LAKELAND — 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…
PORT 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…
Maitland’s long-planned pedestrian-friendly downtown district isn’t quite there yet — but the city may have given itself more room to work with. Maitland City Council voted in a special meeting Monday to approve a complicated deal that would extend Independence Lane — the road the city wants to turn into a pedestrian “festival street” —…
Grand Resorts’ list of amenities and solutions for the transformation of Fort Myers Beach’s downtown is staggering: A roundabout at the base of the sky bridge, eliminating a traffic light and enhancing traffic flow; a parking garage, complete with 1,500 stalls and seven elevators; a skywalk over Estero Boulevard, ensuring pedestrian safety; a pedestrian mall…
DAYTONA BEACH – Throughout the month of November, local restaurants from Oak Hill to Ormond Beach donated a portion of sales to Food Brings Hope to raise awareness for the unique businesses and restaurants along the US-1 corridor. Restaurant owners and city officials were welcomed to the Food Brings Hope office for a check presentation.…
TAMPA — After more than a decade of hard work, frustration and disappointment, a grocery store is finally coming to downtown Tampa’s Channel District. A 37,600-square-foot Publix is expected to open in the fall of 2017 at the corner of E Twiggs Street and N Meridian Avenue, developer Mercury Advisors of Tampa said Tuesday. “It…
Many of us enjoy watching home improvement shows — “Property Brothers,” “Love It or List It” are two of my favorites. Halfway through the show they typically discover rotten wood or unsafe wiring that brings the project to a halt. The contractor, the designer and the homeowner need to regroup, look at options, consider the budget…
BARTOW — Though funding hasn’t been allocated yet, Polk County administrators are beginning to brainstorm about extensions to the Fort Fraser Trail, a hiking and cycling path stretching from Lakeland to Bartow. One of those extensions would take the trail south through Bartow to Fort Meade. Even though plans are only preliminary, Bartow Planning Director…
Especially at moments of global crisis, it sounds petty for people in upscale parts of Greater Boston to complain that there are too many banks within walking distance. But the ample supply of branches in some neighborhoods is a first world problem in more ways than one. The same factors that have buffeted advanced Western…
The price of doing business on Clematis Street is eternal vigilance — against street closures. That’s the word from Penny Murphy, owner of Pioneer Linens, a longtime downtown West Palm Beach retailer at 210 Clematis St. “It’s like the sun comes up, and somebody closes the street,” Murphy said. Every year, and particularly during the…
The property where the Seminary Lane Apartments once stood has been vacant since 2009. And the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency is seeking ideas from residents as to what they want to see on the 6.25-acre site in the historic Northwest Fifth Avenue area. Sarit Sela, CRA project manager, is asking residents to voice their opinions…
Downtowns were bustling from Flagler Avenue in New Smyrna Beach, northward to Flagler Beach and west to Woodland Boulevard in DeLand as shoppers packed the sidewalks for a yearly shopping tradition. And the weather — a sunny and breezy 76 degrees — was perfect to welcome the crowds. Small Business Saturday, a yearly event that…
