Downtown Plant City festival will be the place to shop, learn PLANT CITY – As president of the Suncoast Native Plant Society, Devon Higginbotham is happy to spread the word about the virtues of landscaping with vegetation that grows naturally in the state. So she’s looking forward to the chance to speak at a downtown…
Reviving Tampa’s Channelside Bay Plaza The Tampa Port Authority’s decision to buy Channelside Bay Plaza marks a fresh start for the retail center and a breakthrough for downtown. The move restarts the clock on turning a struggling public property into a thriving destination, and it gives the city more control over how Tampa’s channel district…
Palm Beach’s Worth Ave. nominated in national “Iconic Street” contest Palm Beach’s most famous shopping district has been named to the national top 20 Iconic Streets, according to 10Best.com, a division of USA Today. Also included are two other famous Florida thoroughfares: Calle Ocho in Miami’s Little Havana and Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. The…
Port of Tampa set to buy Channelside retail complex for $5.75 million TAMPA — The Tampa Port Authority finally found the buyer of its dreams to purchase Channelside Bay Plaza: the Tampa Port Authority. The port’s governing board on Tuesday voted unanimously to buy the downtrodden downtown retail center for $5.75 million from the Irish…
City of Deerfield Beach embraces child-friendly plan for Sullivan Park In the end, it was what it afforded children that won residents and Deerfield Beach commissioners over to a plan to develop Sullivan Park, approved by the Community Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday [9/10]. Both plans presented to the Bermello Ajamil and Partners called for spending…
As hotel market warms, new Marriott planned for downtown West Palm Beach WEST PALM BEACH — Yet another hotel is planned for downtown. This time, it’s a nine-story, 152-room Marriott Residence Inn, to be built at 455 Hibiscus St., between Quadrille Boulevard and Dixie Highway. Read full story
Sanford looks at selling wealth of downtown real estate on Lake Monroe When Sanford decided to buy half a downtown block last month for $450,000, city leaders said the purchase would give them more control over development along Lake Monroe. But although he voted to buy the land, which has been used as a public…
St. Petersburg seeks to brand downtown medical, academic hub ST. PETERSBURG — Just south of downtown, a quiet section of St. Petersburg has evolved into a jumble of research, academics and jobs. Hospitals, government agencies and a university campus employ at least 8,000 people. About 6,000 students seek college degrees. The district’s economic importance to…
Bradenton holds high hopes for restored historic hotel BRADENTON – The Pink Palace blushes no more. When it reopens as lodging in mid-November, after a $15 million upgrade, it will be beige. But that is rightly so, say historians, since the old Manatee River Hotel was off-white when it opened in 1926, at 309 10th St.…
Brownfields Program Turns Polluted Sites Into Economic Potential The Florida Brownfields Program facilitates redevelopment and job creation by empowering communities, local governments and other stakeholders to work together to assess, clean up and reuse sites that may have been previously impacted by pollutants. Brownfields are properties where expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by…
When Sanford decided to buy half a downtown block last month for $450,000, city leaders said the purchase would give them more control over development along Lake Monroe. But although he voted to buy the land, which has been used as a public parking lot, Commissioner Randy Jones said he hopes the city won’t own…
Eustis eyes downtown entertainment district Eustis city commissioners will meet Thursday night to consider creating a Downtown Waterfront Entertainment District to better promote the city and help local businesses. “An entertainment district is a recent trend in retailing and urban redevelopment that attempts to develop a pedestrian-oriented venue consisting of, but not limited to, movie…
