After a year of negotiations, the Board of County Commissioners for Orange County granted an extension and expansion for Winter Park’s Community Redevelopment Agency through 2037.
The CRA program was established in 1994 to help address economic issues in the city’s downtown by reinvesting tax dollars into a targeted area. The CRA has encompassed what is traditionally often thought of as the downtown core with the boundaries generally being Interlachen to the East, Fairbanks and Orange to the South, 17-19 to the West, and Webster to the North.
The funds are used for park renovations, purchasing property, improving infrastructure, housing rehabilitation, business facade grants, and more. According to Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio, the program helped to increase Winter Park’s tax base in its CRA area by over 440%. With the latest extension, the CRA is estimated to pull in $141 million in Tax Increment Financing, with an estimated $57 million from the county over ten years, from 2027-2037.
The City of Winter Park has also signed a Joint Partnership agreement with Orange County to annex land between I-4 and Fairbanks, into the city. The area is currently unincorporated Orange County and is currently being redeveloped by residents and private developers, which the City of Winter Park believes is contributing to flooding in the area – which they hope to curb with more infrastructure and improved roads and sidewalks.
Click HERE to read more about the CRA Plan.
