Construction is underway for a pedestrian walkway to unite downtown Dunedin with the marina waterfront. The main entrance to the Dunedin Municipal Marina closed May 1 for crews to begin work. Drivers should expect detours at the intersection of Main Street and Edgewater Drive (Alt US 19) throughout the four-month project. Businesses in the marina are open and will continue to serve customers. Crews are installing an 8-foot-wide sidewalk along the north side of Main Street between Victoria Drive and the first driveway on Broadway. It includes landscaping and irrigation improvements, as well as…

Pat Illiano sees Dunedin's south gateway along Patricia Avenue as a "ghost town" on weekends. And during the week, a once steady stream of patrons dried up with the closing of the Nielsen Co. corporate headquarters, crippling business at his Italian eatery, Umberto's of Long Island, for the past eight years. "There's no reason for anybody to drive through Patricia whatsoever," the longtime restaurant owner told Dunedin leaders during an April 23 city workshop. A land use attorney hired by Wells Fargo shared Illiano's concerns and wants the city to consider a change to the zoning codes that …

Artists wanting to live and work in their downtown Dunedin studio may soon get their chance. City leaders are expected to approve proposed zone changes Thursday that seek to shape downtown's future development. The changes set the area up for a future art overlay district, an enclave where artists could more easily work and live in the downtown business district.  Dozens of property owners along Douglas, Highland and Howard avenues, Skinner Boulevard and Highland Court volunteered to be a part of the city initiative that moves them into the "downtown core" zone, allowing them more freedom in …

City Manager Rob DiSpirito can envision it already: A pedestrian-focused block extending downtown to the hospital, with green space, apartments, retail shops and restaurants welcoming visitors at downtown Dunedin's easternmost gateway. It's been a long time coming, and would be such a boon for downtown, he said following Thursday's commission meeting at City Hall. And they're so close to setting the plans in motion. Developers of the vacant 4.1.-acre prime downtown parcel at Main Street and Milwaukee Avenue, across from Mease Dunedin Hospital, get six more months to close the deal, …

The deadline for developers to finish buying the second half of a vacant downtown Dunedin lot across from the hospital is approaching fast. And six years after initially brokering a deal, they may get another 180-day extension on Thursday. Pizzuti Builders, part owners of a 4.1-acre prime downtown parcel at Main Street and Milwaukee Avenue, received an extension in August after revealing the initial plan to turn the site into a block mixed with apartments and retail space. Builders wanted a better deal on the final price tag, one that took into account the economic downturn. Commissioners …

The word "southside" leaves a bad taste in the mouths of some Dunedin city leaders. They honed in on the beleaguered nickname during a segment for identifying development opportunities in the southern half of town as part of a daylong commission retreat Feb. 28 focused on planning Dunedin's future.  Some commissioners believe banning "southside" from their vocabulary would help expel negative perceptions of the southern half of town. "We need to stop talking about that area like it's a problem," Commissioner Julie Scales said, suggesting that south Dunedin residents looking for a different …

City of Dunedin staff may start exploring the possibility of permanently closing a part of downtown Main Street to traffic. It was an idea Commissioner Ron Barnette tossed out during a Feb. 28 commission retreat focused on planning Dunedin's future. Barnette asked if anyone had ever considered permanently blockading the area of Main Street between Douglas and Highland avenues, "in light of encouraging outdoor activity."  All the commissioners liked the idea of creating more open space and walkability in downtown Dunedin. "There's plenty of communities making a commercial area into a …

Ron Retterer just wanted to sell the "eyesore" storage lot he's owned for the past 20 to 30 years. "I’m ready to sell this place, I really am," he told Dunedin Commissioners at Thursday night's city meeting.  And despite the fact that a citizen advisory board recommended city leaders deny plans for a Dollar General Store on his lot, commissioners told impassioned Dunedin residents they had no legal reason to do so. "It’s about, 'what does the law say,' " Commissioner Julie Ward Bujalski told residents. "If you say that [the store] is not compatible. It’s got to be something within our code." …

Downtown's entrances will see major improvements this winter. City Commissioners approved two big beautification projects, with a combined $261,400 price tag, during a meeting at City Hall on Thursday. One project will expand parking areas at the eastern entrance of downtown. The other will add palm tree landscaping and a pedestrian promenade that visually unites the Municipal Marina with Main Street. Downtown Parking Lots To See Improvements The city is doling out $81,999 for improvements to two parking areas and an alley near Highland Avenue and Wood Street. Joan Rice, city transportation …

Early plans for a Dollar General discount store sparked discussion of whether staff had addressed its cookie-cutter design during Thursday night's City Commission meeting. Commissioners unanimously approved the concept plans for the 9,100-square-foot Dollar General to be constructed at 1260 Belcher Road, at the site of a former Bank of America near State Road 580. Greg Rice, planning and development director, said that while Dollar General's architectural style is not one recommended in the city's architectural guidelines, it is an upgrade from a base prototype model. The architectural …

