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Your Weekly FRA Update:
September 10, 2026
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Join Community Redevelopment Agencies across Florida to celebrate Redevelopment Week, September 14-18, 2026.
Click to view our toolkit, which provides ready-to-use resources to help your CRA participate in a coordinated statewide campaign that highlights the projects, partnerships, and investments transforming communities across Florida.
The recording of the webinar is ready to view at the link below!
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Registration is now open for the 2026 Annual FRA Conference in Charlotte Harbor, Florida, from October 20-23 at the Sunseeker Resort.
Registration goes up by $100 at 5 PM on 9/25 - don't wait!
The conference will feature invited redevelopment speakers and panelists sharing best practices, reviewing legislation impacting CRAs in Florida, and networking opportunities to meet other redevelopment professionals. The FRA Annual Conference is the perfect event for elected officials, agency or government staff, redevelopment consultants, and vendors. We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Charlotte Harbor in October 2026!
| | Be Involved: Share Your Knowledge & Learn | |
FRA's Q&A forum is your go-to platform to find answers, resources and information you need for successful redevelopment projects and initiatives. FRA members can post questions, explore ideas, and discuss topics with other MyFRA users.
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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!
FRA Members - share your stories and successes with the FRA - email us at fra@flcities.com and include a description or press release, and a photo!
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New! Delray Beach to Break Ground on $59.19 Million Pompey Park Recreation Center
CRAs build better communities! #redevelopmentworks
The shovels were painted in August. On Sept. 10 they finally go into the ground.
The City of Delray Beach and the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency have scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for the Pompey Park revitalization on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, at 5 p.m. The ceremony will be held at Pompey Park, 1101 NW 2nd Street, and according to the city it is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
The event marks the formal construction start on a project that has been moving through City Hall for years and carries the largest parks price tag the city has approved in this cycle.
Delray Beach commissioners voted 4-1 in June to approve a guaranteed maximum price of $59,193,363 with Core Construction for the recreation center, as Boca Post reported. Commissioner Juli Casale cast the lone no vote after a debate over cost, timing and a late letter from another firm claiming it could cut the price by about $4.2 million.
Read more here
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New! Growing Third Places in Riviera Beach
CRAs build better communities! #redevelopmentworks
Riviera Beach plans to upgrade its two public gardens and create events there where people can connect.
Why it matters: It’s an investment in third places in a city that is focused on strengthening the community.
Driving the news: Community Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Gedel Merzius explained the program at the board’s Aug. 12 meeting.
How it works: The CRA plans to focus on gardens in Riviera Beach Heights and Singer Island.
At Riviera Beach Heights, at 1010 W. 10th St., site renovations and refurbishment are planned. The raised garden beds will be replaced. In Singer Island, at 1131 E. Blue Heron Blvd., the garden bed rental will continue and enhancements are planned.
Read more here
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New! Downtown Pizza Leading a Wave of New Restaurants in Lake Wales Historic District
CRAs build better communities! #redevelopmentworks
Leading a rush of new restaurants planned for the downtown Lake Wales Historic District, Downtown Pizza and Sports Bar is expected to open this month in a spacious suite of rooms on Stuart Avenue.
The new restaurant is relocating from a much smaller space in Dundee that owner Kevin Rodriguez said was preventing him from serving the larger groups that frequented his establishment. The new space will seat over 120, allowing him to add a full bar to his operation.
Rodriquez and his wife Janay had operated in Dundee since 2018, growing from a tiny two-table space to a 20-seat space, but were still constrained from the growth they sought. He moved to the area from south Florida 20 years ago as a nine-year-old, and the couple are relocating their home and their two children from Dundee to Lake Wales as well.
The downtown commercial business is seeing marked new interest following the initiation of a major streetscape project by the Community Redevelopment Agency. Completed portions of Park Avenue and First Street now offer shady, pedestrian friendly spaces and room for outdoor dining. Work has just begun on upgrades to Stuart Avenue, and a more extensive project is planned to begin soon on Orange and Crystal Avenues, The redevelopment of the Walesbilt Hotel into a 104-room Marriott, currently in the design phase, is expected to further spur the downtown economic environment.
Read more here
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Coral Springs CRA Sets Aside $3.3 Million for Downtown Infrastructure in New Budget
CRAs build better communities! #redevelopmentworks
Almost 60 cents of every dollar in the Coral Springs Community Redevelopment Agency’s new budget goes to a single line that reads “Infrastructure.”
The CRA Board adopted the $5.6 million plan Monday night. It covers Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
Inside that total, $3.3 sits on the budget line that reads capital outlay. However, it’s unclear exactly what work that money will pay for.
Capital outlay projects “are for infrastructure projects that support a vibrant, walkable downtown,” city spokeswoman Sayona Khandwalla said.
Anything the agency builds has to appear in the CRA master plan. The 246-page master plan has the word infrastructure 40 times.
Khandwalla offered two examples: burying utility lines, and public access for people on foot and in cars.
Read more here
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Pensacola’s Historic Alice S. Williams Library Reopens as Childcare Center
CRAs build better communities! #redevelopmentworks
More than 128,000 children lack access to childcare, according to the “Children’s Movement of Florida.” Resources are now expanding in Pensacola to address the need.
This week, the city is celebrating the official opening of the Alice S. Williams Center. This building was once the first Black library in Pensacola before it shut down in 1976.
Last May, Mayor Reeves announced a citywide “childcare access program.” It’s an effort to expand affordable care with this subsidized child care option in Pensacola.
“Any mothers and fathers out there want to drop their child off in the best possible care that they can get in the newest and safest building that they can have and make sure that it’s quality childcare when they go to work,” said Reeves.
This project was funded by a $500,000 African American cultural and historical grant from the state. It also received $300,000 from the Community Redevelopment Agency.
Read more here
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Trattoria Napoli Opens in Zephyrhills With Help From City Grant Program
CRAs build better communities! #redevelopmentworks
A new Italian restaurant is now open in Zephyrhills, and the city helped make it happen.
Trattoria Napoli, located on 7th Street, held its grand opening with the help of a $50,000 commercial improvement grant from the City of Zephyrhills Community Redevelopment Agency.
Owner Matthew Zappoli is a chef with more than 30 years of experience whose passion for food started at home.
“It really boils down to family,” Zappoli said. “It was always just part of what we did — as a family together. Food had to be there. It had to be good. It had to be made that day, and that was ultimately what inspired me to get into working in restaurants — because my mom would show me how to make a few things as a kid.”
Read more here
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Want to see all of the redevelopment positions available from FRA members across the state of Florida?
Click here for more jobs!
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CRA Manager – City of Haines City
📍 Location: Haines City, FL
💼 Position Type: Full-Time
💰 Salary Range: $79,149.41 – $114,632.10 annually
📊 Department: Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)
📅 Application Deadline: Open Until Filled
The City of Haines City is seeking a CRA Manager to lead redevelopment initiatives and oversee implementation of community redevelopment plans within the City’s CRA districts.
This position plays a key role in advancing redevelopment projects, economic development strategies, property redevelopment efforts, and long-term community revitalization initiatives.
🔎 Job Summary
Under the direction of City Administration, the CRA Manager is responsible for managing redevelopment programs, coordinating projects and consultants, overseeing CRA operations, and supporting implementation of redevelopment strategies throughout the community.
Read more here
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Want to see all of the redevelopment FRPs/RFQs/LOIs from FRA members across the state of Florida?
Click here for more RFPs!
| | | | Thank you for supporting Florida redevelopment! Have questions or news to share? fra@flcities.com | | | | |
