Your Weekly FRA Update:

June 19, 2025

Why Join the FRA? Navigational Support!

Navigate the complexities of redevelopment with FRA’s dedicated liaison support, helping you work seamlessly with state agencies. Join or renew your FRA membership today.

FRA Member News

The FRA features member news in our weekly newsletter and on our social media channels - make sure you are following the FRA social media feeds to see CRA member posts; plus you can share news from the FRA's "Redevelopment Works" campaign!

It is with deep sorrow that we share the news of the passing of Tampa City Councilwoman Gwendolyn Henderson.

Councilwoman Henderson was a beloved member of the Tampa community, remembered for her lifelong dedication as a teacher, community activist, and elected official. Her presence touched the lives of many, and her loss is deeply felt.

A proud West Tampa native, Councilwoman Henderson brought passion, empathy, and deep-rooted community knowledge to every role she held. She was sworn into the Tampa City Council on May 1, 2023, and soon after was appointed Chair of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). In her short time on the Council, she became known for her strong advocacy on education, equity, and economic opportunity.

Before her election, she spent decades as a dedicated educator with Hillsborough County Public Schools, served on the City of Tampa’s Citizens Review Board, and operated her own small business. She was also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Councilwoman Henderson passed away of natural causes in her home.

A Homegoing Service was held on Tuesday at Allen Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church in Tampa. Click here to read more.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and all who were touched by her extraordinary life and service.

Sincerely,

FRA Board and Staff

New! What’s next? – 3 New Proposals for Nan-Ces-O-Wee Hotel Property

CRAs increase business opportunities for residents, merchants, and investors

#redevelopmentworks

The quest for the Sebring Community Redevelopment Agency to find the right project that will come to fruition on the former Nan-Ces-O-Wee Hotel property continues with three new proposals.

There have been a few proposals in the past four years for the nearly 1/2-acre spot at 139 N. Ridgewood Drive with a couple selected by the CRA, but the projects ended up being a no-go.

Now the Sebring Historical Society, retired eye doctor Fred Keiber and developer Roi Mengelgrein all have separate visions for the property.

Read more here

New! Dunedin OKs Affordable-Housing Project

CRAs create affordable housing and homeownership opportunities

#redevelopmentworks

City commissioners unanimously approved a 78-unit affordable-housing project on June 3.

The project, called The Flats on Main Street, will be built on a 3.5-acre wooded lot at 1422 Carnation Drive off State Road 580. Commissioners said they had no choice but to approve the development agreement with Archway Partners because it’s the only available site in the city suitable for affordable housing.

Community Development Director George Kinney said the developer has agreed to prepare the site for a 100-year storm event — four times what city ordinance requires. Staff also requested an independent review of the project’s traffic impact analysis.

Read more here

New! Margate CRA Approves Major Improvements to Coral Gate Park

CRAs transform streetscapes and improve communities.

#redevelopmentworks

Margate residents will soon see significant improvements to Coral Gate Park, located at 5650 Coral Lake Drive.

During the June 11 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting, the board approved a contract with MBR Construction for an amount not to exceed $670,000, plus an additional five percent contingency, for a total of $704,335.

The work will include the installation of a skyway, swings, a shade structure, and a new safety surface. There will be new perimeter fencing, renovation of the restroom’s exterior, painting of pavilions, and asphalt pathway repair at Coral Gate Park.

Additionally, the board amended the fiscal year 2024/2025 budget by transferring $181,837 from the contingency account to the Coral Gate Park Improvements account to complete the project.

Read more here

Fort Myers Ranked Second Best Small City to Start a Business

CRAs transform streetscapes and improve communities.

#redevelopmentworks

Fort Myers has been named the second-best small city to start a business, according to WalletHub.

WalletHub says there’s been a 22% increase in new businesses since 2016, fueled by strong investor presence and support from local development agencies.

Swamp Cat Brewing Company opened its doors in March. Chris Guiterrez’s wife created a Florida-inspired aesthetic for the space, in a building that used to be a church.

Guiterrez tells me the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency was instrumental in starting his business.

“They provided us with some grant funding to improve the facade in the outdoor area, so we couldn’t have done it without them,” Guiterrez said.

Read more here

Affordable Project Debuts in Miami

CRAs create affordable housing and homeownership opportunities

#redevelopmentworks

Wynwood Works, a 12-story, 120-unit fully affordable, mixed-use development in Miami’s Wynwood District has been completed. It was developed as a public-private partnership joint venture led by the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, Magellan Housing, Harmony Housing Affordable Development and the Udonis Haslem Foundation.

