Florida Redevelopment Association

10/15/2026

2026 FRA Annual Conference: Keynote Speaker - Thursday, October 22, 2026, 1:00 PM
Shellie Phelps, Author of Becoming a Very Big Fish – A Small Town’s Journey to Becoming Who They Always Were
https://redevelopment.net/2026-annual-conference/

Shellie Phelps is a nationally recognized public speaker and community consultant who helps small towns rediscover their identity through creative revitalization. A lifelong artist and art educator, she blends vision, storytelling, and collaboration to inspire communities across the United States. This year, she has launched a pilot program through the North Florida Economic Development Partnership to take a boots-on-the-ground approach with a Rural Revitalization Revival in North Florida. She has had the opportunity to work with the communities featured on the hit HGTV show “Home Town Takeover” and recently published her first book, “Becoming a Big Fish”.

10/13/2026

FIVE SPOTS LEFT 🤝 2026 FRA Conference Exhibitors!
https://redevelopment.net/2026-annual-conference/
Showcase your organization at the 2026 FRA Annual Conference! The conference attracts approximately 450 attendees and offers opportunities to connect with redevelopment professionals, elected officials, government staff, consultants, and other leaders from across Florida. Exhibitor and sponsorship space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign up today!

10/13/2026

2026 FRA Annual Conference: Keynote Speaker - Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 1:15 PM
John Talmage, Director, Lee County Economic Development Office, City of Fort Myers
https://redevelopment.net/2026-annual-conference/

John has spent nearly 40 years working in local economic and community development, both for municipal governments and national research organizations. Currently, John is the Director of Economic Development for Lee County. Previously, he most recently served as the Chief of Staff to the City Manager of the City of Ft. Myers and served for several years on the Sanibel City Planning Commission.

John began his career working for the New York City Council during the Dinkins and Giuliani Administrations, focusing on development along the Brooklyn Heights, Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfronts. He directed Economic Development for the City of New Orleans during the Nagin Administration and served as a Senior Policy Advisor to Mayors Diaz of Miami and Mallory of Cincinnati. John left local government to serve as the CEO/President of Social Compact, a research organization serving the federal regulatory community, cities around the country, and community development organizations specializing in micro-market and demographic research.

John facilitates a Community Real Estate Development Program for the University of South Florida’s Florida Institute of Government throughout Florida and is a Senior Research Fellow in Economic Development at the Florida International University’s Metropolitan Institute. John has served on a number of boards, including the Florida Export Finance Corporation, Florida Community Loan Fund, Habitat for Humanity of Lee & Hendry Counties, CareerSource Southwest Florida, Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, Sanibel Community Association, F.I.S.H., CROW and the Sanibel Sea School.

John has been recognized for his work in community development by both the United States Congress and the New York State Assembly and has received over 35 awards for his contributions to economic and community development around the country.

10/12/2026

FRA Newsletter Highlights | October 8, 2026
🌴 2026 FRA Annual Conference: Meet Our Keynote Speakers!
🗓 October 20–23 | Charlotte Harbor

The 2026 FRA Annual Conference is almost here! Join redevelopment professionals from across Florida at the Sunseeker Resort for inspiring keynote presentations, expert discussions, best practices, legislative updates, and networking opportunities.

🎤 John Talmage | October 21 at 1:15 p.m.
Director of the Lee County Economic Development Office, John Talmage brings nearly 40 years of experience in local economic and community development.

🎤 Shellie Phelps | October 22 at 1 p.m.
Author of Becoming a Very Big Fish, Shellie Phelps is a nationally recognized speaker and community consultant who helps small towns rediscover their identity through creative revitalization, storytelling, and collaboration.

📰 Redevelopment News
Featured stories:
• Tarpon Springs Downtown Boutique Hotel Development
• Coral Springs Museum of Art Downtown Gallery and Picasso Exhibition
• East Naples Opera House and Amphitheater Plans
• Orlando 407 Connect Bus Shelter Program
• Bradenton Redevelopment Areas
• Sebring CRA Gateway Signs

And more! Link in first comment.

10/12/2026

October 12, 2026: It’s time for this week’s MyFRA Member Forum! New questions and answers are in, and FRA members are looking for examples, recommendations, and experiences from fellow redevelopment professionals.

This week’s topics include:
• New: Has your CRA established procedures for special districts requesting exemptions under Florida Statute 163.387(d)? One member is looking for sample procedures, staff reports, and presentations used for City Council consideration.
• New answers: Have you solicited bids for right-of-way surveying and mapping as a standalone project? See what fellow members have shared about their experiences.
• Answers needed: How do local governments officially transfer property to a CRA? A fellow member is also looking for examples of parking lease agreements that allow adjoining businesses to use CRA-owned property while it awaits redevelopment.