After years of stalling, builders are looking for city officials to give some direction on a mixed-use retail and apartment center on a long vacant Main Street parcel on Thursday. The apartments and businesses, across from Mease Dunedin Hospital at Milwaukee Avenue, would attract a younger demographic to downtown, according to city documents. Pizzuti Builders will officially propose its conceptual plan to the commission on Aug. 23. Right now, Dunedin's "multi-family rental stock can be characterized as older and not as attractive as newer products in surrounding areas such as Tampa, …

The future of affordable, energy-efficient housing just got a little greener, especially for the potential new residents of an up-and-coming development in Dunedin. And it should keep their wallets greener, too. Officials broke ground on what will be the nation’s first affordable, LEED-certified, net zero energy townhome development on Dunedin’s historic Lorraine Leland tract Wednesday. Already, officials have a stack of 91 reservations for 25 homes in the future Eco Village at Dunedin. "There's gonna be a lot of disappointed people," said Chuck Burkett, a president for Eco Village developer …

The Pinellas Board of County Commissioners formally approved Dunedin’s request for an extension of its tax increment financing for the Community Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday. The Community Redevelopment Agency recently revised the downtown master plan to include improvements suggested in the city's parking study and Downtown Waterfront Corridor Study. The revisions called for an extra 15 years of county and city financing to complete, for which the city had already approved before the county weighed in on its contribution. The county-level approval will mean roughly $4.3 million in …

Millions of dollars toward the future of downtown Dunedin hangs in the balance of what Pinellas County Commissioners have to say Tuesday morning. They are considering whether to continue financing Dunedin's downtown redevelopment goals for an additional 15 years past the original 30-year expiration, which ends in 2018.  Up until this point, the county has contributed $3 million (in tax increments) to Dunedin's downtown redevelopment efforts, and a county ordinance ensures the city receives an estimated $1.6 million in financing through 2018.  Dunedin, however, recently revised its 30-year …

Carl Krave said he paid the city $64,000 in impact fees to develop Glencairn Cottages, a certified green, modular-home neighborhood near downtown Dunedin. It was a steep price, especially after the real estate bubble burst, but he's largely OK with it since the fees went back to purchasing parklands for the people of Dunedin. Some critics blame the high ordinance fees for deterring development in challenging economic times. Despite those criticisms, Krave, a Dunedin resident, urged city leaders to continue the more than 30-year-old Land Dedication Ordinance as they move forward on plans to …

Even after an extra six months, Gateway developers still aren't ready to close on the vacant property. They want more time for figuring out a "project that makes sense" before finalizing its purchase, Tom Harmer, a senior vice president with Pizzuti Builders, told city officials at a city commission meeting Thursday (March 15). "We want to see it developed the right way," he said. Nine more months would help, Harmer said. City officials ultimately granted that extension Thursday. Pizzuti Builders agreed to purchase the Gateway property, a 4.1-acre vacant field across from Mease Dunedin …

Edgewater Drive residents may want the city to purchase an unfinished waterfront “eyesore” and make it a public park. The city isn't purchasing that property, but could it buy that or any other property for park use even if it wanted to? Not if it is relying on Land Dedication Ordinance funds. The last of the funds for acquiring parkland were used in December 2010 to purchase the Bleakley property, a waterfront parcel at Dunedin's northernmost boundary, commissioner Julie Scales said in a phone interview.  Without residential growth, however, the city cannot replenish those funds because …

Manny Kusturiss has owned the Inn Lounge for more than 30 years, and he has seen a lot of changes in the community over that time. But despite all the development that has taken place in the downtown district, he is surprised there haven’t been many attempts to revitalize the Dunedin Causeway area — at least none that have been successful.  That’s why the veteran businessman was excited about the prospect of Arcadia Luxury Apartments, a 26-unit luxury apartment complex at 265 Causeway Blvd., across the street from his business in Island Plaza. Gus Dames, the owner of the property at 265 …

The Fenway Hotel has been used for a variety of purposes throughout its nearly 90-year history, including for the first radio broadcast in Pinellas County and as the U.S. headquarters for Schiller International University. The 1925 building has been vacant since 2006, when Schiller moved its American campus to Largo, and the future of the picturesque property on Edgewater Drive has been in limbo ever since. St. Petersburg developer and attorney George Rahdert bought the property in 2006, which fueled speculation that the building could either be razed to build a housing development or be …

After seven years of vacancy and uncertainty regarding the future of the property, demolition of the former Nielsen Company headquarters at 375 Patricia Ave. is finally under way. Crews have been tearing down the 50-year-old structure for weeks, and according to Dunedin economic development director Bob Ironsmith, the project could be completed in the next month. "They hit a couple of snags due to equipment failure and the holiday break," Ironsmith said by phone. "There's no definite timetable for completion, but I would guess the next four weeks or so." Theories abound regarding the future …