CRA staff outlines hires, rental pilot and redevelopment-plan schedule as $30 million in grants are managed

Erica Grama Cagnolo, economic development director for the City of Pensacola, told the Community Redevelopment Agency that staff has added several positions and will begin providing brief project updates at each meeting to keep board members informed.

The move follows what Grama Cagnolo described as a heavy workload in 2024. "We have American Magic, Baptist, Pensacola Motor Lodge, 101 West Main, CRA plan updates, and our ongoing focus on increasing the inventory of affordable and attainable housing within the city of Pensacola, just to name a few," she said. She told the board the CRA is administering more than $30,000,000 in grant funds and about $4.5 million in annual tax-increment financing (TIF) revenues.

Why it matters: board members said the additional staff capacity is intended to let the CRA do more project-level work in-house—particularly financial analysis and housing project pro formas the city has previously…