Your Weekly FRA Update:

November 6, 2025

Thank you to everyone who helped make last week's 2025 FRA Annual Conference a resounding success! Stay tuned for links to the conference session slides, photos, keynote presentations, and more. These will be up on the FRA website shortly!

Don't forget to fill out your:

• Session Evaluations
• Conference Evaluation

We hope you enjoyed the 2025 FRA Annual Conference!


• To view the FRA Award winners, click here
• To view the FRA Conference presentations, click here
• To view Jeff Speck’s Keynote presentation, “The Walkable City,” click here
• (Note: these slides are for educational use only and should not be republished or reproduced without written permission.)
• To view the FRA Conference gallery with group and individual photos, click here
• To view the FRA Conference dropbox folder with all content for Florida Cities, click here
  

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!

New! Tampa CRA Earns Top Honors at 43rd Annual Planning & Design Awards

CRAs transform communities #redevelopmentworks



The City of Tampa’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) took home four top honors at The Planning Commission’s 43rd Annual Planning & Design Awards last week. The annual event recognizes projects that enhance quality of life, strengthen economic development, and preserve the region’s natural and historic assets.

This year, the Tampa CRA was recognized for its commitment to revitalization, innovation, and community impact through the following award-winning projects:

Kid Mason Community Center Renovations (Downtown CRA)

The Skills Center (East Tampa CRA)

Historic 7th Avenue Bricking Project (Ybor City CRA)

Union Station Improvements (Downtown CRA)

Read more here

New! City of Kissimmee Announces Grant Programs to Enhance Properties, Fund New Police Officers

CRAs transform communities #redevelopmentworks



The City of Kissimmee announced late last week it has expanded its Residential Property Improvement Program (RPIP) to include the Vine Street Community Redevelopment Agency (VSCRA) and updated it for the Downtown Community Redevelopment Agency (DKCRA), enhancing support for local homeowners.

Additionally, a Department of Justice grant will provide $750,000 to fund six new sworn Kissimmee Police Department officers.

Thanks to the RPIP, eligible homeowners within the city’s CRA boundaries can receive reimbursable grants not to exceed $5,000 over five years to exterior improvements to single-family homes and duplexes. The downtown CRA has been amended to allow multiple grants, city officials have announced.

Eligible improvements, which must be visible from the public right-of-way, include costs associated with exterior painting, pressure cleaning and fascia repair; landscaping improvements like those related to new irrigation systems and related enhancements; front porch or deck additions and repairs; new exterior lighting fixtures (new, not older repaired ones); driveway repairs or resealing; new door, awning or windows installation and chain link fence removal.

Read more here

New! CRA authorizes negotiations for North Greenwood container‑village project, $500,000 in CRA funding proposed

CRAs transform communities #redevelopmentworks



The Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency voted Jan. 13 to authorize the CRA executive director to enter negotiations with the Clearwater Urban Leadership Coalition (CULC) for a lease and development agreement to create a mini container-village on four adjoining parcels at the northeast corner of North Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Tangerine Drive.

CRA assistant director Anne Lopez told trustees the parcels total 0.347 acres; one parcel is owned by the CRA and three are city‑owned (the city parcels would be declared surplus at a future date if negotiations succeed). The coalition’s proposal envisions five shipping containers configured to host roughly 15 small businesses, with the coalition managing operations under a proposed five‑year lease and responsibility for utilities, property taxes, insurance and maintenance. Staff said the CRA has $500,000 allocated for the project and that eligible costs would include purchasing containers, design, permitting and construction tied to project milestones.

Read more here

Revenue Rebates Approved for Two Fort Myers Projects



CRAs transform communities #redevelopmentworks



The Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Fort Myers has approved two rebates for major developments. One is a home ownership project in Dunbar; the other a downtown hotel.

The city council met Wednesday as the Community Redevelopment Agency, or CRA, approved a $5.6 million rebate for Towles Garden. A developer wants to build and sell about 140 homes.

Half would be designated affordable. Right now, that means the owner’s household income would be less than about $58,000 a year.

The money would be paid after the project is complete, and payments would be spread over an 18-year period.

Read more here

Tallahassee CRA Invests $5 Million on S. Meridian Street for Trail, Sidewalks, Trees



CRAs transform communities #redevelopmentworks



The Tallahassee Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) voted unanimously on Thursday to spend $5 million to install a wide walking trail, sidewalks on both sides of the street and roadside trees on S Meridian Street.

