- December 17, 2025
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Facade vote postponed
The Tampa City Council indefinitely postponed a vote to remove restrictions on the preservation of downtown building facades that hold historic significance. The effort focused on the old Woolworth and Newberry buildings along North Franklin Street.
Owners of the property want to be able to redevelop the aging vacant properties, while preservationists argue that the storefronts should remain in place because of their significance to the Civil Rights era. Black residents staged a sit-in at the Woolworth lunch counter in the early 1960s.
A plaque recognizing those events at the site was proposed as a compromise. The Woolworth and Newberry buildings are not designated as historic landmarks.
TIA keeps free parking
The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority decided to keep the first hour of parking at Tampa International Airport free, with visitors paying $3 once the hour is up. The move, effective Oct. 1, is expected to generate $444,000 annually for airport operations.
Discussion of canceling the perk was initiated earlier in August, with the argument that charging for the hour would bring in $2.2 million per year. While no other major airports offer free parking, which TIA has had in place for the last five years, authority members said not charging for the first hour helped alleviate congestion in passenger pickup areas.
Mall loses movies
University Mall in north Tampa has closed its 16-screen movie theater and will seek another operator to take over and upgrade the premises.
The multiplex, which was built before stadium seating was introduced to newer theaters, has suffered a lack of traffic in recent years despite having the University of South Florida nearby. Regal Cinemas operated the theaters under a contract with Glimcher Realty Trust, which sold the mall three years ago to Somera Capital Management and Rockwood Capital LLC for $145 million.
The area's largest indoor mall with 1.2 million square feet, University Mall has faced increasing competition from newer retail complexes in Hillsborough and Pasco counties over the last decade.
Appliance store hires 100
Indianapolis-based appliance and electronics retailer hhgregg says it plans to hire 100 people to staff a new store in Fort Myers and another in Naples.
The two new stores are scheduled to open this fall at 5052 Airport Pulling Rd. in Naples and 5100 S. Cleveland Ave. in Fort Myers.
The retailer currently operates 158 stores east of the Mississippi River, from Florida to New Jersey.
Airlines increase service
Several airlines that fly into Southwest Florida International Airport have announced additional nonstop flights to new destinations from Fort Myers this winter.
Southwest Airlines says it plans to start weekly nonstop service to Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 15 and daily service starting Feb. 13.
AirTran will inaugurate weekly nonstop service to Rochester, N.Y., on Nov. 20, and Moline/Quad Cities, Ill., early next year. Recently, AirTran inaugurated nonstop service to Grand Rapids, Mich. On Dec. 23, Sun Country will start weekly nonstop service to Lansing, Mich.
County buys 122 homes
Lee County has spent $18 million in federal subsidies to buy 122 foreclosed homes.
The federal money is part of the Federal Housing and Recovery Act signed into law in 2008. Lee County has used the money to buy vacant foreclosed properties in neighborhoods hardest hit by the housing crisis.
The Neighborhood Stabilization Program of Lee County rehabilitates and sells the homes to qualified buyers, using the proceeds to buy more homes. Lee County also provides homeowners with a second mortgage and help with closing costs.
Company hires executive
Sarasota-based solar and LED light manufacturer Sunovia Energy Technologies hired Art Buckland as its new chief executive officer.
Buckland replaces Sunovia co-founder Carl Smith, who will remain the company's chairman. Buckland, according to Sunovia, has an extensive resume of corporate activity: He has raised $175 million in public and private capital to start nine companies; overseen the completion of 36 merger and acquisition-related transactions worth more than $1.45 billion; and has led seven turnaround efforts.
Sunovia lost $3.3 million in its most recent quarter, despite an increase in quarterly year-over-year revenues from $295,000 to $496,000. The company is also in the middle of a legal fight with a key business partner.
“Art brings the executive pedigree and Wall Street credibility that I feel have been missing from the company,” Smith says in a statement.
Developer seeks extension
Real estate developer John Simon told Sarasota city officials he still plans to build a $200 million mixed-used project downtown but he needs more time and flexibility to do it.
Simon, through the Ohio-based Isaac Group, is the developer behind Pineapple Square, a project that initially called for a combination of condos and retail stores on Lemon and Pineapple avenues. The developer has an agreement with the city that gives it until 2013 to begin building its second phase.
But Simon, citing market demands and economic realities, recently asked city officials for a 10-year extension on the project. Simon also told city leaders he would give back the State Street parking lot he took over in the initial agreement in return for the ability to change the configuration of phase two to possibly include a hotel.
Firm announces layoffs
Keepsake Plants, a plant production center in north Manatee County, plans to shut down its local operations by the end of 2010, a move that will result in a loss of 66 jobs.
Parrish-based Keepsake, a division of Barberton, Ohio-based Aris Horticultural Inc., filed layoff plans with the Agency for Workforce Innovation late last month.
