Looking for fireworks on July 4th? Here is the scoop on some local activities
in Tampa Bay.
For those will would like to celebrate near their home in Tampa:
The 9th annual fireworks celebration, hosted by the Tampa Attractions Association, will be held in the Channelside District. The fireworks will begin at 9:00 pm on Sunday July 4th off a barge in the Garrison Channel. There will be tons of activities for all in the area, with free admission to the Tampa Bay History Center or $10 admission to the Florida Aquarium after 3pm. Dragon Boat races will occur at the Tampa Convention Center from 6-9pm. Can’t make it to Channelside? The fireworks will also be visible from other locations downtown or from Bayshore Boulevard.
For those who call St Pete home:
The St. Pete Pier 4th of July Extravaganza goes from 1-11pm on Sunday July 4th and will be located at 800 2nd Ave NE. There will be a full day of music, face painting, circus activities, a hypnosis show, and fireworks at 9pm. Straub Park will host live music from 5pm-8pm, and is a great location for picnics and family activities. Nearby, The Pier will have a great view of the fireworks!
From all of us at Smith & Associates, Happy Independence Day!!
The opening of the new Curtis Hixon waterfront Park in Downtown Tampa has paved a new beginning for activities and events for the public to enjoy. Rock the Park is new music series hosted in the park that offers all styles of musical genres for people of all tastes. Every first Thursday of the month, the Park will host and introduce local artist ready to “rock” the night away.
Guests can bring lawn chairs, blankets, and settle in for a relaxing musical evening. Curtis Hixon offers a dog park for your four-legged friends and a playground for your children to enjoy. The Museum of Art’s cafeteria, SONO, can provide snacks and beverages.
These monthly events may be a great chance to explore the growth of Downtown Tampa, and to take a look at the great new residential buildings like Skypoint, Element, and Residences of Franklin Street. There are plenty of restaurants and bars to explore nearby; Taps, The Point, Flybar, Spain, the Retreat, and Hattricks. If you’re in the mood for a walk, it’ss always a beautiful site to see the Tampa Theatre all lit up at night while walking down Franklin Street. The next Rock the Park event will be July 1st, featuring The Hip Abduction, which is a great young local band.
Curtis Hixon Park is located adjacent to the new Museum of Art in Downtown Tampa on Ashley Street, between Zack Street and Kennedy Boulevard. Visitors can find paid parking options in multiple local garages, or on nearby streets, if available.
Big changes are in store this fall for the LeeRoy Selmon Crosstown Expressway. The Crosstown, as it’s referred to by locals, will convert to an all-electronic toll road this fall. Removal of existing toll booths is already underway. The new structure will allow two payment options for those using the expressway, either through SunPass or We Bill You (A license plate photo is taken, and a bill is mailed including a $.25 premium at each tolling point).
According to the 2009 Traffic Report provided by the Tampa Hillsbrough Expressway Authority, more than 31,000 tolls were paid on the Expressway in 2009. The Crosstown is 15 miles long and connects the suburb of Brandon with the downtown Tampa core, and continues west to end Gandy Boulevard. The toll road is popular for commuters, and offers easy access not only to Downtown & Channelside, but also to Ybor City, Hyde Park, South Tampa, Westshore, and MacDill AFB.
The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority is hoping that the change will result in a safer driving environment, since almost 60% of accidents occur at toll plazas. For more information on the change, please visit www.SaveOnTolls.com.
What a tragic time for the Gulf of Mexico. The oil spill has started affecting all of us in this nation. As Louisiana & the Florida Panhandle start seeing the sad visuals of what has now become a reality, we wonder how this will affect our Pinellas County beaches. Smith & Associates Real Estate is not the expert in this part of the equation, but often we do have waterfront home owners and buyers who want to know how this disaster affects them in Tampa Bay. We did a lot of research, and we do hope you all do the same when it comes to this subject. The oil spill currently is impacting the Louisiana coastline and a few Florida beaches in the Panhandle, as identified in the map areas.
All of Florida’s beaches remain open. At this time, there are no beach closures and Florida’s state waters remain open to recreational fishing. Florida’s 825 miles of beaches, 1,260 miles of coastline and 14 seaports (including cruise ships), remain open for business. Now just because things seem “fine” today on the Tampa Bay beaches, does not mean the area will not see any effects. Only time will tell, but as for today, “our beaches are beautiful, and the water is blue”, according to Sheila Cole of the Clearwater Beach Chamber of Commerce. The water current system seems to play in Tampa’s favor, with the current taking water flow from destination south/west. The good news for us in Florida is that the weather continues to cooperate. The winds continue out of the south/southeast and the current continues to push the oil slightly to the west. This should limit any onshore impact. Please use the NY Times Oil Spill Water Current Map to help track this disaster. Following this link will give you all the tools to offer assistance in this time of need.
Before getting started on a project, Hillsborough County home owners should take a good look at what they’d like to tackle and consider all their options. Small projects are great for weekend warriors who are familiar with the basics of home improvement. Larger projects, like a kitchen or bathroom remodel should be thoroughly considered before tackling without the help of a professional due to the more complicated structural and design elements that are involved. When trying to determine whether to go DIY or with a professional, consider the basic aspects of any home improvement project; design, quality, time & money, and warranty.
