LAKELAND In its prime, the house ranked among the most distinguished in Lakeland, a Victorian treasure standing along a street whose very name signals prosperity.
The house at 1022 Success Ave., one of the oldest in the South Lake Morton Historic District, is a modified Queen Anne structure in a neighborhood dominated by Craftsman homes and bungalows. Built before 1910, it stood stately with such exterior features as a hexagonal turret, oversized bay windows and a wraparound porch.
On the inside, the home gleamed with sophisticated details: an ornate staircase, 10-foot ceilings, mahogany-stained crown moldings, broken-tile floors and three fireplaces, including one in the parlor lined with Delft tiles.
Lakeland plans new surveys of its seven historic districts
Lakeland contains seven historic districts, designated between 1985 and 2004.
The city is overdue to update its inventories of buildings with historic status within those districts, said Emily Foster, the city’s senior planner for historic preservation.
Lakeland plans to conduct new surveys of the districts that likely will result in many houses being added as “contributing structures,” Foster said.
“That’s kind of a maintenance thing that should be done really every 10 years, and we’re a little bit past that for most of our historic districts,” Foster said. “So we’re trying to just update that survey information, and that may possibly add more properties as contributing buildings. It will also look at what’s currently considered contributing, to ensure that it’s still contributing.”
Housing development for homeless gains national recognition
Pinellas Countyâs commitment to housing people in the greatest need has been recognized on a national scale for a recent project to help those who are homeless and disabled.
The Sally Poynter Preserves at Clam Bayou in St. Petersburg provides 24 one-bedroom units, with eight set aside specifically for veterans. Each resident receives comprehensive services from Boley Centers staff to ensure their basic needs are met and to help them acquire or restore the skills and support necessary to maintain their independence.
Completing this affordable development required a unique public-private partnership exemplified in an Award of Excellence at the spring 2021 conference of the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies.
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Three candidates seek District 3 seat on Portland charter commission
District 3 includes Libbytown, Stroudwater, Nason’s Corner, Oakdale, part of Woodfords Corner and the University of Southern Maine.
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Three candidates are competing to represent District 3 on Portland’s charter commission, which will spend the next year examining the basic structure of city government, including whether the city should switch to a strong mayor with executive authority over city operations.
The charter commission was originally proposed in response to a citizen effort to create a public financing, or clean elections, program for municipal candidates. But confusion over the authority of the elected mayor, coupled with inequities exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and rising calls for racial justice, have many residents and candidates interested in sweeping changes to local government.
Dunedinâs century-old Kellogg mansion on path to demolition
The waterfront home once owned by W.K. Kellogg of Corn Flakes fame is under contract, and an application to tear it down was filed last month.
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A view from inside Dunedin s Kellogg Mansion, which was built in the 1920s and was once home to cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg. [ Courtesy of Karl Moeller and Kevin King ]
Updated May 4
Whenever 30-year Dunedin resident John Tornga takes visitors on a tour of his quaint, coastal town, he makes sure to pass the home at 129 Buena Vista Drive S.
âItâs the only place anyone calls a âmansionâ in Dunedin,â said Tornga, a city commissioner. âThereâs a mystique to it. Who else can say they have a Kellogg mansion in their city?â