CRA reports rising pipeline of downtown and beach property-improvement grants, staff warns reimbursements will span fiscal years

Christopher Crisitto, project manager for the Hollywood CRA, presented a multi-year update on the CRA's Property Improvement Program and a pipeline of pending applications.

Crisitto told the board that across fiscal years covering 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 the CRA approved scores of downtown and beach projects with private investment worth millions and CRA grant commitments in the hundreds of thousands. He said several approved projects are still under construction and that a significant portion of committed grant funds will be reimbursed in later fiscal years. "We're projected that it'll probably be $250,000 in grant funding additional of what you've seen so far just for the downtown," Crisitto said, summarizing the pipeline.

Using Crisitto's figures and staff discussion: for fiscal year 2023 the downtown had about 12 approved applications and a private investment figure Crisitto described as approximately $4.3 million, with the CRA committing just over $590,000 and reimbursing roughly $316,000 so far. On the beach in that year Crisitto said four applications totaled roughly $1.0 million in private investment with about $226,000 in committed grants and limited reimbursements paid to date.

For fiscal year 2023-24 Crisitto said the downtown had seven approved projects with roughly $1.2 million in private investment and more than $400,000 in grant commitments (about $120,000 reimbursed so far and approximately $300,000 remaining to reimburse). On the beach he said applicants reported about $3.4 million in private investment with roughly $680,000 in CRA grant commitments; Crisitto said the CRA had reimbursed small portions and had roughly $600,000 pending to pay when projects complete.

For fiscal year 2024-25 Crisitto reported an active pipeline: six approved downtown applications with about $1 million in private investment and roughly $400,000 in grant commitments (no reimbursements yet because construction is ongoing), and six approved beach applications with private investment Crisitto placed at just over $5.0 million and CRA commitments of about $350,000. He described additional projected applications on the beach and emphasized some figures were approximate because final quotes and applications were not yet received.

Board members raised several follow-ups. Board Member Calari asked about parking improvements at 1800 Fillmore Street; Crisitto said staff are awaiting contractor quotes for the lot and that the proposed parking work will be included in the grant once actual costs are received. Board Member Hernandez asked about required parking for that project; Crisitto said the required parking appears to be 12 spaces and that the downtown standard is roughly 1.5 spaces per unit, but he offered to provide exact unit-by-unit calculations to the board.

CRA leadership and staff urged the board to view the grants process like a five-year capital-improvement plan so budget planners can map expected reimbursements across fiscal years and avoid over- or under-committing funds. Executive Director George echoed that the volume of grant applications requires dedicated staff time and recommended projecting reimbursements to match budget cycles.

No formal board action was taken; this item was presented as an informational report and staff indicated they will return with follow-up details on specific projects as requested by board members.