Design is an important aspect of any home improvement effort – no matter how large or how small the project. It can often mean the success or failure of a venture. If you aren’t blessed with ‘vision’, get ideas out of magazines or consider hiring someone to create it for you.
Quality is also important. The quality of a professional job vs. a standard homeowner version of the same will in most cases be very different. Weekend warriors and DIY experts can do a fantastic job, especially when it’s something they’ve done before. However, if they’re tackling something new and quality is an important factor for this element if their Hillsborough County home, professional assistance can be a great help.
Time is, as we all realize, valuable. Time is money, and it can also be a frustration. In most cases, a professional is required to complete a project by the completion date included in their signed contract. Keeping them on track is sometimes much easier than ourselves, with all the day-to-day distractions that come along with our lives. If your project is large and timeline is important, hiring a professional may be the way to go.
Last but certainly not least, consider the warranty on work that professionals will offer along with their services. While the new kitchen faucet you purchased from Home Depot and installed yourself will of course be under warranty for a period, the new pipes you also connected yourself below the sink will not be. If something should leak and cause damage in your Hillsborough County home, you’ll have no recourse if you completed the work yourself. However, if a plumber who provides a warranty period had completed the work, you’d have someone to rely on to help you fix the issue. Also, consider that improper installation methods may void manufacturer’s warranties on products, leaving you without help if something goes awry.
The City of Tampa has developed a new program to keep citizens aware that will replace the current Reverse 911 system. The city’s emergency personnel will use the new system to contact residents for emergency evacuations, boil-water orders, missing persons, and other critical issues. The Alert Tampa Program will allow city officials to notify those who register through both text messages and email. In addition, when signing up for the service, subscribers can choose to receive additional informational alerts on crime trends, sexual predators in a neighborhood, street closures for events, and more.
To sign up for the city’s new service, please visit the website below. Those who subscribe to the system can visit the website at any time in order to update their information, or cancel.
Solar power is unfortunately often thought of as something that’s not practical for mainstream usage. But, there’s good news! Companies like Lennox Industries are creating attainable everyday systems for harnessing this free green energy source. The creation of practical systems for average home owners will assist in bridging the gap between green-friendly and green-affordable.
Lennox Industries has introduced a solar powered central heating and cooling system called SunSource. The main platform of the system consists of a solar ready air conditioning system, heat pump, and roof-installed solar modules. The best news regarding SunSoure is that the system can be phased into an existing home gradually. Anywhere from 1 to 15 solar modules can be installed, and both the panels and A/C or heat systems can be added separately. This will allow St Petersburg home owners to convert to the system at their own pace and, more importantly, according to their own budget.
In addition to powering heating and cooling, SunSource also has the potential to provide electricity to power appliances and the lights in your St Petersburg home. The more panels added, the more power available.  Another great feature of the product is the communication panel, which allows a home owner to view the performance of the system and its various elements. A curious home owner can easily track home much energy their solar panels are producing with 24/7 access, and also see carbon offsets.
Interesting in learning more about SunSource for your St Petersburg home? See a sample home setup and view an informational video from Lennox here.
If you’re looking for a deal on a Pinellas County home, most likely what you find isn’t going to be picture perfect. However, that doesn’t mean that it can’t be. Like anything else, a home is what you make it. All you need in order to make it wonderful is potential. So, what is it that gives a home potential?
Location. Have you ever heard it said that you get a better deal when you buy the worst house in a great neighborhood than you do when you buy the best house in a not-so-great neighborhood? It all comes down to one thought – location, location, location!
Age. In homes, age can be good or bad. In the case of a well-maintained historic bungalow, age is a good thing. In the case of a home where age means old wiring, shoddy plumbing, and a foundation that’s sagging, you’re in a whole different realm. As a general rule, homes that are 50 years or older will need major repairs if they haven’t had them already, or good upkeep along the way.
Floor Plan. Unless you’re planning a major overhaul, purchasing a home with a basic design that can be lived with is always the best way to go. Don’t make a floor plan sacrifice you’re not completely sure you can live with your decision. Once you start deciding you need to move some walls, your wallet will feel the pain. When looking for your new Pinellas County home keep floor plan in mind.
Light. The homes with the most light also have the most potential – especially when considering resale value. A home with a good quantity of well-placed windows can make a world of difference in the feel of the place.
Storage. It’s always smart to consider your storage needs when purchasing a new home. Adding additional space isn’t exactly inexpensive, so consider how much and where you’ll need it.
Of course, everyone is different so this list may not incorporate that workshop in the backyard or loft space that you can use for an art studio. This will however, give you a place to start when looking for your new Pinellas County home.
The National Association of Realtors recently launched a new consumer website called Houselogic. The free and very easy to navigate site was created to both educate and assist consumers in regards to all aspects of owning a home. The site is a great resource for both current and potential owners of Tampa real estate, with a wide array of informational articles and news from home finance to home improvement. Houselogic also features a great project planner, where property owners can organize, plan, and schedule improvements to their home. Buying guides are also available, allowing for owners of Tampa real estate to make the best decisions when purchasing appliances and more.
Get the most out of your real estate investment, and check out this great free resource!
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