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Edgewater staff outlines CRA budget, land purchases and $23 million main‑street estimate
Summary
Staff presented the CRA budget (FY '26 revenue shown as $641,870), proposed allocations including façade grants and county-reserved hard‑infrastructure funds, and described ongoing land acquisitions for a Park Avenue main‑street project that staff estimated could cost roughly $23 million in infrastructure.
City staff presented the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) revenue and a preliminary spending plan and answered questions about the timeline for a Park Avenue main‑street concept.
Staff reported CRA revenue for FY ’26 of $641,870 and said the city allocated $100,000 each to small-scale and large-scale façade grants. Staff noted a county portion of $208,000 must be used for hard infrastructure and suggested it be earmarked for undergrounding utilities, expanded right-of-way for diagonal parking and larger sidewalks, and stormwater work on Park Avenue and Riverside.
“What does the hard cost actually encompass?” a board member asked. Staff replied the work would include undergrounding utilities on Park Avenue and Riverside and stormwater infrastructure for the main street itself.
Staff said the city is using CRA and city funds now to acquire property to assemble parcels for the project; staff listed pending purchases: 104 North Park Place (demolished), 114 North Riverside (closing this month) and 123 East Park (to be purchased after budget adoption). Staff cautioned that design and engineering have not yet started and estimated a full main‑street infrastructure investment could be in the tens of millions: “a main street is probably gonna be $23,000,000,” staff said.
Board members and staff discussed options for spending (carryforward amounts, interest earnings) and emphasized the CRA’s limited timeframe. Staff said county funds designated for hard infrastructure cannot be used for non‑infrastructure grants and that saving the funds while land acquisition proceeds makes fiscal sense.
The board did not vote on any construction contract or design scope during the meeting; staff said the next steps are finalizing purchases and preparing scope and cost estimates for future council action.
