Downtown Ocala CRA Advisory Committee Meeting - August 25, 2026
Downtown Ocala CRA Advisory Committee Meeting - August 25, 2026
The Downtown Ocala Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Advisory Committee met on August 25, 2026, at 9:00 AM. The committee approved previous meeting minutes, received project updates on crosswalk improvements and a CRA tour, and discussed a proposed retail and restaurant attraction, retention, and expansion grant program. Committee members provided extensive feedback on the grant program's terms, leading to a directive for staff to revise the proposal for city council consideration in October.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The committee unanimously approved the minutes from the previous meeting. Motion carried with all in favor.
Discussion Items
- Project Updates (Eric Smith, Transportation Project Administrator):
- Reported that FDOT agreed to install brick-stamped crosswalk overlays at State Road 40 intersections. Work is ongoing with nightly lane closures and is expected to be completed soon.
- Conducted a CRA tour to identify potential development opportunities and capital improvement projects. Additional tours are available for interested committee members.
- Proposed Retail & Restaurant Grant Program (Roberto Elis, Economic Development Manager):
- Presented a summary of past grants (five grants since FY2024, totaling $214,478 at 37% match) and proposed a new program with up to 75% match, $150,000 cap per application, and a $500,000 initial fund pool.
- Key changes include: requiring project start within 6 months and completion within 12 months; allowing single general contractor bids; requiring property owner cosignature with repayment terms over five years (20% forgiveness per year).
- Committee Feedback:
- Concern about repayment triggers if a tenant vacates; suggested a 6–12 month cure period for property owners to find a replacement tenant before repayment is due.
- Discussion about lease types (e.g., triple net leases with escalators) and the need to define stable lease terms.
- Proposal to allow different reimbursement percentages (e.g., lower match for landlord-specific improvements like shell upgrades) with corresponding shorter forgiveness periods.
- Suggestion to focus grants on permanent improvements (HVAC, sprinklers, structural) rather than tenant-specific fixtures to reduce landlord risk.
- Clarification that applications would be per unit, not per parcel.
- Board Comments:
- A member noted that current city utility and infrastructure incentives favor low-density development, making high-density projects cost-prohibitive. This counteracts the goal of increasing tax revenue per acre. The member advocated for revising incentives to support multi-story retail and higher-density residential.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes Approved: Unanimous.
- Grant Program Revision: Staff directed to incorporate committee feedback, including a cure period for tenant vacancies, flexibility on lease terms, and options for lower reimbursement percentages. The revised program will be presented to the city council for approval, with an anticipated effective date in October 2026.
- **No other formal votes were taken.
Meeting Transcript
I was just there, yeah. It's real close. Uh floors were done, paint is done, roof is finishing right now, the awnings are done, all the electrical is done, the plumbing is done except the fixtures, which are they just put the things on today. They're gonna tool is in all that tomorrow. Um so I think that in terms of interior renovations, I'd say they're gonna be done the first week of September. Like 9-6 substantially complete. Then we got some small things like we're having some custom furniture. It's gonna take you know a week or two beyond that. And it's not right now, it's just custom furniture. All the furniture is being refinished right now, it'll be done uh next week. They're redoing all the chairs and and all the bankettes are being redone with new leather and all that, and then um we're doing all the technology right now. So I think we should be ready to start training, you know, like 9-7 we'll start training. Awesome and train for essentially 30 days straight. We already had the front of house staff hired. Just working in the back of the house right now. We got about four in the back, we have five more yeah. Start up with a restaurant seems stressful. We got lucky because we've got a guy who's just he's done it for 20 years, he's done stuff. Are you gonna round uh turn around? It's gonna have next layer to it. So not step surface. Um started. Do we have quorum or no? We do. They both said that they were gonna be here, but I think call this meeting to order. Um roll call. Good morning, everyone. Dr. Murdoch, Mr. Shat. Mr. Harper? Here. Mr. Goling. Here. Mr. Drake? Here. Miss York. We reach our quorum. Um has the public notice been published? Yes, the public notice information for the downtown Ocala CRA advisory committee was published on July 31st of 2026. Okay. Um approval of minutes. Is everybody a chance to read through the minutes? Yes. Okay. The motion to approve the I motion to approve the minutes that's presented. Second.
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