Also this week:
• The 2026 FRA Annual Conference is almost here! Join us October 20-23 at the Sunseeker Resort in Charlotte Harbor for educational sessions, legislative updates, best practices, and networking with redevelopment professionals from across Florida.
• Hear from FRA member Uma Sarmistha, Ph.D., FRA-RA, as she shares how FRA membership helps her connect with fellow professionals, exchange ideas, and bring fresh approaches to the communities she serves.

Have experience with one of this week’s questions? Jump into MyFRA and share what you know! Your insight or sample document could be exactly what another FRA member needs.

Read this week’s MyFRA Member Forum:
https://conta.cc/3TRspxk

10/12/2026

Just one week to go until the 2026 FRA Annual Conference!
Register today and make plans to join us in Charlotte Harbor.
https://redevelopment.net/2026-annual-conference/

Get ready for four days of redevelopment education, expert insights, networking, and conversations with professionals from across Florida. We’ll see you October 20-23 at Sunseeker Resort for new ideas, valuable connections, and plenty of opportunities to learn from communities throughout the state.

10/09/2026

Plans for a new community opera house and amphitheater near Naples are advancing.

There is hope of securing the land for it by January, if not sooner.

Opera Naples is pursuing the multimillion-dollar development — called Theater in the Garden — in partnership with two other nonprofits, Theater in the Garden Inc. and the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation.

The project took another step forward after the Bayshore Gateway Triangle Local Redevelopment Advisory Board recently voted to support the start of negotiations for a land sale.

Opera Naples was the only organization to answer the invitation to negotiate a development proposal for the land. The land, owned by Collier County, through the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), consists of three parcels totaling about 6.39 acres in East Naples.

The site — at 4265 Bayshore Drive — has long been targeted for redevelopment, with a focus on arts and culture.

Opera Naples is pursuing the multimillion-dollar development — called Theater in the Garden — in partnership with two other nonprofits.

10/09/2026

The Sebring Community Redevelopment Agency discussed and made a decision on gateway signs for placement on North and South Ridgewood Drive for a visual impact in welcoming motorists to downtown.

Apparently now there is no big or small “Welcome to downtown Sebring” sign on Lakeview Drive nor South Ridgewood Drive.

Mayor John Shoop said on Tuesday there is a concrete slag on the triangle area where South Ridgewood Drive starts and branches off from Lakeview Drive. He thinks the slab likely supported a sign at one time.

“There used to be a sign back in the day when Barnett Bank was around,” he said. “They had a ‘Welcome to Downtown Sebring’ sign and they added a little logo on it. Barnett was in the building where the antique mall was (former Bank of America building).”

The Sebring Community Redevelopment Agency discussed and made a decision on gateway signs for placement on North and South Ridgewood Drive for a visual impact in welcoming motorists to downtown.

10/09/2026

The Community Redevelopment Agency is preparing to distribute money to 22 businesses for equipment and facility upgrades. The program is designed to help local businesses take on improvements that can otherwise be expensive.

Back in 2024, Kena Bwembya, the Owner of Bwembya’s Market, received a CRA grant to help make improvements to her business. She said the funding allowed her business to make changes that would have been harder to do on her own.

“I think it’s awesome that the city and the CRA are working towards letting the businesses thrive in such a way that maybe they haven’t been able to do in previous years. Their hope is crucial. I really hope they understand how helpful and appreciative it is when they reach out like this,” Bwembya said.

The CRA is also working on home improvement projects, with several contractors already completing work.

Quincy's CRA is expanding grant funding to 22 businesses while also supporting home improvements and downtown renovations.

10/08/2026

The Bradenton City Council hosted a public hearing with their Community Redevelopment Agency identifying areas in the city that need to be redeveloped or rehabilitated in the interest of public health, safety, and welfare for the city.

A 2023 study identified and documented the existence of slum and blighted conditions across 16 sites in the city. Conditions like vacant buildings that have sat empty for years, faulty layouts, arrested development or failure to redevelop.

“Six of those sites are actually government owned by the county and the city,” Dr. Jeff Burton, Executive Director of the Bradenton Community Redevelopment Agency, said, “and that’s where CRA can come in and help, it is the bridge between the private sector and the public sector.”

“Montgomery Roberts, that lot has been vacant for 40 years, the old City Hall site, 20 years,” Marianne Barnebey, Bradenton City Councilwoman for Ward Two, said. “Significant pieces of property in our downtown, if we can encourage a revitalization of those areas, put them on the tax roll at a higher value, why wouldn’t we do that?”

The study area exhibits a predominance of conditions that impair the City’s sound growth. These conditions include defective street layouts, faulty lot layouts, deterioration of site improvements, diversity of ownership that prevents free alienability of land, and stagnation in aggregate assessed values due to a disproportionate concentration of government-owned, tax-exempt property. The conditions identified here are not merely aesthetic; they represent structural market failures that private enterprise, acting alone, has been unable to overcome.

Conditions like vacant buildings that have sat empty for years, faulty layouts, arrested development or failure to redevelop.