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CRA presents Cleveland Avenue plan update; staff to pursue parcel additions and median beautification
Summary
Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency redevelopment manager Xavier Colon updated the advisory board on a Cleveland Avenue plan revision that would add parcels, prioritize urban design, trails and shared‑parking, and rely on Florida Statutes ch. 163 procedures; staff noted grant programs and roughly $1 million budget activity in commercial improvement grants.
Xavier Colon, redevelopment manager with the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency, briefed the board on an update to the Cleveland Avenue redevelopment plan and described the required process under state law. “We as CRAs have a plan and the rule of thumb is if it's not in the plan, we can't do it,” Colon said, explaining why plan changes follow the findings‑of‑necessity and public participation steps laid out in Chapter 163 of the Florida Statutes.
Colon said the update would add three parcels to the redevelopment area after property owners requested inclusion and described five action areas in the updated master plan: corridor identity, pedestrian and trail networks, urban design/shared parking, transportation and mobility, and economic development incentives. He said consultants (Brinley Peters and Associates, CPH, RMA) provided economic analysis and that the CRA coordinated outreach throughout 2024 and 2025, including public surveys and stakeholder meetings.
On incentives and grants, Colon described the Commercial Property Improvement Matching Grant program. “Last year and this year, we had $1,000,000 budgeted for that program,” he said; Colon indicated about $900,000 was awarded last cycle and that the current cycle expects roughly $500,000 in expenditures so far. He emphasized the overlay standards' triggers (for example, major improvements that meet a percentage threshold) and noted coordination with FDOT is required for median landscaping and intersection safety projects.
The CRA will present the updated plan to city council at a public hearing; Colon said the CRA board recommended the update and staff will continue community outreach and coordination with taxing authorities as required by statute.
