Fort Walton Beach invites residents to weigh in on redevelopment plans at January 21st CRA meeting
Fort Walton Beach, Florida – On Wednesday, January 21, the City of Fort Walton Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency will have its next Citizens’ Advisory Meeting.
This is an opportunity for citizens to hear updates and give their thoughts on the CRA district’s redevelopment initiatives. The meeting will be held at the City Hall Growth Management office at 105 Miracle Strip Parkway SW from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
City officials say the purpose of the monthly meeting is to keep the public up to date on current and future initiatives and to give people in the neighborhood a direct say in how improvements will be made in the future. During the meeting, staff will talk about current projects and plans for the future. After that, locals will be able to recommend projects that they think would make the CRA district and nearby neighborhoods more appealing.
Every third Wednesday of the month, there is a Citizens’ Advisory Meeting. If you can’t make it in January, there will be further meetings on February 18, March 18, April 15, May 20, and June 17, all from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. City officials want people to continue attending the meetings because they say that local feedback is very important in setting redevelopment goals.
The city set up the Fort Walton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency to deal with blight, improve safety, and upgrade infrastructure through smart investments and urban design. Its purpose is to help make the downtown area more attractive, safe, and economically active, while also making life better for the people who live there.
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The CRA district is now 607 acres, which represents nearly 12% of the city. The limits go from downtown north along Eglin Parkway to Hughes Street and west along U.S. Highway 98 to Wright Parkway. A part of the property taxes earned in the district goes to CRA projects. This money is then reinvested in the area to help with redevelopment and public improvements.
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Some of the CRA-supported projects that have already happened or continue to be worked on are improvements to the historic Gulfview Center building, public art projects like the library mural project, additional community policing, renovations at Sound Park and Chester Pruitt Park, and more public parking spaces in the downtown area and near Fort Walton Beach Landing. An administrator is in charge of the agency, and the City Council members are the CRA Board of Directors.
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Officials in the city say that the January meeting is another step toward making redevelopment initiatives open and community-driven. They highlight that getting residents involved remains at the heart of the CRA’s objective.
