FORT WALTON BEACH — Bring up public parking in the downtown shopping district and you’re likely to get an earful. Bottom line? Folks want more of it. The city recently agreed to study the parking issue across the entire Community Redevelopment Agency footprint – something that hasn’t happened since 2007. “A lot has happened in…
Widowed and 84 years old, Julia Minors, and her puppy, Coco, had no one to complete even the most trivial repairs on their home until Minors heard about a paint voucher program from a friend. Minors’ home received renovations to her house at little cost through Partnership for Paint, a program sponsored by Gainesville’s Community…
PANAMA CITY — The Downtown Improvement Board (DIB) selected a new director Wednesday, but the public won’t know the name of the new administrator until the vetting process is complete. DIB Chairman Jim Hayden said the position has been offered and the top candidate has accepted the job. The new director will be announced at…
SARASOTA – Some local business owners and chain stores are flocking to University Parkway and Interstate 75 to be a part of the buzz surrounding the new Mall at University Town Center. Others want to avoid it completely. The only certainty is that Southwest Florida’s retail scene is undergoing a potentially seismic shift. How downtown…
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Monday, Sept. 29, the award of $61,130 to the City of Live Oak Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) for a project to strengthen and expand the Live Oak Farmers Market through training and outreach. The grant was gifted through the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP), and it…
TAMPA — Bill Gates’ riches will help fuel Jeff Vinik’s vision. An investment fund controlled by Microsoft’s billionaire founder will help finance the Tampa Bay Lightning owner’s ambitious plan to build a massive entertainment, office, residential and retail district around the Amalie Arena. “This has the potential to be a billion-dollar development,” said Vinik’s top…
TAMPA — After nine years without any movement, the idea of a residential tower on downtown’s N Franklin Street is getting new life. Carter & Associates, an Atlanta-based national real estate developer, is considering building a 23-story tower with 375 apartments or condominiums. The tower would go up on the 1-acre block bordered by N…
Land clearing is continuing on the Kolter Group’s project to build twin 19-story buildings on the Intracoastal Waterway called Water Club, across from the Benjamin School about a mile south of PGA Boulevard. Plans for the seven-acre parcel include 74 condos in each building, which will have parking on the bottom floor. Twenty townhouses are…
AVON PARK – Some look at it as a way to spruce up the streets, liven up the storefronts, bring beauty and vibrancy to neighborhoods and make town overall more appealing. But others look at it as a vice to possibly decrease home values, even to the point big developers could come in and buy…
BOCA RATON — Downtown Boca Raton’s first hotel is going to rise higher than most of Boca’s buildings, the City Council decided Monday. The 12-story Hyatt Place Hotel Boca Raton is expected to break ground in March. Councilwoman Constance Scott called the 200-room hotel the missing piece of the downtown puzzle. “I am very excited…
University of Central Florida President John Hitt made it official Tuesday, announcing to community and business leaders that UCF will push to build a campus in downtown Orlando that could ultimately cost as much as $200 million. UCF has been studying the idea of a downtown campus at the Creative Village — where the city’s…
LAKELAND | Officials at The Lakeland Center are looking for developers to build a second hotel at the complex to meet the growing demand for lodging in Lakeland and to attract larger conventions. Mike LaPan, executive director of The Lakeland Center, said Hyatt Place’s 127 rooms are not enough to entice larger events, and the…
