Rebuilding Landmarks
A January groundbreaking ceremony kicked off an 18-month-long rebuilding effort for the Naples Pier. The iconic landmark was destroyed during 2022's Hurricane Ian, when more than 30 pilings collapsed and chunks of the structure were swept away. The $23.5-million project includes larger and stronger pilings for the pier and at least 3 feet in added elevation. Plans for rebuilding the nearby Fort Myers Beach Pier — also damaged by the storm — were still awaiting permits as of press time.
EDUCATION
After topping 1,000 students in 2025, the Stetson Law School in Gulfport became the state's largest law school, overtaking the University of Miami.
George Hagerty — president of Beacon College, a Leesburg school for students with learning disabilities — is retiring after the 2026-27 academic year following a 14-year tenure.
The University of Tampa is building a five-story, 153,000-sq.-ft. science center along the Hillsborough River that, upon its spring 2029 opening, will serve as the academic hub for its College of Natural and Health Sciences.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed former University of Florida and Jacksonville Jaguars football coach Urban Meyer to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees.
HOTELS
In Manatee County's Lakewood Ranch, a 120-room Silverfalls Business Hotel has been proposed to bring lodging for business travelers.
MUSEUMS
The Naples Depot Museum — an ode to the area's railroading history — reopened in January after a three-year closure to repair floodwater damage from Hurricane Ian.
INDUSTRIAL
An $8.8-million project will upgrade and expand infrastructure within the 75-acre Inverness Airport Business Park in Citrus County by 2027.
HEALTH CARE
BayCare Health System named Kate Sawa — president of the St. Joseph's Hospitals Foundation — its first chief philanthropy officer.
In a new partnership, Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute oncologists will provide subspecialized cancer care to patients at Lakeland Regional Health's Hollis Cancer Center.
IBA's ProteusONE — a massive proton therapy machine for treating cancer — will be operational next fall at Southwest Florida Proton's cancer care center in Estero.
TRANSPORTATION
Avelo Airlines is upping its flight frequencies, adding two new planes and creating more than 40 new jobs at its Lakeland Linder International Airport base.
DEVELOPMENT
In a 131-acre project called North Pasco Resort, Tampa-based developer Dhruv Development will build a 350-space RV park and 250-room hotel in Pasco County's Dade City.
A proposed mixed-use development named Main Street Exchange will bring an 89-room boutique hotel, 280-seat theater, 26,600-sq.-ft. food hall, parking garage and more to downtown Dunedin.
ARTS
Michael Tomor, the executive director of the Tampa Museum of Art, retired March 31 after more than a decade in the position.
ENVIRONMENT
The Lakeland City Commission awarded a $1.2-million contract to local Rodda Construction to build a 2,000-sq.-ft. education center in Se7en Wetlands Park, a former phosphate mine that's now a nature park in Mulberry.
ENERGY
Hillsborough County chose France-based Waga Energy to transform waste products from its Southeast County Landfill into pipeline-quality renewable natural gas by 2027.
RETAIL
Aesthetics brand Ideal Image Development Corp. is closing its Tampa operations, laying off 255 employees.
HOUSING
Arizona-based homebuilder Taylor Morrison plans to build 266 townhomes within the master-planned community River Landing, which spans about 700 acres in Wesley Chapel.
Polk County commissioners approved plans for Highlands Club, a 747-home development on roughly 300 acres surrounding Crews Lake in Lakeland.
Collier County dedicated 24 acres of the Golden Gate Golf Course property in Naples for a veterans nursing home.
Brookfield Kolter Land — a partnership between Delray Beach-based homebuilder Kolter Land and international homebuilder Brookfield Residential — is planning a 948-home master-planned community named Osprey Creek on 406 acres in Polk County's Poinciana.
SPORTS
The Tampa Bay Lightning will call Benchmark International Arena home until at least 2043 after Hillsborough County approved a lease extension.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
"We knew that we had a great project, but we were really blown away when we were selected." — That's what Rowena Young-Gopie, executive director of the Palmetto Community Redevelopment Agency, told the Bradenton Herald after the city's Connor Park won a national award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. After a $3.8-million decade-long remediation project, the former wasteland for railroad operations opened as a two-acre public park in 2023.