Fresh off of fireworks and still full of hamburgers and hot dogs, the DeLand City Commission and the Downtown DeLand Community Redevelopment Agency will discuss improving city streets, parks and fields — not housing developments — at meetings Tuesday, July 6.
First, the Downtown DeLand CRA will meet to discuss a number of topics, including city staff recommendations for spending $600,000 in funds on capital improvements.
To help guide the CRA’s decision on how to spend the dough, DeLandites were invited to take a survey in February about what capital projects the city should work on.
Some 700 survey responses told the City Commission that the most popular option was a redevelopment of Voorhis Avenue, which once served as a hub for DeLand’s Black community. While part of Downtown DeLand, Voorhis Avenue has not benefited from the grants and beautification efforts the rest of the area has enjoyed.
According to the CRA agenda released today, July 2, city staff will recommend the redevelopment agency to direct the monies toward streetscaping Voorhis Avenue and improving Downtown DeLand’s Painter’s Pond and Sunflower parks.