Public support for Hurricane Michael recovery efforts in the Florida Panhandle is lacking, according to a REBUILD 850 survey released Tuesday. The results showed nearly half of respondents would do nothing to help people affected by the hurricane and nearly 75 percent said they would not consider donating money to help with relief efforts. The lack of public support…
In a recent press release from the Town of Palm Shores, Mayor Carol McCormack was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Florida Commission on Ethics. To read the release, click here.
It’s been years in the making. But at long last, two residential development projects are well underway in southeast Gainesville. The first phase of a three phase Woodland Park redevelopment project is in the midst of site preparation, while at the Heartwood Neighborhood development site preparation is nearly completed. Heartwood sits on 15 acres on…
Florida Community Loan Fund has announced closing on a New Markets Tax Credit Transaction with Henderson Behavioral Health in Fort Lauderdale, to build a new Crisis Stabilization Unit and expand behavioral health services. Here are links to more information: FCLF E-newsletter June 2019, FCLF & Henderson Behavioral Health: Expanding Critical Services With NMTC Financing FCLF…
As someone who covers special operations and a guy who once created an urban design column when I was editor of the Philadelphia City Paper, I find The Heights redevelopment project fascinating on several levels. In Monday’s column, I wrote about a concept being created by U.S. Special Operations Command and the local academic/industrial infrastructure…
The City of Pompano Beach and Pompano Beach CRA have issued a Request for Letters of Interest (RLI) for a Master Developer for the City’s Downtown and Innovation District. The South Florida municipality has undergone a tremendous transformation during the past few years, and the creation of a dense urban downtown is the next redevelopment…
A 420-unit apartment community is in the works at the corner of Seaboard Street and Michigan Avenue in Fort Myers, the first of its kind in an area that has laid dormant for many years. This project is also the first to be approved in the newly created Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard redevelopment area.…
West Palm Beach, FL (June 6, 2019) On Saturday, June 8, the City of West Palm Beach will launch the 2019 Teens Unite Series! – a free series of summer events for youth ages 12 to 18. This program was created in collaboration with several youth development programs and community centers in the north end…
This session, Florida’s community redevelopment agencies (CRAs) are being targeted for an “overhaul” to institute reforms related to their operation. However, proposed bills in the Florida Senate and House, CS/CS/Senate Bill 1054 and CS/House Bill 9, go too far to limit the creation of new agencies, and to limit their terms. This proposed overhaul of…
A string of recent tough decisions and moral dilemmas in the sale of city-owned properties have left some questioning if it’s time to reevaluate the process. Members of the Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency’s advisory board asked city officials Thursday for suggestions on how to make the sale of city-owned land more transparent and consistent. The…
The Florida Commission on Ethics today approved a joint settlement agreement with 2018 gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum for accepting a gift over $100 from a city lobbyist while he was mayor of Tallahassee. After about five minutes of discussion, the commission by voice vote accepted the joint stipulated agreement announced in April, that dropped four…
The City of Leesburg is revamping its website to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. City commissioners last week voted to spend up to $100,000 to rework the site after settling a lawsuit alleging documents weren’t accessible to blind people. Specifically, the suit said, the documents weren’t compatible with text-to-voice assistive technology. Joel Price,…
One of the positive consequences of a shared trauma like Hurricane Michael is an even more powerful collective commitment to a common goal. Indeed, the arrival of such a watershed opportunity ushers in a promise for the future and an important sense of closure for the past. To that end, we are proud to report…
Palm Coast residents now have a new interactive tool at their disposal that’s poised to put city services a couple clicks away. City officials this week announced the launch of a new mobile-friendly app called Palm Coast Connect, which is designed to streamline the process through which citizens access public services. Residents can use the…
President Trump on Thursday signed the $19.1 billion disaster relief package that passed the House on Monday. “Just signed Disaster Aid Bill to help Americans who have been hit by recent catastrophic storms. So important for our GREAT American farmers and ranchers. Help for GA, FL, IA, NE, NC, and CA. Puerto Rico should love…
For three years, the city has been working on a plan that it says will provide residents with safe, comfortable and convenient ways to move to and from homes, shops, schools and businesses. That plan was unveiled Thursday by officials, who discussed it two days earlier as part of a public presentation in Council chambers.…
Delray’s Community Redevelopment Agency will move a 1937 historic home to its property and convert it into office space. The home, located at 215 NE 7th Ave., is poised to become the location of a new town house project. Instead of razing the two-story home, the agency will work with the developer to move it…
Escambia County is considering designating four Community Redevelopment Areas in north Pensacola and Cantonment as brownfield areas. The County Commission will vote Thursday to schedule two public hearings on designating the Community Redevelopment Areas in Atwood, Ensley, Oakfield and Cantonment as brownfield areas, which would allow properties in those areas to qualify for state and federal…
The legislation which passed in the 2019 session, CS/HB 9, is now law effective October 1, 2019. Although there are several provisions that tighten up reporting, auditing and training provisions in Chapter 163, Part III, there is also a part of the bill that deals with new rules for website postings. Due to the fact…
In an effort to make the Riviera Beach waterfront more accessible for everyone in our community, Riviera Beach CRA recently announced plans for new equipment designed to assist visitors who find it challenging to navigate the sand and water at Marina Village. First will be the installation of a 5-foot-wide ADA-compatible (Americans with Disabilities Act…
As our political discourse generates derision and dissension, our time in the virtual world crowds out our time in the actual one, and trust in our institutions and one another has plummeted, local places such as markets, libraries, and coffee shops can help. A new study shows that living near community-oriented public and commercial spaces brings a…