- January 16, 2026
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Commercial developer buys acreage for retail project
A 68-acre commercial property in Fort Myers has sold for $14.15 million. The land is at 312 Blackstone Drive. Justin Thibaut, CEO of LSI Cos., which brokered the deal, says the buyer plans to build a large scale retail development on the property. The sale, he says, “follows continued increased residential permitting activity throughout Lehigh Acres and surrounding areas, and the substantial infrastructure improvements made to the corridor over the past five years.” The buyer is an LLC whose address, according to state records, matches that of Ohio-based commercial real estate and development firm Casto. Thibaut and Hunter Ward represented the local seller, an LLC. The buyer was represented by LSI’s Alex Henderson, Max Molloy and Sawyer Gregory.
Country club completes $15M renovation project
The Countryside Golf & Country Club in Naples has completed a three-year, $15 million renovation project. The work included expanding dining, social and recreational amenities, while modernizing and nearly doubling the size of the community’s popular clubhouse, according to a statement. The club also added an 80,000-gallon resort-style pool with beach entry and lap lanes as well as new parking areas. Members, according to the release, called the project Countryside 2.0. The final piece, four lighted pickleball courts, was completed late last year. Countryside Golf & Country Club is a resident-owned gated golf community with 1,133 residential units, including 221 detached single-family homes. The private community rests among hundreds of tropical Florida trees and a tranquil 70-par, 18-hole Arthur Hills-designed golf course.
Church buys radio station property
Radiant Church, which has been holding services in a South Tampa shopping center for 12 years, has bought a piece of property nearby and will begin construction on a new building this later this year. The church’s new building will be on the site of the former iHeart Media & Entertainment on 4002 Gandy Blvd. The church, in a statement, says it purchased the 50,000-square-foot facility, on six acres. It did not disclose a purchase price and Hillsborough County property records have not been updated. Those records show Irvine, California-based LBA Properties bought the property from iHeart, which moved, in 2021 for $3.8 million. The Radiant Church statement, however, says it bought its portion of the 12-acre property from Alliant Development, which will develop it for medical or retail use. County records don’t yet show Alliant bought the property and the company did not respond to a phone message or email. The church, which was founded in 2013 and holds services at the Britton Theater in Britton Plaza on South Dale Mabry Highway, says that since its inception “every potential permanent building opportunity for South Tampa fell through.”
Support grows for Gas Plant plan
Several local groups and nationally known companies are lining up behind a proposal from Ellison Cos., ARK Invest and Horus Construction for the $6.8 billion redevelopment of the Historic Gaslight District in St. Petersburg. In a statement from the three local luminaries, which are going by the name of ARK Ellison Horus LLC, six organizations have say they want to be a part of the project and have signed Letters of Interest. The organizations are the construction company Moss; the professional services firm Jacobs; the engineering, planning and design firm Kimley-Horn; the Pinellas County Housing Authority; the St. Petersburg Housing Authority; and Evara Health. The trio of companies filed an unsolicited redevelopment proposal in October. On Jan. 4. the city of St. Petersburg issued a public notice giving anyone interested until Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. to submit proposals “for the lease, purchase or development of all or a portion of the Historic Gas Plant District property.” That Ark Ellis Hours plan covers 95.5 acres, including the 86-acres that make up the district.
Property insurance rates to drop
Most Florida homeowners with Citizens Property Insurance Corp. policies are set to see a nearly 10% reduction in their annual rates when they go to renew in the spring. Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation say in a pair of statements that statewide the average cost for a policy will be reduced 8.7%. According to the statements, more than 330,000 Citizens policyholders across the state’s 67 counties will see rate decreases, and more than 150,000 policyholders will receive reductions of 10% or more. Citizens, the state-run insurer, had 437,095 policies in force as of November. That is down 55.76% from the 988,051 in force a year earlier, according to its website. In December 2023, Citizens had 1.22 million policies in force, a 61.82% increase from two years earlier. (The statements says there are 395,144 policies in force as of January but Citizens’ website does not yet show policy numbers for December or January.) DeSantis and OIR credit the rate reduction to legislative reforms that have led to a “sharp decline in litigation following the elimination of one-way attorney fees and abusive assignment-of-benefits practices.”
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