- May 29, 2026
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Babcock Ranch expansion continues with new space
Curry Commerce Center, a new commercial flex and light industrial development in Babcock Ranch, opened May 28. The 255,000-square-foot, eight-building complex was intended to be flexible commercial space for users, including office, showroom, warehouse, service, distribution, light manufacturing and trade-related businesses. The center is at 17750 Curry Preserve Drive, just south of Cypress Parkway. It was built to attract both new and relocating businesses. According to the community’s website, initial tenants are resident-owned businesses, including Concord Pools, Solar City Carts and Sweet Science Boxing Fitness. Babcock Ranch is the 17,608-acre self-sustaining community that straddles Charlotte and Lee counties, about 45 minutes from downtown Fort Myers. It is made up of energy-efficient homes with an 870-acre solar panel farm powering it and its own water reclamation facility. About 50% of the community’s acreage is preserved.
New hotel harkens back to city's past
Olde Naples Hotel has opened in the heart of Naples. The property was designed to draw from the legacy of the historic downtown while also providing modern-day amenities. With 109 guest rooms, it was designed on the site of the original 1889 Naples Hotel at 200 Broad St. S. near the intersection with Third Street South. Room interiors feature vintage patterns and coastal tones. Its architectural details, which are meant to echo the neighborhood, include dormered rooflines and lofted wood ceilings. Amenities include a rooftop pool with shaded cabanas, a full-service spa and fitness center. A restaurant on-site functions with an evolving format throughout the day, transitioning from espresso and pastries in the morning to an American menu by the evening. The eatery, Annie’s Bistro, Bar & Bakery features murals, a piano and a gilded ceiling. The Olde Naples Hotel is part of the Delray Beach-based Opal Collection. Other Naples hotels in the company’s portfolio include Edgewater Beach Hotel on Gulf Shore Boulevard North and The Capri Inn on Seventh Avenue South. Room rates start at $399 per night.
City closing in on 10,000 affordable homes
The City of Tampa is nearing Mayor Jane Castor’s goal of creating 10,000 affordable homes during her time in office — and she is taking something of a victory lap. To date, approximately 4,100 affordable units have been completed, with another 4,000 units in active development stages, say city officials. Castor was initially elected mayor in April 2019; she was re-elected in 2023. Her current term ends in May 2027, and she is prevented, due to term limits, from serving a third term. Since 2019, more than 23,000 residences have been added to the city’s affordable housing inventory, the city says in a statement, with more than 8,300 affordable housing units either completed or currently under construction. The city has invested more than $100 million in affordable housing initiatives and housing assistance programs in that time frame. Major redevelopment projects, such as Rome Yards, West River, Marquee Square and North Downtown, are reshaping housing opportunities throughout the city, the release says. And at the Army/Navy redevelopment site in north Downtown, more than 1,100 housing units will be built, with more than 700 of those secured for income-eligible households. But the mayor’s affordable housing plan does not only rely on new construction — it also includes efforts to preserve existing homes.
Former orange groves hit the market
Two parcels totaling 26.2 acres are on the market in Polk County. The properties, overlooking Crooked Lake in Babson Park, are along Seminole Road and Harris Road. The former citrus grove has been listed for $1.35 million. Saunders Land, the Lakeland firm that listed the property, says the future land use is zoned for Agricultural/Rural Residential, which makes it ideal for a farm or rural homesite. Daniel Lanier is the broker representing the property.
Apartment complex opens after a switch in pricing strategies
Alliance Residential Co., a Scottsdale, Arizona, multifamily developer, has completed work and opened a new apartment community in Plant City. The 360-unit property, originally announced as workforce housing, is named The Carmina. It is at 3202 Elsanta St. just off of James L. Redman Parkway and about 10 minutes from Interstate 4. The eight-building community is made up of one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 746 square feet to 1078 square feet. Rents, according to its website May 26, top out at $2,069.25 per month. Alliance bought the 15-acre property in 2024 paying, according to Hillsborough County records, $6 million. When the project was first announced shortly after the land purchase, Alliance said it would carry its workforce housing flag Prose. The company says on its website that its Prose properties are a “highly cost-efficient product constructed to a lower price point, targeting rents up to 20% lower than comparable apartments.” Alliance was founded in 2000. The company says it has built or bought 136,000 units, representing over $27.2 billion in invested capital.
Retail buildings housing bank, coffee shop change hands
A pair of just-developed single-tenant properties in Pasco County have sold. The ground lease portfolio at 18640 and 18710 State Road 54 sold for $6.55 million. The buyer is Bay Street Ventures in Lutz, which bought the properties as part of a 1031 exchange. The tenants are Dutch Bros. Coffee and First Third Bank. Dutch Bros., at 18640 State Road 54, is 950 square feet and sits on .84 acres. It has 15 years remaining on a corporate guaranteed lease. The Fifth Third Bank is 1,900 square feet and sits on .92 acres. The bank has 20 years left on a corporate guaranteed lease. Both were built in 2025. SRS Capital Markets’ Patrick Nutt and William Wamble represented the seller, Atlanta-based WDG Real Estate Partners.
State shifts USF Sarasota-Manatee to New College
Barring a last-minute budget rewrite, or an even less-likely line-item veto from the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus will be absorbed into New College of Florida. State lawmakers voted last week on Florida’s $116 billion budget, a document that includes provisions to shift USF’s 32 acres, buildings and millions of dollars in debt to New College. This is after a proposal in DeSantis’ 2025-2026 budget to transfer both the USFSM campus and the nearby John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, run by Florida State University, to New College failed to come to fruition.
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