rules would allow taller buildings and more kinds of businesses to operate along the Sample Road and North University Drive corridor, reaching from The Walk of Coral Springs to Northwest 96th…

The Tampa City Council could take up a revised framework for the Tampa Bay Rays stadium proposal as soon as Aug. 27, with city, county and team negotiators nearing agreement on documents that would reshape Tampa’s role in the proposed deal. Council Chair Alan Clendenin told Florida Politics that negotiations have been moving nearly nonstop…

Plant City commissioners have approved work to begin restoring the historic 1914 High School Community Center, a more than century-old landmark that now serves as a community center and museum. The project will use a grant from Hillsborough County, along with funding from the city’s community redevelopment agency. City leaders said the preservation work is…

Neighborhood revitalization begins at home, and the Opa-locka Community Redevelopment Agency (OCRA) is making that vision a reality. Through a partnership with the Greater Miami Service Corps, OCRA completed exterior renovations on ten homes, giving longtime residents renewed pride in their properties while enhancing the beauty of surrounding neighborhoods. Each home received improvements tailored to…

The opening of the new $3.4 million Coral Springs Museum of Art at the Cornerstone development has been pushed back to October, with a public grand opening now scheduled for Oct. 9, according to new details released by the city last week. And when the museum opens, Pablo Picasso will be one of the main…

Community leaders checked out the fully renovated former Wachovia bank building Friday on North Ridgewood Drive in Sebring and were impressed on its transformation into a modern office center. The three-story building, constructed in 1973, has been vacant since July 2010. Now the structure has various sized office spaces available for rent through HQ.com, which…

A new 2,000-foot section of the West Riverwalk next to the University of Tampa campus is almost finished. City officials expect this stretch of trail to open by the end of 2026, as long as weather permits. The new 12-foot-wide path stretches from Plant Park to Cass Street. Built by The Haskell Company, the trail…

West Palm Beach city commissioners have unanimously advanced an 18-story, 400-room hotel next to the Palm Beach County Convention Center, and split 3-2 in the same meeting on a separate agreement that clears the way for the hotel’s replacement parking land to come off the tax rolls. Both votes came at the commission’s Aug. 3…

University of Tampa students are just a few months away from having a world-class waterfront amenity right in their backyard. The nearly 2,000-foot section of the West Riverwalk that runs alongside the campus is currently under construction by The Haskell Company and is expected to open by the end of the year, weather permitting. The…

Orlando leaders are looking for new ways to bring investment into downtown, including its historic buildings. To encourage more investment downtown, the Orlando Community Redevelopment Agency, made up of city commissioners, approved a new tax incentive for historic buildings. “They do have to make sure they keep those historic elements of the building and have…

Orlando city leaders have given final approval for The Canopy, a proposed 10-acre public space under Interstate 4 in downtown Orlando, with construction expected to begin within 60 days. The project will transform under-used space beneath I-4 into a community destination with areas for events, art, trails, multimodal connections, parking, and community programming. “It’s finally…

The City of Bradenton is in early talks to partner with a Pittsburgh-based university and build a school presence downtown. Early plans for the partnership include an emphasis on Point Park University utilizing the city’s Avenue of the Arts — Third Avenue West — to “create new pathways for students,” according to a news release.…

More than 70 years ago, Karen Sloan started kindergarten at Clearwater’s North Ward Elementary School. The school, built in 1915, was one of Pinellas County’s first public schools. Sloan, 76, would eat lunch with her classmates under the trees when the weather was nice outside, and she still remembers the songs she learned in class.…

The renovation of the former Wachovia Bank building was granted a 30-day extension, but there is a possible issue with the elevator in the three-story building on North Ridgewood Drive. On Jan. 3, 2024, the Sebring Community Redevelopment Agency approved an agreement with the Blackmon family on the former bank building, which the CRA purchased…

The Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency hosted a community meeting Wednesday to hear from the public on how to best utilize public funds for Ybor City infrastructure projects. “This is looking to improve deteriorated buildings and housing conditions… So those are the physical conditions of those buildings. Upgrading aging infrastructure, our roads our sidewalks and even…