In July, the University of South Florida joined a new statewide initiative that helps commercialize academic innovations. Called the University Partnership Program, it stems from Tampa-based nonprofit Embarc Collective, which supports 125-plus tech startups at its 32,000-sq.-ft. hub downtown. The program offers services like on-demand coaching and a national investor network to university-affiliated startups.
HOUSING
- Coconut Grove-based developer Housing Trust Group has completed Riverview6, a $34-million affordable housing community in Bradenton with 80 apartments.
- Lakeland Housing Authority will demolish the 40-unit affordable housing development Carrington Place to make way for a three-story building, tentatively named Dakota Place Apartments, with 100 units of affordable senior living.
- Artspace, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit, and the Tampa Arts Alliance are planning a $27-million affordable housing project for struggling artists in Ybor City.
ENVIRONMENT
- Sarasota’s Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, severely damaged during last year’s hurricane season, will build a new learning pavilion and a conservatory with hurricane-proof glass.
EDUCATION
- New College of Florida received a $2.5-million gift from the DSF Charitable Foundation to fund a Contemplation and Education Center for supporting academic, spiritual and civic functions on its Sarasota Bay campus.
- Polk State College's forthcoming Haines City- Davenport campus will be delayed beyond its scheduled opening next fall, as the school seeks another $7.5 million to finish constructing the $51-million project.
MUSEUMS
- After 15 years, the Southwest Florida Military Museum in Fort Myers closed its doors in July.
RESORTS
- The 232-acre Plantation Resort on the Crystal River waterfront, which suffered hurricane damage last year and sold in July for $19 million to an entity linked to a Citrus County physician, will be restored and reopened in phases.
- The 33-unit Shalimar Beach Resort, which reopened on Sanibel Island in September, is the island’s first accommodation to be reconstructed since Hurricane Ian damages in 2022.
HEALTH CARE
- Sarasota Memorial Hospital's incoming nine-story North Port Hospital will now include three floors of shell space, allowing the facility to eventually double its capacity from 100 to 208 beds.
- Tampa General Hospital is adding a second hybrid operating room — a $10-million project — to its Davis Island campus, complete with specialized equipment for complex vascular procedures.
GOVERNMENT
- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has broken ground on a 64,000-sq.-ft. Regional Operations Center in Fort Myers that will act as the department's hub in Southwest Florida.
SPACE
- SpaceX filed preliminary paperwork to build a satellite communications facility in Myakka City in Manatee County.
TECHNOLOGY
- Tampa cybersecurity giant A-LIGN secured a majority investment from London-based private equity firm Hg, the deal reflecting a valuation of more than $1 billion.
- United Kingdom-based forensic technology startup Smytec chose Pasco County for its first U.S. operation.
- Techstars — a global startup accelerator, venture capital firm and entrepreneurship network — has officially launched in Tampa Bay.
TRANSPORTATION
- Naples Airport received the 2025 Benjamin J. Siwinski Sustainability Award from the Florida Airports Council for its clean fuel initiatives and fleet electrification.
MEDIA
- Beasley Broadcast Group plans to sell its five radio stations in the Fort Myers-Naples market for $18 million.
SPORTS
- Tampa’s Amalie Arena is now Benchmark International Arena, following local advisory firm Benchmark International acquiring the venue’s naming rights in August.
DEVELOPMENT
- The St. Petersburg site of the former Tampa Bay Times printing plant is slated for a 392-unit apartment complex.
Serial Snake Killer
The South Florida Water Management District’s python incentive program, launched this year to remove invasive Burmese pythons, recorded its most prolific snake hunter thus far: Aaron Mann, who captured 87 pythons in July. The program awards $1,000 monthly to the hunter who removes the most pythons. It complements the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s 10-day Florida Python Challenge, which removed a record 294 pythons from South Florida this August.
Tumblers R Us
Tampa Bay’s iconic drinkware brand Tervis has been acquired by investment firm JV2 Innovation Products, ending three generations of majority control for the company’s founding family following bankruptcy struggles.