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CRA tables Northwest Atlantic redevelopment items after residents urge alignment with set transformation plan
Summary
Public commenters urged the Community Redevelopment Agency to pause development decisions in the West Atlantic corridor until a neighborhood plan update is complete; the board voted to table two RFP items tied to the Northwest 800 block to Aug. 28.
Residents and developers urged the Community Redevelopment Agency to align redevelopment of the West Atlantic corridor with an ongoing update to the set transformation plan, and the agency voted to table two related actions until its Aug. 28 meeting.
Montreux Bennett, speaking during public comment, urged a halt to development tied to the neighborhood until the set transformation plan update is complete. “I think we should stop all development that has to do with the voices and the words of the community before we move forward with anything,” Bennett said.
Resident Chuck Ridley urged the CRA to follow professional staff recommendations and to favor neighborhood-serving businesses and block-by-block infill. “Delay any decisions about what you should do until you give community its appropriate time to have feedback and input,” Ridley said.
Developer representative Tim Hernandez of Do Urban, describing prior local projects, told the CRA that a comprehensive, master-planned approach to the 600–800 blocks could produce better commercial synergies and workforce housing than piecemeal RFPs. “If you do it on a block by block basis … it’s gonna preclude them from knowing what's going on in the other blocks,” Hernandez said.
Community organizer Jennifer Jones urged the agency to prioritize low- and very-low-income housing and affordable commercial space for small businesses, saying longtime residents face displacement pressures.
CRA staff described the public-engagement schedule for the set transformation update and said more community-led meetings are planned; staff said the update likely will require at least two or three additional meetings, with an August session and additional fall dates and hoped-for completion by year’s end.
Board members debated timing and coordination. Commissioner Long said the West Atlantic portion is the city’s gateway and urged not to delay development unnecessarily; other commissioners emphasized the value of aligning RFPs with the updated neighborhood plan.
After discussion, the CRA voted to table two agenda items tied to the Northwest 800 block — identified in the agenda as 8AA (the container/modular project) and 8A (the adjacent parcels) formerly listed as 7D — and to revisit them at the Aug. 28 meeting. The motion to table passed on a roll call with affirmative votes from Commissioner Carney, Commissioner Long, Chair Burns, Vice Chair Markert and Deputy Vice Chair Cassell.
The tabling preserves time for additional community engagement on the set transformation update while allowing staff and the board to reassess RFP scope and sequencing at the designated meeting.
