Palm Shores CRA Ethics Complaint Dismissed on All Counts
In a recent press release from the Town of Palm Shores, Mayor Carol McCormack was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Florida Commission on Ethics. To read the release, click here.
Woodland Park and Heartwood projects to provide varied housing opportunities
It’s been years in the making. But at long last, two residential development projects are well underway in southeast Gainesville. The first phase of a three phase Woodland Park redevelopment project is in the midst of site preparation, while at the Heartwood Neighborhood development site preparation is nearly completed. Heartwood sits on 15 acres on…
FCLF Closes on a New Markets Tax Credit Transaction with Henderson Behavioral Health
Florida Community Loan Fund has announced closing on a New Markets Tax Credit Transaction with Henderson Behavioral Health in Fort Lauderdale, to build a new Crisis Stabilization Unit and expand behavioral health services. Here are links to more information: FCLF E-newsletter June 2019, FCLF & Henderson Behavioral Health: Expanding Critical Services With NMTC Financing FCLF…
Socom’s SOFWORX part of bigger Tampa Heights redevelopment project
As someone who covers special operations and a guy who once created an urban design column when I was editor of the Philadelphia City Paper, I find The Heights redevelopment project fascinating on several levels. In Monday’s column, I wrote about a concept being created by U.S. Special Operations Command and the local academic/industrial infrastructure…
Pompano Beach Seeks Master Developer for Downtown and Innovation District
The City of Pompano Beach and Pompano Beach CRA have issued a Request for Letters of Interest (RLI) for a Master Developer for the City’s Downtown and Innovation District. The South Florida municipality has undergone a tremendous transformation during the past few years, and the creation of a dense urban downtown is the next redevelopment…
Apartment complex planned in east Fort Myers
A 420-unit apartment community is in the works at the corner of Seaboard Street and Michigan Avenue in Fort Myers, the first of its kind in an area that has laid dormant for many years. This project is also the first to be approved in the newly created Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard redevelopment area.…
Mayor’s Village Initiative Launches 2019 Teens Unite Summer Series
West Palm Beach, FL (June 6, 2019) On Saturday, June 8, the City of West Palm Beach will launch the 2019 Teens Unite Series! – a free series of summer events for youth ages 12 to 18. This program was created in collaboration with several youth development programs and community centers in the north end…
Redevelopment Progress at Risk By: Peter Altman
This session, Florida’s community redevelopment agencies (CRAs) are being targeted for an “overhaul” to institute reforms related to their operation. However, proposed bills in the Florida Senate and House, CS/CS/Senate Bill 1054 and CS/House Bill 9, go too far to limit the creation of new agencies, and to limit their terms. This proposed overhaul of…
Lakeland CRA board to reconsider its ways
A string of recent tough decisions and moral dilemmas in the sale of city-owned properties have left some questioning if it’s time to reevaluate the process. Members of the Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency’s advisory board asked city officials Thursday for suggestions on how to make the sale of city-owned land more transparent and consistent. The…
Ethics commission approves settlement with Andrew Gillum
The Florida Commission on Ethics today approved a joint settlement agreement with 2018 gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum for accepting a gift over $100 from a city lobbyist while he was mayor of Tallahassee. After about five minutes of discussion, the commission by voice vote accepted the joint stipulated agreement announced in April, that dropped four…
Leesburg to bring website up to ADA compliance
The City of Leesburg is revamping its website to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. City commissioners last week voted to spend up to $100,000 to rework the site after settling a lawsuit alleging documents weren’t accessible to blind people. Specifically, the suit said, the documents weren’t compatible with text-to-voice assistive technology. Joel Price,…
Designing a new Panama City – together (Panama City Mayor Greg Brudnicki)
One of the positive consequences of a shared trauma like Hurricane Michael is an even more powerful collective commitment to a common goal. Indeed, the arrival of such a watershed opportunity ushers in a promise for the future and an important sense of closure for the past. To that end, we are proud to report…