Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
East Tampa residents and CAC members press CRA on process for $5 million restoration grant
Summary
Residents and advisory committee members urged the Tampa CRA Board to clarify boundaries, application review and oversight after a $5 million restoration grant request for 1601 East Columbus Drive drew questions about process and whether the site falls in Ybor City or East Tampa CRA jurisdiction.
Allison Hewitt, an East Tampa resident and business owner, told the Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency Board that the Community Redevelopment Plan — the CRP that governs the East Tampa CRA — has not been evaluated for whether its strategic priorities succeeded and “we have not had a community conversation to see this is what has worked.”
The comment period and subsequent public remarks focused on one pending request: a restoration-related special-projects grant for 1601 East Columbus Drive and an affiliated project tied to the JC Newman cigar factory. Eileen Henderson, a member of the East Tampa CAC, said the CAC supported the restoration project in principle but raised multiple process questions including who would monitor the grant, whether projected liquor sales would exceed the CRA’s 50 percent limit for grants tied to alcohol-serving businesses, and how the application had advanced through the review…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
