Downtown Sebring has added new eateries recently and now the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) seeks to create an incentive to attract more retail businesses.
This would be something new, CRA Board Chair David Leidel said Friday.
“We are trying to get to the point where we can step away from feeling like we have to purchase a building to have an impact to be able to incentivize the downtown,” he explained.
A concept will be introduced to the CRA Board on Monday of creating a grant that would provide rental assistance for downtown retail tenants, Leidel said.
The details of this will be discussed by the board, but, for example, if a landlord can bring in a retail shop, the CRA would be willing to supplement a portion of that monthly rent for 12 months in exchange for a three-year lease or for a five-year lease, possibly a two-year incentive program, he said.
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