Florida

Miami-Dade County is looking for partners to develop a multi-attraction entertainment destination adjoining Zoo Miami to compete with central Florida's mega-theme parks.

Port St. Lucie, Fla. is seeking companies interested in leasing the bond-financed building that housed the failed Digital Domain company.

Miami-Dade County commissioners approved a four-year, flexible draw-down bond program up to $675 million, in a private placement with RBC Municipal Products LLC.

Despite ongoing federal scrutiny related to past bond deals, Miami closed on the sale of $45 million of revenue bonds Thursday for an all-in, true-interest cost of 3.82%.

Hoping to entice buyers looking for reinvestments in January, the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority sells up to $500M of bonds Thursday after a successful November issuance.

Some 98 muni professionals received awards in Smith's 20th annual All-Star program at a luncheon in New York last week. They were chosen by nearly 3,000 institutional investors.

Florida's Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority will make its first venture into the bond market as a standalone credit next week with $454.8 million of new and refunding bonds.

A preliminary state audit of Hollywood, Fla.'s finances shows troubling past management practices, and unaddressed high pension costs.

Standard & Poor's affirmed its BBB rating on Miami's general obligation bonds and its BBB-minus rating on the city's non-ad valorem and limited-tax debt. The outlook is negative.

Miami sells $50 million of revenue bonds next week to qualified investors to refinance a loan used to pay a portion of building underwater tunnels to the Port of Miami.

Miami-Dade County hopes retail investors will take interest in a $790.05 million offering this week to refund bonds sold for Miami International Airport.

Florida's Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority, which is in default of more than $116 million of toll bonds, may lose insurance and board members. It is also unclear if bondholders will be paid Jan. 1.

Jacksonville, Fla., prices $245 million of refunding bonds on Thursday in search of big savings from low interest rates that provide opportunities for budgetary relief and portfolio restructuring.

The Miami-Dade County Commission last week made an exception in procurement regulations and added Drexel Hamilton LLC to the county’s qualified pool of underwriters.

An attorney representing the Florida Village Center Community Development District has sent a letter to the IRS office of chief counsel challenging its tentative decision that the authority is not a political subdivision.

Miami-Dade County will consider hiring special counsel to explore whether there's a tax issue with revenue bonds sold in 1996.

The IRS is auditing $80.2 million of capital improvement revenue bonds the Arborwood Community Development District, Florida issued in 2006.

The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority in central Florida hopes to take advantage of low market rates for savings and reduce its variable-rate exposure in a $463 million refunding Nov. 15.

Sen. Bill Nelson is urging the head of the Treasury Department to carefully consider the Internal Revenue Service's tentative decision that the Village Center Community Development District in Florida is not a political subdivision, warning it contradicts state law and would chill investment in the state.

A federal judge has ordered Tampa Bay Water to pay $20 million in legal costs to an engineering firm the water supplier unsuccessfully sued this year.