To say Lantana’s staff isn’t impressed with redevelopment plans for the former A.G. Holley State Hospital site might be an understatement. The town’s director of development services, David Thatcher, compared the proposal for Water Tower Commons at 1100 W. Lantana Road to a “’50s Kmart shopping center design” with some residential development behind it. And,…
NEW PORT RICHEY — City leaders have given the initial green light to spend nearly half a million dollars next fiscal year on its matching business grant program, the goal of which is to spur redevelopment in three key corridors in New Port Richey. During a meeting Tuesday, the New Port Richey City Council, acting…
More than three decades after a Gainesville property was put on a federal list of toxic sites, city officials are finally getting serious about improving the neighborhood around it. The Koppers property, which housed a wood-treatment operation, was put on the federal Superfund cleanup list in 1983. It wasn’t until last year that the cleanup…
As the city of Gainesville considers establishing a new community redevelopment area in the Stephen Foster neighborhood in north Gainesville, a debate is growing over whether another CRA has improved so much that it should be ended. It’s hard to determine one common denominator that can be measured to see if a redevelopment area has…
DELAND — When Wendy Libby became the president of Stetson University in 2009, she had a goal in mind: 3,000 students. That enrollment total could be reached this fall, marking a more than 30 percent increase during the six-year span. Now it’s time for the campus to grow and a $32 million construction project is…
PANAMA CITY — In the last 30 years, the Panama City Main Street program has generated more than $62 million in reinvestment value for the city’s downtown Harrison Avenue corridor. Those three decades of accomplishments were recognized last month by the Florida Department of State, which designated Panama City Main Street the July Florida Main…
TAVARES — Call it a treasure hunt wrapped in a quest to encourage good deeds, bundled with a desire to bring positive vibes to downtown Tavares. “There are a lot of layers and components to the idea, but it’s really simple at its core,” said Kevin Danko, who created the initiative dubbed Pay it Forward…
BRADENTON — Four parcels near Ware’s Creek are ready for potential redevelopment, city officials say. The Ballard Park Infill Project, around the intersection of Eighth Avenue West and 17th Street Court West and Ballard Park Drive and Ninth Avenue West, went through months of public meetings. Progress was made recently with the demolition of old…
MARION COUNTY, Fla. — City leaders in one North Central Florida county are trying to redevelop parts of town. City leaders say west Ocala has being a dying area for years, but a new project could give it life in the future. Those who live on that side of town say it’s about time. Like…
Downtown Sarasota is the urban center of Florida’s 5th largest metropolitan area. Despite being one half the size of metropolitan Jacksonville, Sarasota’s core faces many challenges that downtown Jacksonville does. For starters, Sarasota is no longer the largest city in the metropolitan area. That honor now goes to North Port, a sprawling Nocatee on steriods…
BRADENTON — The Bradenton Downtown Development Authority has recommended selling the old Manatee Inns property on 14th Street West to Beneficial Communities for $700,000. Beneficial attorney Casey Colburn of Sarasota’s Colburn Law Firm made final modifications to the agreement. The DDA wants to retain rights to intellectual property such as environmental studies performed on the…
West Ocala passed one of its last hurdles Tuesday in getting special tax status that city officials hope will help revitalize the economically distressed area. Earlier this year, the Ocala City Council created a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) for west Ocala. In CRAs, a portion of the property tax generated from within the CRA’s boundaries…