Located at 2035 N. Miami Ave., the community is the first large-scale, green-certified affordable housing and mixed-use development in Wynwood. The public-private partnership also included the city of Miami, Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida. The Omni CRA contributed the land and a $9.9 million grant for a 50-year covenant and share in the retail rents.

Read more here

Sarasota Downtown Plan Committee Gets a History Crash Course

CRAs preserve and showcase the area’s history and cultural heritage

#redevelopmentworks

To help the group tasked with facilitating an updated Sarasota downtown master plan to determine where it is going, it must first learn where it has been.

During its May 28 meeting, the city’s 13-member Downtown Master Plan 2020 Update Committee heard from five witnesses who were here when the adoption of current plan came in the early 2000s. All five played a key role in the plan drafted by Duany-Plater-Zyberk & Company, led by New Urbanism guru, Andres Duany.

Each presenter brought a different perspective to the creation of the current plan. They included David Smith, manager of long-range planning for the city of Sarasota, who is the only remaining planning staff member from the time of the written plan.

Smith laid out the history of the city’s downtown plan efforts, which began with its first master plan in 1986 when the City Commission created a Community Redevelopment Agency for downtown. As difficult as it may be for newcomers to imagine, downtown Sarasota was considered blighted.

Read more here

FRA Member Announcement - Cape Coral CRA

Jobs

Capital Improvement Project (CIP) Managers (1 Senior Project Manager, 2 Project Managers) – City of Miami Beach, FL

The City of Miami Beach (pop.82,890) is seeking experienced, collaborative, and forward-thinking project managers to serve as their next CIP [Senior] Project Manager[s].

Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in architecture, engineering, construction management, or closely related field. Six (6) years for the Senior PM and three (3) years for the PM with considerable project management experience in professional architecture, engineering, or construction work to include design, construction, and management of major building construction projects.

To Apply: The deadline for the first review of applications is July 6, 2025. The positions will remain open until filled. Apply online at www.GovHRjobs.com with resume, cover letter, and five professional references.

Read more here

Assistant Director, Economic & Community Development – City of Largo, FL 

MGT is pleased to partner with the City of Largo (pop. 82,248) in search of top-tier candidates for its newly created position of Assistant Director of Community and Economic Development. This role presents a unique opportunity to oversee housing and economic development and help shape the future of Largo’s landscape and economy. This new leader will be responsible for crafting a forward-looking economic development strategy that capitalizes on the City’s strategic mid-county location and robust redevelopment opportunities. 

• The hiring range for this position is up to $147,700 – DOQ.
• The posting deadline date is Friday, June 27, 2025. 

Read more here

Finance Coordinator - Delray Beach CRA

Reports to: Title: Finance and Operations Director

Pay Range: $66,000-$78,000

General Description: This is a complex and technical position that performs a broad range of services related to fiscal activities, such as, bookkeeping in QuickBooks, payroll processing, rental property accounting, management and maintenance of financial files, processing financial transactions, and preparing financial statements and reports in accordance with general accounting principles, assisting with the oversight of various contract requirements and overall operations of the CRA. This position is not clerical in nature and requires independent judgment and decision making.

The closing date will be June 30, 2025.

Read more here

City Planner: City of Temple Terrace

Position: City Planner

Position No.: 3.302

Department: Community Development

Salary: $90,000 – $115,000 annually

This is highly responsible professional work in the Community Development Department’s Planning Division.

Responsibilities include site plan reviews, staff presentations to City Council, supervision of the division’s staff; preparation of the division’s budget; special projects, studies and reports; historic preservation; downtown redevelopment; river preservation; and development and maintenance of the Land Development Code and Level of Service Standards.

Requires coordination with other City staff, contractors, developers, land use professionals, the City/County Planning Commission and other governmental agencies and the public.

The position functions as part of the Community Development Department management team and may, at the designation of the Director, serve as acting Community Development Director.

Read more here

Public Information Officer and Marketing Specialist – City of Tarpon Springs

Position: Public Information Officer and Marketing Specialist

Department: City Manager

Salary Range: $60,222-$99,387 D.O.Q.

Closing Date: OPEN UNTIL FILLED

The City of Tarpon Springs is seeking a Public Information Officer and Marketing Specialist to effectively lead and manage the public communications and marketing strategies in supporting the City’s vision of an inclusive and prosperous community guided by our history, traditions, and natural environment. The City is seeking a technically competent, experienced, personable, engaging, and customer service-oriented leader to continue the organization’s success of promoting and bringing visitors to the City.

Read more here

CRA Coordinator – Clearwater CRA

TARGET ENTRY SALARY: $63,947 – $67,145 DOQ

POSITION OPEN UNTIL FILLED

Under administrative direction, the CRA Coordinator performs highly responsible administrative support for the plans, projects, and programs for the Community Redevelopment Agency’s (CRA) community redevelopment areas and Downtown Development Board (DDB).