The CRA is overseen by the city commissioners and mayor, though it’s legally a separate entity from the City of Tallahassee. Each commissioner and the mayor voted for the project.

Design will start soon, and construction is expected from Fall of 2028 to Fall of 2029. Mayor Pro Tem Dianne Williams-Cox, the chair of the CRA, said this project is an example of more momentum on Tallahassee’s Southside.

“I see this happening and I see people pushing strollers and wheelchairs on the sidewalk. I think it’s going to be awesome to be able to have sidewalks on both sides,” Williams-Cox said.

Renderings presented at the CRA meeting show a 10-foot-wide walking trail, numerous trees lining the street, and a sidewalk on both sides of the street. Right now, the sidewalk is only on one side.

Read more here

$175 Million Boost Coming to Resurgent Overtown, Miami’s Original Black Neighborhood



CRAs transform communities #redevelopmentworks



Just a few short years ago, the historic heart of Overtown, Miami’s original Black neighborhood, lay desolate and lifeless just steps from Biscayne Boulevard and downtown. There were few if any shops, few homes, not a single grocery store, but lots of vacant lots, the result of decades of demolition, disinvestment and abandonment.


Today, the change along the six blocks of Northwest Second Avenue and its immediate vicinity is nothing short of dramatic. The streets are busy with pedestrians, thanks to a few thousand new and renovated apartments, both market-rate and affordable, within a few square blocks. There’s not only a new Publix, but also an Aldi, a Ross, a Target with a CVS and a Starbucks in a towering complex that also includes 578 stylish apartments for low-income seniors, many of them longtime Overtown residents.


The Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency, an arm of Miami city government, has won commission approval for a new, roughly $175 million bond program that’s supported by the property-tax revenue flow from new development in the district, which stretches from the west side of Biscayne Boulevard to west of Interstate 95. Over the next several years, the program is expected to help finance some 2,500 new affordable and workforce homes and apartments in greater Overtown, new and improved parks and cultural facilities, and significant assistance to local business owners.

Read more here

Jobs

New! City Manager – City of Avon Park

The City of Avon Park is looking for a City Manager!

SALARY:       $100,000 to $130,000 DOQ

DEADLINE:    Apply by November 30.

The City of Avon Park has a Council-Manager form of government whose Council includes the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, and three Council members. The Council appoints the City Manager to oversee the administration of the City’s day-to-day personnel and operational activities for a full range of municipal services including fire, public works, parks and recreation, utilities (water and wastewater) and a general aviation municipal airport.

The City has an approved FY2025/26 total budget of $ 70,246,760.00, including a General Fund of $ 16,999,100.00, and employs a workforce of 99 full-time employees.

Read more here

Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) and Economic Development Coordinator – Pinellas County

Location: Lealman Exchange, 5175 45th Street N, St. Petersburg, FL 33714

Starting salary expected to be within $71,115 – $92,435.20, based on experience

Schedule: Generally 8 to 5, Monday through Friday, occasional meetings or events on evenings and weekends. This is not remote work, but can accommodate remote work for a day or partial day if it makes sense depending on outside meetings scheduled or other reason.

Do you want to make a real impact in a community? As the CRA Coordinator, you will lead the revitalization of the Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) by attracting new investment and supporting existing businesses and business expansion. This role is a unique opportunity to shape the future of a community by focusing on economic development and community redevelopment. You will serve as a primary point of contact for residents, business owners, and local partners, turning their input into actionable, community-focused projects.

This is a critical role within the Lealman Community Redevelopment Area (CRA), reporting directly to the Community Coordinator.

Read more here

Assistant Director of Community Development Services – City of Wilton Manors

The Assistant Director of Community Development Services supports the strategic direction, leadership, and daily operations of the City of Wilton Manors’ Community Development Services Department. This position assists in overseeing planning and zoning, permitting, building and economic development. The Assistant Director plays a key role in implementing department policies, coordinating interdepartmental projects, managing personnel, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Working closely with the Director, this position helps guide sustainable growth and community enhancement in alignment with City goals. The ideal candidate will be a forward-thinking leader with strong technical expertise and the ability to foster collaboration among staff, developers, residents, and other stakeholders. Reports to the Community Development Services Director.

Read more here

RFPs / RFQs / LOIs

MORE FRA RESOURCES

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