Miami Beach has successfully used the Community Redevelopment Act to revitalize two formerly “blighted” areas into a thriving neighborhood and commercial district. Now it wants to do the same for portions of North Beach.
Community Redevelopment Areas (CRAs) allow the creation of special funding districts where incremental increases in property taxes generated within the CRA stay within the CRA and are used for specific redevelopment purposes. City Commissioners this week took the first step toward a designated CRA for North Beach, approving a “finding of necessity” to be transmitted to Miami-Dade County which must approve the designation.
In a memo to Commissioners, City Manager Jimmy Morales wrote, “Historically, the City has successfully established two CRAs. The 25-acre South Pointe CRA was active between 1987 and 2006, during which time the assessed property values increased from $59 million to approximately $2.5 billion in January 2005. Largely responsible for transforming the South of Fifth neighborhood from blighted conditions, the South Pointe district is widely considered the most successful redevelopment district in the State of Florida and one of the most notable in the country.”