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March 7, 2024

FRA Member News

NEW! Panama City Beach City Council Takes Steps to Advance CRA

The Panama City Beach City Council took several proactive steps Thursday to advance the progress on future segments of the Front Beach Road Community Redevelopment Area (CRA).

The Council approved two resolutions for task orders with Chandler and Associates and Deal Consulting, for the appraisal of properties needed for Segment 4.3 of the Front Beach Road CRA.

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NEW! Williston Main Street: Wheels of Progress Turn Slowly

In January 2020, Walker Architects, working with the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, announced its vision of a revitalized Main Street, also known as Block 12. Walker’s ultimate vision was to “create new community space.” Fireman’s Park was created from the remains of the Williston Fire Department and the old Coca-Cola bottling plant. It was dedicated in February 2023.

The original walkway that ran from Main Street to the old Arcade Theatre was restored, including metal tile ceilings. An 80-foot mural that was painted by artist Christian Stanley was completed at the end of 2022. Stanley, an Orlando-based muralist, has worked on projects in Memphis, Las Vegas, Chicago and Lakeland.

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NEW! St. Patrick’s Day Parade Adopts New Schedule on 45th Anniversary

The Rotary Club of Winter Park and the Community Redevelopment Agency presented the 45th Annual Winter Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday, March 2. More than 60 organizations and businesses marched through downtown at 9 a.m. with Fr. Richard M. Walsh, Pastor of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, serving as Grand Marshal.

The route began at the intersection of N. Park and W. Swoope Avenues and proceeded south down Park Avenue to Lyman Avenue. This year’s parade marked a permanent departure from its traditional Sunday afternoon schedule, partly inspired by the efficiency of Winter Park’s “Ye Olde Hometown Christmas Parade” schedule.

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Lake Wales Has a Good “Squeeze” Coming

To help address the need for transportation around the downtown area, City Manager James Slaton and staff have brought another solution forward.

The “Squeeze” is an eight-passenger open vehicle that has already proven successful in downtown Lakeland, according to Erin Killebrew, who presented the concept during a special presentation to the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency board.

The proposal would provide the vehicle as a free service to riders needing to move around the area.

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Mini Murals Brighten Walls and Spirits Around Lakeland’s Talbot House

The Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency is looking for artists to paint a second set of murals on the concrete perimeter wall that surrounds the Talbot House Ministries homeless shelter. The Midtown Mini Murals Project is located on E. Parker Street and N. Tennessee Avenue.

“It’s going to showcase more artists and their capabilities. The murals are smaller, but so what? It helps to make the Talbot House a more attractive place,” said painter David Collins, 76, who is helping the CRA with the project. “We need lots of artists to apply. If we don’t have enough who apply, we may let artists do more than one.”

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Protecting and Preserving Black History

Ralph Dallas Jr., 73, grew up two streets over from the former Austin’s Groceries, 160 Louis Broer Road, where law students, activists and determined Putnam County residents spoke Friday about creating a community development agency.

“We truly was a village, if you can define what a village is,” said Dallas, a former president of the NAACP. “I think we did all aspects of what (villages) entail. We had churches, schools. We had infrastructure.”

Dallas and others want the area in the area between Cracker Swamp, Turner, Yelvington roads and Putnam County Boulevard to be a redevelopment community. That could happen with the help of lawyer Thomas Hawkins, the director of the UF law school’s Environmental and Community Development Clinic. The clinic is an experience-based learning program that helps students apply their knowledge, Hawkins said. He and his students spent Friday morning and afternoon surveying buildings and land in East Palatka.

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Manatee County’s first completed All Inclusive ADA Playground to be dedicated on March 4th 2024 at 1pm

The dedication of Manatee County’s first completed All Inclusive ADA Playground at Lewis Park in Bradenton, will be formally dedicated on Monday, March 4th at 1 pm. Rotary Clubs in Manatee County, in partnership with the City of Bradenton, have developed an all-inclusive playground experience in Bradenton’s Lewis Park that provides recreational and active-living opportunities to every child in our region. The Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant playground is the first completed purpose-built destination of its kind in the area, serving children of all ages and abilities in the City of Bradenton, Manatee County, and our surrounding areas.

