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HEARD on the floor

During the opening ceremonies for ICSC's recent Florida convention in Orlando, James Maurin, chairman of Stirling Properties said growth management is the biggest threat to the industry's future. ICSC is especially concerned with the proposed Florida Hometown Democracy Act, which would make any proposed change to a city or county's growth management plan subject to voter approval. The act does not yet have the 490,000 signatures required to put the constitutional amendment on the ballot, but the petition is valid for six years and more names can be added. …Kohl's wants to enter Florida this fall with seven to 11 stores around Jacksonville and Orlando. The chain has 631 stores concentrated in the Midwest, the West Coast and Texas…Euro-American Advisors is revitalizing a former retail hot spot in downtown Orlando with a mixed-use development called 55 West. It will include a 31-story building with office and residential space and a mall-like south side with retail and restaurants. 55 West is being built on the former Church Street Plaza, which fizzled as a tourist draw in the early 1990s…The Church of Scientology is working with the City of Clearwater, Fla., through the Main Street USA program to revitalize the city's downtown area. Main Street USA brought Starbucks to the area, and the city is currently in negotiations with Alabama-based AmStar Entertainment LLC to open a multiplex. The church, headquartered in Clearwater, owns 21 properties downtown and brings 12,000 to 13,000 visitors a year to Clearwater.

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