University of Central Florida President John Hitt pitched his proposal for a downtown Orlando campus to local leaders Wednesday and said UCF would again seek approval for the project from the Florida Board of Governors, probably early next year. UCF’s proposal, which is on the tentative Board of Governors’ meeting agenda for January, calls for…
DetailsST. PETERSBURG — A historic downtown bank, vacant for two decades, could become the cornerstone of an eight-story apartment and retail building. The city’s Community Planning and Preservation Commission approved a proposal Tuesday that would preserve the original 1926 Union Trust Co. building at 801 Central Ave. but demolish additions made in 1938 and 1967.…
DetailsThe event, like the project itself, brought together the academic, the entrepreneurial and the political. The University of South Florida gave a big thank you Tuesday to Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik for donating an acre of land for USF’s new downtown medical school building. “A new chapter for downtown Tampa,” USF president Judy…
DetailsAfter a run of 60 years as a hub of live entertainment in downtown Bradenton, the Riverfront Theatre faced its last act Tuesday when a bulldozer began knocking it to the ground to clear the space for development along the Manatee River. The theater was the longtime home of the Manatee Players, the community theater…
DetailsSARASOTA – The owner of the former Sarasota Quay property is taking initial steps toward development. GreenPointe Communities, which paid $27 million for the 14-acre bayfront site last December, expects to submit a formal development plan to the city of Sarasota early next year. The project, called “Sarasota Bayside,” will – for now – retain…
DetailsDuring Monday’s commission meeting, commissioners appointed Vice Mayor Rich O’Brien to serve as mayor for two terms. O’Brien, who was elected as mayor in 2007 and 2012, was nominated Monday by incumbent Mayor Andrea Samuels. He won 3-2 against Commissioner Undine George, who nominated herself after the public voiced their support. Five people addressed the…
DetailsA proposed $8.8 million office building in downtown Pensacola is one step closer to reality, but the door may be open for other developers to swoop in onto the property where a local businessman is planning his expansion. Sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, Pensacola City Council on Monday approved issuing an invitation for proposals…
DetailsTwo highly-scrutinized redevelopment projects approved by Naples City Council in the past month are expected only to be the beginning of what’s described as an inevitable makeover to parts of Fifth Avenue South and other business corridors downtown. Spurred by a booming real-estate market, investors are buying up swaths of property and builders are planning…
DetailsOLDSMAR – The Oldsmar City Council listened to more information regarding a contract with the University of South Florida School of Architecture and Community Design to update the Town Center Dec. 1. Taryn Sabai, a USF research associate professor and head of the Florida Center for Community Design and Research, provided an overview. The council…
DetailsAfter 10 long years of sitting empty in a key location in Lake Worth, the Gulfstream Hotel, a faded grande dame perched between the town’s raffish downtown and the Intracoastal Waterway, is finally inching toward a renaissance. An approval of a rezoning request by the city’s Historic Resources Preservation Board advances the $60 million project…
DetailsLAKELAND — Publix Super Markets confirmed plans this week to build its first store in downtown Tampa. And Cynthia Haffey says she thinks the Lakeland-based grocer would benefit from investing in a downtown location in its own backyard. “I think having a market or grocery store downtown is long overdue,” said Haffey, executive director of…
DetailsPORT ST. LUCIE — Enigmatic City Center developer Lily Zhong never has been heard speaking candidly about her grandiose plans for the project. But in testimony earlier this year to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Zhong spilled details such as her ongoing plans for the project, its financing and design and negotiations she claims to…
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