The project was spearheaded by Rotary Clubs of Manatee County, a network of several Rotary Club organizations based in Manatee County. This new playground at Lewis Park includes two designated inclusive play areas for children ages 2-5 and 5–12, respectively, as well as a separate swing set that can accommodate a child in a wheelchair.

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Jobs

Community Development Coordinator – Martin County CRA

Salary: $53,486.00 – $87,664.00 Annually

Location: Stuart, FL 34996

Opening Date: 02/27/2024

Closing Date: 3/12/2024 11:59 PM Eastern

The Office of Community Development oversees the county-wide Art in Public Places Program (AIPP), the county-wide Historic Preservation Board (HPB) and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), which includes six CRA areas. The Community Development Coordinator would operate both programs (AIPP & HPB), and coordinate events, marketing and communications for all – AIPP, HPP and the CRA. 

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Economic Development Administrator – Miami Dade County

Job ID:               84749

Entry Rate:           $73,796.31 Annually

Maximum Rate:       $126,992.90 Annually

Closing Date:         03/13/2024

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree. A minimum of three years of professional experience to include assisting in developing, monitoring, or reviewing budgets or performing related fiscal or management analysis is required. Public sector economic development or community redevelopment agency experience is highly preferred.

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Redevelopment Project Coordinator – City of Pompano Beach

Salary Range: $64,952 – $100,533

Work Days/Hours: Monday – Thursday, 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Responsible for providing administrative and project coordination services for the Community Redevelopment Agency management, downtown redevelopment management, redevelopment incentives, neighborhood redevelopment, housing projects, and horizontal and vertical construction projects.

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Economic Development Downtown Manager – City of Winter Garden

Exempt, Full-Time

Salary: Qualification Based 

Responsible for assisting the Economic Development Department in the management, outreach, promotion and implementation of economic development, redevelopment, revitalization, business and downtown programs. Work is performed with a high level of initiative and independence in undertaking and completing economic development and community outreach assignments as directed by the Economic Development Director.

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Economic Development Specialist – City of St Cloud

Salary: $26.26 – $37.28 Hourly

Full-time

This is a beginning-level professional work in economic research and project development.

Work involves the performance of moderately difficult professional and technical work in the area of economic research and development. Work is intellectual and varied in nature as opposed to routine mental or physical work and requires the consistent use of judgement and discretion in its performance.

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Planning Manager City of Lake Wales

$51,505.79 – $81,120.00 Salary/year

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Reviews applications for proposed developments, comprehensive plan amendments, and map amendments. Documents review process and records procedural compliance. Drafts amendments to Land Development Regulations and Comprehensive Plan text amendments.

Prepares ordinances, staff reports, and meeting agendas.

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RFPs / RFQs / LOIs

Reuse or Redevelopment of the Former Pensacola Motor Lodge for Attainable Multifamily Rental Housing at 2305 West Cervantes Street

The City of Pensacola and its Community Redevelopment Agency (jointly and separately referred to as “City”) is soliciting Letters of Interest (LOI) from interested developers specializing and/or experienced in developing attainable, affordable and/or workforce multi-family rental housing for the rehabilitation and/or redevelopment of the former Pensacola Motor Lodge at 2305 West Cervantes Street, Pensacola, Florida. The City seeks impactful proposals that produce attainable housing with an emphasis on low-income and special needs housing as defined at Section 420.0004, Florida Statutes.

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101 West Main Street (LOI): Downtown Waterfront Market Rate Development – City of Pensacola

The City is soliciting Letters of Interest (LOI) from interested developers specializing and/or experienced in commercial real estate development for property located at 101 West Main Street, Pensacola. The ideal project will encompass a broader master plan to maximize the reuse of the adjacent Harbourview parcels (6-story office and 3-story parking garage), which are currently listed for sale by a private owner. The City will consider either single site or broader master-planned proposals with the overarching objective of maximizing economic impact and public enjoyment of the waterfront.

LOIs will be accepted for a minimum of 30 days, ending on Mar. 17, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. local time, but may be accepted on an ongoing basis until closed at the discretion of City administration.

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MORE FRA RESOURCES

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