New Port Richey Developer Frank Starkey to Join National Experts at CNU 34 / People Places founder brings a Florida model for balanced downtown redevelopment to the national stage

NEW PORT RICHEY, Florida, April 9, 2026 — Frank Starkey, founder of People Places LLC, will join a national lineup of builders, architects, and developers at the Builders & Developers Workshop at CNU 34 on Tuesday, May 12, in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The full-day program will focus on practical strategies for creating walkable, economically resilient communities through design, housing, financing, and main street development.

Starkey is being recognized for a development approach that pairs small-scale commercial revitalization with housing growth to create stronger local economies and more livable communities.

Known in the Tampa Bay region for his early work on Longleaf, one of the first neighborhood-centered communities of its kind in the Trinity area, Starkey has spent the last 13 years applying a similar philosophy in downtown New Port Richey through People Places LLC. The firm has focused on renovating vacant and underused commercial properties, expanding opportunities for local entrepreneurs, and advocating for walkable, community-oriented growth.

That work has been matched by a residential strategy designed to support downtown’s long-term vitality. In 2019, Starkey completed The Central on Orange Lake Apartments, a garden-style apartment community that became one of the clearest signals that downtown New Port Richey was an appealing place to live and invest in. The company has now broken ground on Phase II, which will add 42 more units, including studio apartments, to help meet growing demand for housing in the downtown core.

Starkey describes this balanced approach as “farming” within the community.

“Strong places are cultivated over time,” said Starkey. “You create the conditions for growth by investing in both the commercial and residential fabric of a community so they can support one another. When you do that well, you create more opportunity for local business ownership, more housing choice, and a better quality of life than the sprawl model offers.”

As communities across the country look for practical alternatives to disconnected suburban development, Starkey’s work in New Port Richey offers a real-world example of incremental redevelopment rooted in place, long-term value, and local opportunity.