TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Tallahassee City Commission is going over what to do with the Community Redevelopment Agency.
This comes a day after Leon County commissioners agreed to support phasing out the downtown district. The drive behind an agency like this is to really give the city an economic upgrade through projects that encourage development.
The downtown CRA district was created in 2004 and so far, it's brought new life to the city with projects, including development on Gaines Street.
"You have properties that were warehouses that have now turned into student housing that is well over 90 percent occupied," said Jared Willis, the former president of the Downtown Tallahassee Business Association.
Right now, the CRA is working on its largest project to date: transforming the Cascades Park area. The agency has played a big role in shaping the local economy over the past several years.
"When a project comes to fruition, especially some of these million dollar projects, you see the tax increase on the property can be pretty significant," said Willis.
But sometimes, a city can decide it's time to do away with its CRA. That's part of the discussion over in Midway.
"We're just trying to move Midway in a whole different direction to move forward and in order to do that, these are some of the steps that we're going to have to take, so that our community can be vibrant," said Leslie Steele, Midway's city manager.
While CRA's address blight and slums, they also work to attract developers to strengthen a city's tax base.
"Really, they're giving them tax rebates," Willis explained. "So, they're having to put out the same amount upfront, regardless. They still have those development costs, and they're willing to pay them."
Local businesses say they don't expect it to impact them much but the future of some big projects being talked about right now are the ones to look out for.
