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Ocala CRA board raises commercial grant cap to $50,000, expands eligibility for new construction; North Magnolia program updated
Summary
The Ocala CRA Agency Board on April 15 approved raising the commercial property improvement grant cap from $15,000 to $50,000 for corridor properties and approved revisions to the North Magnolia subarea program to respond to rising construction costs.
The Ocala Community Redevelopment Area Agency Board on April 15 approved amendments to commercial property improvement grant programs, increasing the maximum award for corridor properties from $15,000 to $50,000 and adding new construction on vacant properties as an eligible improvement. The board also approved revisions to the commercial property improvement grant program for the North Magnolia CRA sub area.
Roberto Ellis, economic development manager, said the corridor grant program (created in 2018) was intended to encourage business owners to improve properties along major corridors. Staff proposed raising the maximum award to $50,000 and allowing new construction on vacant lots only, explaining the change supports Goal 3 of the Ocala CRA plan to improve vacant and nuisance properties along major corridors.
Regarding North Magnolia, Ellis said that program was created in 2014 and last modified in 2016; increases in construction-material costs since then have reduced program take-up. He told the board that the change is expected to increase demand in North Magnolia, where staff approved three grant applications over the last year and hopes to roughly double that number in coming months.
Board members voted unanimously to approve both revisions. No additional conditions, funding source details or implementation timelines were specified during the meeting.
The approvals were presented as part of a continuing review of CRA programs; staff recommended the changes to better align grant limits with current construction costs and to incentivize redevelopment along corridors and in the North Magnolia sub area.
