Florida's Latest News

Conservation Florida unveils plans for $2.5 million nature center at D Ranch Preserve

After opening the 476-acre D Ranch Preserve in Volusia County earlier this year, Conservation Florida has unveiled plans for a nature center set to launch in 2027.

The nonprofit will repurpose an empty barn on the property to build a new $2.5 million nature center with two floors and 8,000 square feet of space. Visitors will be able to visit the center — including classrooms, exhibits, and a wraparound porch — as their gateway to the preserve.

“So far, the reception has been fantastic. The community is really rallying around the idea of the nature center being built. This is a great expansion of the property,” said Traci Deen, Conservation Florida’s CEO. “We are hoping that this will be a gateway into the wild beauty of Florida and a gathering place for the community at large.”

Conservation Florida has secured $600,000 in Volusia ECHO (environmental, cultural, historical, and outdoor recreation) funds for the project, plus a dollar-for-dollar matching gift from the Big Nova Foundation for all funds raised through the end of the year.

Florida airport gets $94M in federal funds for 2 projects in major makeover

Miami International Airport has obtained $94 million in federal grants from the Federal Aviation Administration to help fund ongoing upgrades.

The money will go to two projects.

In one, MIA will improve part of a runway that has become crowded, airport CEO Ralph Cutié said Tuesday.

“That’s an area that sometimes gets congested with multiple flights,” Cutié said. He described it as a “safety, security, and operational improvement project.” It’s scheduled for completion in 2029.

MIA also plans to renovate the roadway in the upper-level departures area, from Door 1 to 34. Cutié said that the area needs structural repairs “to make it safer,” a project scheduled for 2028.

Martin poised to preserve more than 9,000 acres with environmental sales-tax funds

The County Commission soon will decide whether to move forward with conserving more than 9,300 acres of sensitive environmental land.

Members of the county Environmental Lands Oversight Committee last month recommended protecting 9,328 acres, comprising 16 properties across the county.

"I think it's cool to be able to say we bought farmland, and we even bought an acre right on the Atlantic Ocean," committee member John Keller told his colleagues on the committee Sept. 5.

St. Petersburg’s next era? A $6.8 billion vision for the Trop site

One of the global investment community’s most recognizable names has enlisted a prominent local development firm and commercial contractor to transform the area surrounding Tropicana Field into a “world-class epicenter of innovation, culture and community.”

St. Petersburg-based ARK Investment Management and Tampa’s Ellison Development and Horus Construction unveiled a $6.8 billion proposal Friday to reimagine the Historic Gas Plant District. The development team believes its ambitious plan “blends restorative justice with transformative investment in housing, education, culture, and long-term economic resilience.”

The massive redevelopment would encompass 95.5 acres, including the Trop.

ARK Ellison Horus, LLC, ensured project flexibility to accommodate the Tampa Bay Rays. City council Chair Copley Gerdes told the Catalyst that the team’s new ownership group, if it chooses to stay beyond 2028, will have significant space to build a new stadium.