Phone: (352) 795-4216
Location
City of Crystal River
915 N Suncoast Blvd
Crystal River, FL 34428
Tax Increment Financing (TIF), the funding source for CRAs, allows for a redirection of the existing ad valorem property taxes to redevelopment projects without imposing a new level of taxation. Because funding for improvement projects is limited during the first ten years of the CRA, as a result of TIF, the CRA commissioned a historical structure survey and began writing grants in efforts to fund revitalization efforts. In 1998, the CRA acquired the first grant for downtown redevelopment: a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the Florida Department of Community Affairs. Following this success, the CRA has continued an aggressive grant-writing program to fund additional improvement projects, including the following.
The success of the CRA is apparent not only in the aesthetic improvements to the area but also in the substantial increase in property values from $15.3 million in 1988 to over $62 million in 2009.
The CRA anticipates continuing several of its "bricks & sticks" projects such as the Riverwalk around the north end of King's Bay and the development of King's Bay Park. In addition, the Agency is looking into diversifying its efforts in the area of economic development of the downtown by acquiring blighted properties and properties with infrastructure problems. The CRA will then restore the properties to a marketable state, design a concept for the development of the site in a manner consistent with the objectives of the City, and then return the property to the private sector for development.
By integrating these varied redevelopment activities the CRA hopes to leave the City with a thriving and attractive downtown when the Agency sunsets in 2018.