As the economy continues to lag and unemployment rates rise, Tampa housing officials are touting a planned redevelopment project as a way to create thousands of jobs. ...more

January 13, 2009

LAKE PLACID — The population of the town could double in less than eight years if a proposed development, by local citrus farmer and landowner Alan Grigsby, is successful. The proposal calls for 942 new homes on 375 acres, or an average density of 2.75 dwelling units per acre. Twenty percent of the site will be set aside for commercial development. The tract of mostly farmland is south of West Interlake Boulevard and east of Catfish Creek Road. Rhon Ernest-Jones Consulting Engineers Inc., the project's consultant, expects a "full build-out" by 2015. Any construction depends on the new construction market, Rhon Ernest-Jones said. ...more

October 31, 2007

Imagine trying to trim a billion dollars out of the budget. That might not seem like too much if you're talking about the federal budget, but it's Florida's budget, and that's a problem. So how do you do it? Obviously you start cutting. But what about spending money? That's what Gov. Charlie Crist wants to do, and we think he's on to something. Just about everything is on the table for proposed cuts, although Crist has said education would not be touched. He has, however, said that state reserves should be used to start major infrastructure construction projects such as roads and schools to invigorate the construction business. By doing this, he says, it will kick-start the state's economy. We're not sure how that would work on the state level, but there's no doubt that the flat housing market in Highlands County is having a massive negative effect on those of us living here. With no major manufacturing plant that employs a huge number of people here, construction and all of its offshoots drives this area's economy, along with citrus. ...more

September 9, 2007