Winter Park wants to grow its downtown redevelopment district
A public meeting will be held Monday for residents to hear more about the new CRA plan, which will ultimately need county approval
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park wants to extend the borders and lengthen the lifespan of its Community Redevelopment Agency, a move that could provide a major revenue boost for public projects within the special district’s boundaries.
The city will host a public workshop on the plan on Monday at 5:30 p.m., at the Winter Park Community Center, 721 W. New England Ave.
Three major commercial corridors — Lee Road, Fairbanks Avenue and a larger section of Orange Avenue — are the targets of the expansion as outlined by a public-facing city web page devoted to seeking public input about the plan. Orange County Commissioners must sign off on the expansion of the CRA’s borders as well as its extension beyond 2027, when it is scheduled to dissolve.
CRAs require county approval because they siphon increases in property tax revenue from land inside the special district from general county funds so that it can be reinvested into projects within the CRA.
CRA revenue totaled $7.1 million last year, according to city documents, and would surely grow along with the size of the district.
Recently, commissioners have discussed the potential expansion of the CRA as a way to fund everything from transportation projects to purchasing more park land.
Questions or comments? Email the editor at WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
The CRA residents want should be PARKS.
So all the CRA money should go to expanding parks.
Whatever happened to “The Emerald Necklace?”‘
That’s the idea of linking the parks with greenways, etc.
Make THAT the CRA map.
All the Commission’s proposal will do is bring more traffic, tourists, and trouble to Winter Park.
Lee Road?
Are you serious?
Who wants more development on Lee Road?
It’s bad enough as it is.
17-92?
Ever hear of Ravadage or Winter Park Village?
Winter Park doesn’t need to give millions to 17-92 to stimulate more development for more traffic gridlock.
West Fairbanks?
You’ve got to be kidding.
Develop West Fairbanks and next thing you know everybody driving down I4 will be turning off into Winter Park.
Please.
How about doing something the RESIDENTS want for a change?
I agree with you. It is frustrating when I see 7 winter park employees tending flower beds along downtown park Ave yet we can’t get the potholes and sidewalks fixed in our neighborhood!
More axe throwing venues.
the32789 dot com is reporting this morning that City Manager Randy Knight announced at this week’s Coffee Talk that he plans to retire by January 2027.
The 32789 area or step child to the city will never be part of CRA or normal attention. Glenridge Road is FINALLY on the list for redo next year. Mayor attention is given to bike paths BUT the special uneven brick road is impossible for safe biking on Lake Sue
The Winter Park mayor election is in early 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1buyF-2LjOc
When I look at that map I definitely see added revenue….for the well connected who own all the commercial buildings and housing rentals in those corridors.
I agree with the above comments. I have questions for Commissioners. Whatever happened to the promises that CRA made in 1994 to the Westside, Hannibal Square community?
* To create minority business, single family affordable homes, traffic calming and economic empowerment etc.
The citizen voices have been ignored for years. The developers are the ones that benefits from the CRA. The residents get the crumbs. I oppose the CRA extension and expansion for Lee Rd, Fairbanks and Orange Ave.
The plan seems semi-reasonable, but I am not a fan of more neon yellow/green signs. How many signs are necessary? There has been an explosion in the number of traffic/info signs in WP. Heck, the city keeps replacing even the ones destroyed in the middle of a street that signifies a crosswalk-no matter how many times they get run down. Fewer signs everywhere, please. And isn’t about 95% of residents using phones for directions and traffic?
My all-time favorite WP wayfinding sign was installed 10 +- years ago outside my neighborhood’s entrance. The sign shows distance and time it takes to ride a bike to specific locations. “Cady Way Tr. 2.5 miles 15 minutes. Glenridge MS 0.2 miles 1 min. Baldwin Park. 0.0 miles. 0 minutes.”
Close Down The CRA!
WP has passed by CRA criteria. Approved locally in 1994, it was supposed to prevent “blight and slums” in areas that were not attractive for development investment. Is there such a place in WP 2023? The original CRA was 17-92 on the west +-, to Interlachen Ave on the east. Fairbanks and Webster, north and south. Are the expanded boundaries blighted? Slummy? Of course not.
And the CRA board is the mayor, commissioners and 1 citizen. Do you think a few pet projects might have passed down the pipeline in the last 30 years? The CRA board can commit large amounts of taxpayer money without justification and without voter approval. Not too democratic.
Rather than divert $5,000,000-$8,000,000 of property taxes into a specific area via CRA, shut it down and deposit the revenue due to WP (approximately 1/2 of CRA total income per year to city, 1/2 to county) in the General Fund for all WP residents to receive benefits. $4,000,000 into the GF forever will help ALL of WP.
The CRA has helped WP, Big Time:
“Most of the major streetscape, facilities, grant programs, and major projects in the downtown have been built by the CRA, such as the Community Center, Welcome Center, Heritage Center, most of the street bricking and decorative lighting, park improvements, 180 affordable home renovations, and over 60 business façade grants. Most recently the CRA completed the Central Park Stage and is currently working on improvements to MLK and Shady Park, and proposing a restroom area in the West Meadow, which will be discussed more in the CIP portion of this document.” (Proposed 2024 budget)
But let’s be honest, do the expanded CRA areas need gov’t help to attract investment? I don’t think so.
I do not know if the extensions of WP to include Fairbanks and Lee Rd have paid off in taxes. I do not see how since Fairbanks had to have a sewer system. However, for years I drove Fairbanks and thought it rather a slum area, and did not think much better of Lee Rd when driving it. Some years have passed since I regularly drove on Fairbanks or Lee Rd, but recently driving on both I did not see any improvements of consequence. I did not approve when they were annexed and I still do not approve. These streets do not look in any way to be aesthetically pleasing or interesting gateways to WP. And, I would add Orlando Ave and the awful Trader Joe’s shopping area are the most dangerous areas to drive and park in WP, with Aloma Ave a very close second. Please no more eyesore areas, high volume traffic, dangerous parking and extra long red lights brought by annexations.