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Tampa ranked No. 34 on Business.org’s list of top 40 cities for entrepreneurs. | [Tampa Tribune | 2014] It’s no Silicon Valley yet, but when it comes to attracting entrepreneurs, Tampa Bay is beginning to look more attractive. Tampa ranked No. 34 on Business.org’s recently released list of top 40 US cities for entrepreneurs. "If you’re an entrepreneur looking to launch your own start-up, you’re no longer limited to Silicon Valley, the Silicon Prairie or any of the other ‘Silicon’ locales established a decade ago," the rankings said. The cities were graded based on the number of residents aged 25 to 34, the proportion of people in that age group with college and advanced degrees, local unemployment rate and housing affordability. Four Florida cities made the rankings, including Jacksonville at No. 28, Orlando at No. 31 and Miami at No. 39. Contact this reporter at mcarollo@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2249. Follow @malenacarollo. Source Article Visit to Learn More: http://...

Bill Sparano, left, and Aaron Masaitis at the Tree Fort, one of 10 multi-family buildings they recent bought in the Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa. [OCTAVIO JONES | Times] TAMPA — In the past few years, Seminole Heights has morphed into one of Tampa Bay’s trendiest neighborhoods. You can still buy a used Toyota on Florida Avenue but you can also dine at several top-rated restaurants that have made the area a foodie’s mecca. Fast-rising prices have pushed homeownership beyond reach of many who’d like to live in the Heights. But there’s an option: renting. And that’s where Aaron Masaitis and Bill Sparano come in. This month, the pair paid $4.925 million for a package of 10 old but well-maintained buildings in Seminole Heights. They contain a total of 46 apartments, roughly 85 percent of all multi-family units now in the area. Such is the demand for rentals that all 46 are occupied, most of them by college-educated young professionals drawn by the Height’s funky charm. "I...

Beck Daniel, left, and Noah Breakstone of BTI Partners in the newly opened sales center for the company’s 16-story Marina Pointe condo tower in the Westshore Marina District. [SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN | Times] Almost a decade into Florida’s latest real estate cycle, so much is happening in the Tampa Bay area that it’s hard to keep track of it all. Here are two significant projects you probably haven’t heard much about — a new hotel and an Ybor City apartment complex — with an update on a $600-million mixed-used community: WESTSHORE MARINA DISTRICT Plans for New Port Tampa Bay, a grandiose project at the corner of Gandy and Westshore boulevards, collapsed during the recession. But after Fort Lauderdale-based BTI Partners acquired the 52 waterfront acres, it forged ahead with a new master plan that includes hundreds of apartments and townhomes now under construction. On Thursday, BTI opened a lavish sales center for its 16-story, 120-unit Marina Pointe condo tower, one of three planned tow...

TAMPA, Fla., March 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — The City of Tampa City Council has approved Domain Homes to provide new, affordable, and quality-built homes in the City’s Urban Core. With the partnership, Domain Homes will build 75 new homes for income-eligible, first-time homebuyers. They may also qualify for up to $40,000 in down payment assistance grants depending on their financial situation. Domain Homes will also collaborate with Habitat for Humanity to build an additional 10 homes for eligible families. "We are ecstatic to be a partner helping to revitalize the City’s Urban Core with these funds for affordable, quality-built homes, as well as teaming up with Habitat for Humanity and CDC of Tampa," said Domain Homes’s president and owner, Sharon McSwain. "It’s an honor to build homes for the nurses, teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other professionals who make our city run smoothly. At the same time, we’re giving vacant properties new life with well-built, c...

Tony Daniel, of Tampa, holds a sign along E Jackson Street at N Florida Tuesday in Tampa last year. He also drives a truck and trailer with large, neatly printed signs that feature a Confederate flag, a Nazi flag, Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s portrait, a black and white photo of three men lynched by hanging, references to Home Depot and no less than four uses of a the word TAMPA —Tony Daniel has a long, unhappy history at City Hall. Dating back to the mid 1990s, Daniel, 60, has regularly used his three minutes of public comment at council meetings to hurl profane and racially provocative invective at council members. Once he chained himself to his seat during a council meeting. He’s been removed and arrested multiple times for his behavior during public comment. More recently, Daniel made news for driving his pickup truck though the city with a large sign described in a Tampa Bay Times story last year as emblazoned with a "Confederate flag, a Nazi flag, a photo of a lynching, Mayor Bo...