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Owners say CRA investment program spurred Jensen Beach property renovations, new tenant
Summary
Two property owners told a Martin County meeting that a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) investment program helped pay for exterior upgrades to multiple Jensen Beach properties, which they say attracted a new commercial tenant and increased repeat hotel business.
Two property owners and managers spoke at a Martin County public meeting about using a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) investment program to pay for exterior renovations to commercial properties in Jensen Beach, and said the improvements helped attract a new tenant and more repeat customers.
The matter was raised during public comment. Resident/Investor (unnamed) said the couple moved from Charlotte, North Carolina, decided to invest in Jensen Beach and “fell in love with it.” The speaker said the group “heard about the CRA investment program through Ron Rose here with the Jensen Beach Chamber of Commerce,” and called the chamber’s assistance a benefit to the project.
Trevor Pittman, a property manager who said he runs the hotel in the group’s portfolio, described the specific work the owners completed. “This hotel here, that’s my baby,” Pittman said. He listed exterior upgrades including Bahama shutters, new paint, and, on the building’s north side by the elevator, “a new glass door plus a fixed window.”
The speakers also said they repainted a nearby property they call Pineapple Square in “more modern coastal colors,” installed an awning at Ian and Kai’s Pizza, and replaced storefront glass at Welcome Home Realty. Resident/Investor said the owners “spent way more than what they give us,” referring to the CRA contribution, and that the additional private spending “made a difference.”
Both speakers linked the work to an economic result: they said a previously vacant commercial unit was leased a few months after the improvements, and that hotel business had increased with more repeat guests who saw the renovations in person.
No formal action, vote, ordinance or funding amount was presented at the meeting; speakers described the CRA program and their experience with it but did not provide document numbers, grant totals, or a formal request to the county.
The comments cited the Jensen Beach Chamber of Commerce and the CRA investment program as sources of outreach and assistance; no county or chamber staff responded during the recorded remarks and no follow-up steps were announced at the meeting.
