Category: Downtown Development Authority
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Fort Lauderdale DDA’s decline: from nurturing the rise of the city’s center to installing a mural on a city parking garage
By Noreen Marcus
FloridaBulldog.org
A bill to prolong Fort Lauderdale’s downtown taxing district for 20 years beyond its 2030 expiration date failed this legislative session. Expect another try in Tallahassee, though critics wonder why the Downtown Development Authority is still around after 54 years. -
A Streetcar Named Devour: Downtown Fort Lauderdale officials invested over $18M in quiet bet on WAVE ‘Loop’ they pushed
By Noreen Marcus
FloridaBulldog.org
Downtown Development Authority board members Alan Hooper and Tim Petrillo invested more than $18 million in real estate beside or near a planned “Loop” route along North Andrews Avenue at the northern WAVE terminus, near high-end Flagler Village. The timing of those deals raises concerns about a possible conflict of interest that was not made public. -
Has developer-dominated Fort Lauderdale DDA taxing district outlived its usefulness?
By Noreen Marcus
FloridaBulldog.org
Republican State Rep. Chip LaMarca, wants to extend the life of the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority until 2050. DDA critics are not happy. -
Poor Fort Lauderdale neighborhood pays millions for city streetcar line that won’t reach it
By Joseph A. Mann Jr.
FloridaBulldog.org
What does sewage in the streets around western Sistrunk Blvd. (NW 6th Street) in Fort Lauderdale have to do with the $195- million Wave Streetcar line being developed for the city? Plenty, according to Marie “Ms. Peaches” Huntley, neighborhood resident, activist, businesswoman and candidate for commissioner in District 3 of Fort Lauderdale, as well as other critics. -
Rep. Lois Frankel’s endorsement of security guard firm may breach House ethics rules
By Dan Christensen
FloridaBulldog.org
Rep. Lois Frankel’s endorsement of a private security guard firm whose owner poured $11,000 into her campaign after her support helped him land a sweet, no-bid government contract appears to have run afoul of House ethics rules prohibiting business endorsements. -
Firm tied to US Rep. Lois Frankel gets no-bid contract, owner gives her campaign $11K
By Dan Christensen
FloridaBulldog.org
Fort Lauderdale’s Downtown Development Authority awarded a lucrative, no-bid contract for its security patrol program to a private guard firm with political ties to Congresswoman Lois Frankel.
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