CLEARWATER, Fla. — Christine Knox has been teaching Pilates for more than two decades.
“I saw the benefits of it and how it made me feel personally and I wanted to extend that to other people,” said Christine Knox, owner of Pilates by Christine.
In January, she decided it was time to open a Pilates studio and she chose Cleveland Street in downtown Clearwater.
“To bring more businesses into downtown because that’s what we’ve needed for a long time,” Knox said.
Knox believes an increase in events and Imagine Clearwater, an $84 million redevelopment of the city-owned downtown waterfront, is attracting new businesses.
“Bringing more interest into the area, for a long time it was very stagnant a lot of empty storefronts,” said Knox.
Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency said in the last two months, 10 new businesses have opened and new apartment complexes are now under development.
“Mixture of affordable housing, workforce housing, and market-rate housing. Focused on apartments because we want to get as many people living in downtown 24-7 as possible,” said Amanda Thompson, Executive Director of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency.
In turn more people will be spending money downtown.
