New downtown transportation alternatives are edging closer to reality — if the city can find business partners willing to help. City Council members, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency board, agreed at their Feb. 27 meeting to request proposals from private companies on how much they will charge the city to help it launch downtown…
Ace Cafe Orlando, the first North American outpost of the celebrated London-based motor-diner, is scheduled to open this spring. The 35,000-square-foot dining, entertainment, and retail destination, is forecast to draw over 400,000 people to downtown Orlando annually. Since 1938, Ace Cafe London has been a mecca for those passionate about cars, bikes and rock ’n…
Tallahassee’s community redevelopment agency better act fast if it wants to get any new projects approved, lobbyist Ron Book warned the City Commission. “The future is not great for new ones,” Book, the city of Tallahassee’s lobbyist said at last week’s meeting. “Any projects in the pipeline … look at them very quickly.” Community redevelopment agencies,…
SARASOTA — City and county leaders remain deadlocked after their first formal meeting on whether Sarasota County owes one more payment to the downtown redevelopment agency that the two governments founded decades ago. After three hours of detailed legal and technical arguments from both sides about why their interpretation is correct, city and county leaders…
Quincy Main Street has been designated the April 2017 Florida Program of the Month. Secretary of State Ken Detzner made the announcement last week. According to a press release, communities are selected based on their developmental achievements and participation in the Florida Main Street Program. Quincy has been apart of the Florida Main Street Program…
Niche, a new-to-the-scene website that provides information on neighborhoods, recently compiled a list of the top places in New Jersey where millennials can thrive in 2016. According to their report, “2016 Best Places for Millennials in New Jersey,” Hoboken earned the number one spot, followed by Edgewater and Plainsboro Center in the number two and…
State legislators are considering a bill that could redirect millions of dollars earmarked for improving “blighted” local communities. The proposed bill, House Bill 13, would eliminate Community Redevelopment Agencies, governmental bodies created to promote affordable housing, economic development, health and safety in under-served neighborhoods. In a nutshell, a CRA holds on to a set percentage of the property…
Some of the biggest names in national and regional real estate development recently took center stage at the Hilton West Palm Beach to discuss why they are making such significant investments in the city and its Downtown. The West Palm Beach Development and Investment Forum drew nearly 350 guests and was co-hosted by the Urban…
With a focus on continuing to foster revitalization in the Greater Frenchtown/Southside and Downtown districts, today’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting included discussion and decisions on a number of items. The CRA Board, which is comprised of the Tallahassee City Commission and four Leon County Commissioners, approved the purchase and sale agreement with North American…
Despite concerns from residents and even themselves, Boynton Beach’s elected officials gave Davis Camalier and his development team their first approval to build Ocean One, an eight-story apartment building with retail spots and a parking garage at Federal Highway and Boynton Beach Boulevard. The commissioners approved rezoning the land, which would match surrounding residential developments.…
Home rule is a hot topic in Tallahassee this legislative session, and last week Lakeland City Commissioners Don Selvage, Jim Malless and Bill Read went to the Capitol to register their complaints with a few bills that infringe on the city’s ability to self-govern. We have already criticized one of their targets: HB 17, introduced…
Orlando is seeking contractors to build single-family homes on public land in Parramore, a $1.8 million effort to add affordable housing to the long-blighted downtown neighborhood west of Interstate 4. The city plans to sell the homes to low-income families by offering interest-free loans for down payments that the buyers may never have to repay.…
While much attention is revolving around Imagine Clearwater, a planned redevelopment of the city’s downtown and waterfront, in recent months, a separate effort to rezone a major stretch of U.S. 19 is quietly moving forward. In fact, the same night (Feb. 2) the Clearwater City Council approved the Imagine Clearwater project, the U.S. 19 plan…
As Coconut Grove regains its appeal as a thriving commercial district, two of the neighborhood’s deepest-rooted developers are transforming a 1980s-era parking garage into a contemporary mixed-use building that will meet growing demand for office space and prime retail. Developed by Terra in partnership with Mayfair Real Estate Advisors, the Touzet Studio-designed complex — named…
Mayor Nick Girone said a request from a resident to consider holding certain council meetings throughout the year at venues other than city council chambers got him thinking that it wasn’t a bad idea. So when it came time for choosing a place for the city’s first ever State of the City address and Town…
City officials from across the state will gather next week in Tallahassee to discuss the latest issues and developments affecting municipalities and how they are being addressed in Tallahassee during the current legislative session. These issues are all part of the Florida League of Cities 2017 legislative agenda. With numerous bills filed this session that…
Since the Florida Legislature began its session, the city of St. Augustine has been watching. St. Augustine officials are pushing for infrastructure funding as well as tracking about 40 bills to see what might become law and impact life locally, including bills threatening community redevelopment agencies. The session kicked off on March 7, and St.…
A landmark is reduced to rubble. Chunks of cinder blocks lie on the ground like crumbs. All that remains of the iconic mural on what used to be The Shelter is a jagged brick wall. The streetscape at Macomb and Tennessee streets is forever changed. Demolition crews spent two weeks working and knocking down the last…
State legislation that could end new projects by Jacksonville’s Downtown Investment Authority – and hundreds of similar agencies statewide – alarms their supporters and sparks debate about Tallahassee’s control over redevelopment. Bills to phase out what the state calls “community redevelopment agencies” are filed in both chambers of Florida’s Legislature. The more sweeping of those…
After the Downtowner electric cart service left for Tampa, the city of Boca Raton has jump-started three proposed plans to move people around downtown without using their cars. One option is exploring if the city’s special events contract with Limousines of South Florida can be expanded to provide a circulator. “We have the option…to get…
City Hall will hold the first of three public meetings on the future of the TECO Line Streetcar tonight with an eye on expanding and improving the service. The streetcar should be used more than it is, Mayor Bob Buckhorn said in announcing the forum, so, “We are taking a hard look at its future.…