Naples council in 2015 approved Fifth Avenue development concept that was rejected by 2003 council

Naples City Council approved a controversial Fifth Avenue South redevelopment project last fall, more than a decade after a previous council rejected a near-identical concept based on an analysis that the plans violated the city charter. By voting against a developer’s request in 2003 to construct a three-story hotel above a level of underground parking,…

CRA approves Piggly Wiggly funding

The Community Redevelopment Agency board on Thursday approved $205,000 toward improvements for a new Piggly Wiggly grocery store in a documented food desert on Tallahassee’s south side. Harveys closed May 2014 — three months after the announcement rocked nearby neighborhoods — due to its proximity to Winn-Dixie on Paul Russell Road. Harveys was an anchor store…

Column: Transit options multiply

As the fifth-largest city in Florida and home to more than 250,000 residents, St. Petersburg is an active and mobile community. We have a thriving downtown. We have an emerging Innovation District. We have art. We have sports. We have jobs by the thousands and the ability to grow more of them with smart planning.…

Bradenton Downtown Development Authority tries to move forward as CRA transition continues

BRADENTON — The Bradenton Downtown Development Authority and the three city community redevelopment agencies are locked into 2015-16 budgets with few expendable revenues, which could change in the next budget cycle with an expiring $1.3 million annual interlocal agreement with Manatee County freeing up money sooner than expected. That possibility has put pressure on Bradenton…

Thompson Cigar Factory Redevelopment

The City of Bartow, Florida (the City) is interesting in working with the development team (the Proposer) that has the vision and capacity to transform the former Thompson & Company Cigar Factory (T&CCF) into a signature redevelopment project. The City is also attentive to the future prosperity of the surrounding area; this may result in…

Fear of county encroaching on city’s CRAs

As city of Miami commissioners begin talks about extending the life of the Overtown Parkwest Community Redevelopment Agency, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is seeking changes that could increase county participation and change the agency’s scope. Miami officials aren’t exactly cool to the idea, saying that the idea, which has the support of county commissioners, interferes…

Harder Hall sale appears imminent

SEBRING — The city of Sebring’s long-awaited sale of Harder Hall appeared to be imminent Monday. As of late Monday afternoon, South Florida Senior Living had not notified the city that it wants to back out of purchasing the historic hotel and transforming it into an independent senior living facility. The Monday deadline was the latest…