Read more here

CRA Division Manager – Clearwater CRA

TARGET ENTRY SALARY: $81,615 – $ 85,695 DOQ

POSITION OPEN UNTIL FILLED

Under administrative direction, the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Division Manager develops, administers, and implements the City’s Community Redevelopment efforts, programs, and activities. May be assigned to Urban Planning and Information, Programs, or Projects. Plans objectives and goals for the division and administers daily activities.

This recruitment is for the Placemaking and Project Manager position. 

Read more here

CRA Legal Advisor - Delray Beach CRA

Pay Range: $75,000-$130,000

General Description:

This is a professional and responsible position that will assist with the coordination, administration, and management of legal matters concerning the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency

(CRA). The CRA is represented by outside counsel and is seeking an attorney on Staff to liaison with Staff and outside counsel, as needed.

Read more here

Long Range Planning Manager - City of Pinellas Park

SALARY: $71,155.24+ depending on qualifications and experience

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Under general direction, manages Long Range Planning for the City of Pinellas Park, supervises staff, and develops and implements policies and procedures compliant with City Ordinances and Florida statutes.

Read more here

RFPs / RFQs / LOIs

New! Request for Qualifications Redevelopment and Adaptive Reuse of the Walesbilt Hotel RFQ NO. 25-12

City staff is seeking qualified developers to submit statements of interest and qualifications to redevelop the historic Walesbilt Hotel in downtown Lake Wales. The process involves two steps:

Submit a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) by July 18, 2025 at 2:00 P.M. The RFQ is issued to evaluate and shortlist developers based on their technical expertise, financial capacity, project experience and recent relevant innovative strategies for adaptive reuse of properties similar to the Walesbilt Hotel. Respondents must demonstrate their ability to preserve historic integrity, enhance economic viability and implement best practices in redevelopment.



Selected candidates on August 8, 2025 will be notified to submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) by October 10, 2025. The RFP will be issued to identify a qualified developer based on proposed approach, proposed team, experience of the offeror, capacity and cost effectiveness/budget.

Read more here

RFQ: 1851 Broadway Redevelopment Site – Riviera Beach CRA

The Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency is seeking expressions of interest for a property located at 1851 Broadway Avenue, Riviera Beach, FL 33404. The site is located on the corner of Broadway and West 19th street. The site is in the Downtown Core Zoning District, and its current existing land use is vacant commercial and future land use designation is Downtown Mixed Use (DMU). It is surrounded by a mix of waterfront, residential and downtown commercial uses.

This notice serves as an addendum to the original solicitation and reflects an extension of the submission deadline by an additional thirty (30) days after the original deadline of May 20, 2025 to allow further opportunity of interested parties to submit alternative proposals in accordance with Florida law.

Read more here

RFQ: Kmart Site Redevelopment Project – City of Kissimmee

The City of Kissimmee and the Vine Street Community Redevelopment Agency (VSCRA) are requesting qualifications for the acquisition and redevelopment of a key site, located at 2211 W. Vine Street and a vacant lot that extends to Thacker Ave known hereinafter as the “Kmart site.” Located within the North of Vine subdistrict (NOVI), the Kmart site is the single largest redevelopment site within the VSCRA district.

The City and VSCRA are seeking a master developer to undertake the redevelopment of this 22-acre site. The City and VSCRA envision a mixed-use development with a density of 20-40 du/ac and up to a 6.0 FAR, that implement the VSCRA’s Master Redevelopment Plan. The site includes a 143,600 square foot two-tenant strip-style plaza. The former Kmart space is approximately 106,000 square feet and closed in 2017. The former Big Lots space is approximately 37,600 square feet and closed in 2025.

Due Date: 07/22/2025 2:00 PM Eastern

Read more here

1171 - RFQ 25 – 3 -MARINA VILLAGE PHASE II DEVELOPMENT - Riviera Beach CRA

Closing Date: 06/27/2025 02:00 PM EDT

Read more here

Call for Development Concepts – Reimagine Clearwater Main Library: A Cultural Destination

The City of Clearwater is seeking visionary partners—museums, planetariums, and performing arts institutions—to help transform the Clearwater Main Library into a premier cultural destination for Tampa Bay residents and visitors.

May 21, 2025: Submission Period Opens

June 20, 2025, 10 a.m.: Submission Period Ends

Read more here

MORE FRA RESOURCES

Thank you for supporting Florida redevelopment! Have questions or news to share? fra@flcities.com