Contact: LaShaun Middlebrooks Collier, Deputy Director of Communications,
Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency: (239) 321-7100
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CRA approves matching grant for downtown warehouse
FORT MYERS, Fla. (July 26, 2023) –The Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has approved funding for Jay Seidl, owner of The Naples International Film Company Warehouse, to repave the existing parking lot at 2027 Monroe St. in Fort Myers in the not-to-exceed amount of $11,071.00 for eligible expenditures.
The building is a warehouse located in downtown originally built in the 1950s. The grant will allow for improving the asphalt by repaving and sealcoating it, tackling one of the most visible disadvantages of the exterior.
“This project will be a catalyst to revitalize a building from an eyesore to a great addition to downtown,” said Seidl.
Seidl said he plans to improve landscaping and repainting the exterior in the future.
The CRA Commercial Property Improvement Grant Program is a matching grant for commercial prop-erty owners and businesses within Fort Myers redevelopment areas. The maximum potential grant avail-able for a project is 50 percent of the total project cost, with a maximum award of $200,000. The Fort Myers CRA has offered commercial preservation incentives/grant programs since 2010 and grant awards are based on the availability of funds.
This is just one example of how CRAs benefit our local cities, communities and residents, ”said Michele Hylton -Terry, executive director of the Fort Myers CRA. “
More information on the CRA’s Commercial Property Improvement Grant Program can be found at https://www.fortmyerscra.com/incentives/commercial-property-improvement-matching-grant
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About the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)
The Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency was created in 1984 by the City of Fort Myers, Florida, under Florida Statute Chapter 163, to formulate a plan and strategy for the revitalization of the downtown River District.
The Fort Myers CRA has continued to grow, and redevelopment areas have been added throughout the city. Today, the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency encourages and oversees redevelopment in four designated areas that contain a total of 14 distinct geographic sections within the Fort Myers city limits.
The Fort Myers CRA, along with the City’s Community Development Division, prepares plans for the revitalization of each area and coordinates the implementation of the plan’s recommendations. Tax Increment Funds (TIF) generated by each area, combined with other funding sources, are used to upgrade the public infrastructure and to stimulate redevelopment in the same area where it was generated.
The Fort Myers City Council members, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency Board of Commissioners, oversee the Agency’s divisions and their operations. The Fort Myers CRA office is located at 1400 Jackson Street in the Downtown River District.
