Martin County CRA approves pursuit of RAISE grant for Golden Gate complete-streets vision

The Martin County Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) advisory board voted to pursue a federal RAISE grant application and to hire a consultant to prepare concept drawings and the grant submission for a Golden Gate complete-streets vision plan.

Joy Puerta, program manager for the Port Salerno and Golden Gate neighborhood advisory councils (NACs), summarized the CRA's first-quarter 2025 accomplishments and the Golden Gate concept: an El Camino pathway, new sidewalks, curbing, on-street parking, lighting, trees, traffic calming, roundabouts and gateway features. Puerta said the CRA's septic-to-sewer program is 68% complete, with 524 parcels connected so far.

The CRA advisory board approved a motion to move forward with a consultant to develop the grant application; a motion to approve the action was made and seconded and passed with all members voting in favor (vote tally not specified on the record). The board chair moved the item after Puerta described the community support for the concept.

The board heard details on funding prospects: the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, administered through USDOT, typically accepts applications once per year. Puerta told the board the RAISE program accepts requests that generally start at $5,000,000 and can be as large as $25,000,000; typical federal share is about 80% of project cost (a 20% local match), though she said projects that qualify as persistent-poverty or historically disadvantaged communities may receive a reduced local match.

Susan Corres of the Office of Community Development reviewed related capital projects across CRA areas and the Port Salerno Peninsula coordination. She said public works received bids for Park Drive and Peninsula-area improvements; Ferrer Construction was the lowest responsive bidder for the Phase 1 utilities and drainage work. Corres said Phase 1 — utilities and drainage, including a Seaward swale fix and concrete pads for the dock authority — is budgeted at $240,485.80. She said the overall estimate for the peninsula work used in prior briefings was about $444,000, and that paving (Phase 2) will be bid separately after utilities work winds down.

Puerta also highlighted other quarter activity: the El Camino groundbreaking, a Golden Gate interactive complete-streets concept map, Hope Sound murals and a Christmas parade, Jensen Beach Boulevard resurfacing and new pole decorations, Cove Road sidewalk completion in Port Salerno, Monrovia Park 60%-design plans, and streetscape planning in Palm City and Dixie Highway. The CRA submitted a letter of support for a USDOT inner-city passenger rail grant and recommended county architectural design standards and construction-manager-at-risk (CMAR) delivery in recent reviews.

Board members and NAC participants asked staff to pursue the RAISE application and noted the concept drawings would be useful for other grant applications if the RAISE submission is unsuccessful. Corres said the consultant work would produce documents that could be reused for other grant opportunities.

Puerta, Corres and the board indicated next steps will include selecting a consultant, completing the concept drawings and submitting the federal grant application in the next RAISE cycle. The advisory board asked staff to provide details on consultant costs and a project timeline as those become available.