Ocala CRA board raises commercial grant cap to $50,000, approves series of East Ocala property grants

The Ocala City Council Community Redevelopment Area Agency Board on July 15 approved revisions to the East Ocala CRA Subarea Commercial Property Improvement Grant Program that raise the maximum commercial award to $50,000 and add murals as an eligible type of work, and the board approved a slate of residential and commercial property improvement grants for properties in the East Ocala CRA.

Robert Ellis, economic development manager for the City of Ocala, told the board the revisions respond to rising construction and materials costs and aim to encourage more business participation in public art: "We are proposing 2 changes to the framework for the commercial property improvement grant program. We are proposing to increase the maximum award from $20,000 to $50,000 ... We are also adding murals to the list of eligible work covered under the grant," Ellis said. He told the board the advisory committee supports the change and staff recommended approval.

Why it matters: raising the cap is intended to allow larger façade and building upgrades and to enable mural…