Laura Kinsler
Laura Kinsler is the editor of GrowthSpotter. She joined the company in 2015 as Osceola County reporter after a 15-year career at the Tampa Tribune, where she covered city and county government, transportation and development in Tampa and Pasco County.
She was named “Journalist of the Year” by the American Planning Association and has won numerous awards for both feature writing and news coverage.
She previously wrote for the Fayetteville (NC) Observer, Athens Banner-Herald and the Macon Telegraph (both in GA), where she covered everything from the Georgia Legislature to the Centennial Olympic Games.
A proud graduate of the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication, Laura follows the Georgia Bulldogs religiously. Follow her on Twitter @LKinslerOGrowth
Recent Articles
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Downtown apartment tower approved despite objections over height, retail
Calling a 10-story apartment building with less than 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail a "lost opportunity" for downtown, Orlando's Municipal Planning Board on Tuesday reluctantly approved a zoning change for the project on the lot immediately south of Bank of America tower. The vote followed...
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South Florida couple buys W192 hotel in mid-renovation
A South Florida couple who oversaw one of the most successful hotel rebrandings in the West Kissimmee submarket has purchased a second hotel asset on the W192 tourism corridor. Carina Radonich and Ariel Tomat, who own a high-end construction company in Sunny Isles Beach, bought a distressed motel...
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Disney pays $23M for nearly 1,000 acres of ranch land next to Celebration
Disney paid $23 million Thursday for a 965 acres of Osceola County ranchlands southeast of Celebration. The BK Ranch, located on Old Tampa Highway about a mile west of the Poinciana SunRail station, was envisioned for years a master-planned community to rival Celebration. It's entitled for 3,000...
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City staff recommends approval for downtown apartments on Diocese land
Orlando's planning staff is recommending conditional approval for a new 10-story downtown apartment tower after the developer agreed to add retail space on the ground floor. Tennessee-based Mid America Apartment Communities (MAA) is under contract for a 2-acre corner lot at 336 N. Orange Ave.,...
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Encore releases new details and images of SPECTRUM+ at Reunion Resort
Encore Capital Management has released details and pricing information for SPECTRUM+, its new 296-unit resort condo community at Reunion Resort. Encore, the master developer of Reunion, has increased the unit count from the original 288, first reported by GrowthSpotter in late 2017. The Boca Raton-developer...
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D.R. Horton prepping townhouse project in airport market
The owner of 99 acres on Wetherbee Road has applied for a mass grading permit to prep the first phase of D.R. Horton project that could add hundreds of townhomes and apartments to the airport submarket. The homebuilder is listed as the contract purchaser for the land, which is just west of Boggy...
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Pulte pays $3.3M for Westside land to expand vacation home resort
Pulte Homes paid $3.3 million this week for 47 acres in the heart of Osceola's Westside corridor to expand its popular Windsor at Westside resort community. The homebuilder filed a Preliminary Subdivision Plan (PSP) and Site Development Plan (SDP) with Osceola County in May for the parcel at the...
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Mattamy files plans for townhomes, amenities at Meridian Parks
Mattamy Homes has filed plans for the first amenity center for its 2,560-acre Meridian Parks master-planned community north of Lake Nona. Orlando's Municipal Planning Board is expected to vote next week on the Specific Parcel Master Plan, which includes the fourth phase of residential development...