Largo seeks expansion of ClearwaterLargo Road redevelopment district; proposes $11.5 million TIF and West Bay Drive plan updates

City planners and outside consultants presented two connected land-use packages: an updated ClearwaterLargo Road Community Redevelopment District (CRD) plan that includes a major expansion area and an amendment to the West Bay Drive CRD plan to align design and development standards.

Why it matters: The CRD expansion would establish a tax-increment financing (TIF) trust fund to concentrate incremental property-tax revenue within the expansion area, funding mobility, housing, economic development, parks and resilience projects. The proposed plan also sets the regulatory framework (character districts, density/intensity ranges and developer "bonus" opportunities) intended to guide redevelopment and incentivize public benefits.

Key points from the presentation

- Scope and outreach: Consultants said the ClearwaterLargo Road expansion covers about 537 acres adjacent to the downtown/Horizon West area. The process included stakeholder meetings, pop-up engagement, a public survey and multiple board and stakeholder briefings.

- TIF estimate and phasing: The conservative TIF revenue projection shown to commissioners was roughly $11.5 million over a 20-year period, with proposed spending phased across short-term (5-year), medium-term (5year) and long-term (10year+) project lists. Phase 1 focuses on placemaking, small public-space investments and quick mobility upgrades; later phases address larger capital needs like parks and major roadway or stormwater projects.

- Policy and standards: The plan updates include a mixed-use corridor along Missouri Avenue with higher allowable heights and densities, scaled-down intensity along Clearwater Largo Road, a City Home transition district to preserve adjacent neighborhoods, and a suite of bonus incentives (affordable-housing tiers, infrastructure contributions, public-space amenities) intended to be codified in subsequent Comprehensive Development Code (CDC) amendments.

- West Bay Drive amendments: The West Bay Drive CRD plan was amended to consolidate and streamline regulatory language, align character-district standards with Forward PinellasAlt-19 recommendations and to prepare for CDC updates that will incorporate clearer design standards, density ranges and bonus structures.

- Next steps and approvals: Presenters said the planning-board and commission hearing schedule will move quickly, with planning-board public hearings followed by an initial city commission hearing in early May; final approval of the TIF trust and expansion requires Pinellas County commission concurrence and later adoption of CDC amendments (targeted late 2025/early 2026).

Questions and discussion

Commissioners and staff discussed the rationale for the TIF, which the consultants and city manager described as a tool to concentrate incremental tax revenue for reinvestment in an economically challenged corridor. City Manager Kurt said the goal is to "raise the areas economic value" and to promote annexation where appropriate so the city can capture tax base and guide infrastructure investments.

Commissioners also raised procedural and political questions: how the county will evaluate the proposal, whether the county or state regulatory environment could push back on CRAs/TIFs, and whether the city should seek annexations prior to or alongside any expansion. Staff said they have begun early conversations with Pinellas County administration and plan formal public hearings as part of the statutory process.

Quote from the presentation

Jared Snyder, consultant: "We took a very conservative approach 11.5 million over the 20-year timeframe" to estimate potential TIF revenues and to phase projects accordingly.

Ending: The commission received the plan updates and public-engagement summary and directed staff to continue the scheduled public hearings and county coordination; no formal vote to create the TIF or adopt CDC changes was taken at the meeting.