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Redevelopment is publicly financed rebuilding of an urban, residential or commercial area. Redevelopment is one of the most effective ways to breathe new life into deteriorated areas plagued by social, physical, environmental or economic conditions that act as a barrier to new investment by private enterprise. Through redevelopment, a target area will receive focused attention and financial investment to reverse deteriorating trends, create jobs, revitalize the business climate, rehabilitate and add to the housing stock, and gain active participation and investment by citizens which would not otherwise occur.
A community redevelopment agency (CRA) is a public agency designed to foster this redevelopment and re-invest and concentrate on these target areas. The Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency (GCRA) was established in 1981. The original purpose of the CRA was to create a redevelopment framework in which the Central City District would evolve into a more dynamic office, service, financial, entertainment, residential, and governmental area. By 2001, the CRA was operating in four Community Redevelopment Areas: Eastside, Fifth Avenue/Pleasant Street, Downtown, and College Park/University Heights. Redevelopment projects in these areas all share a central purpose: to alleviate urban blight in the Community Redevelopment Areas.
There is redevelopment plan for each CRA area. These plans provide guidelines and strategies for removing physical and economic blight and provide a vision, goals and timetables for generating growth and new opportunities. Redevelopment plans are created with political, business, and community participation. The plans are the roadmap for spurring growth, creating new housing and improving the quality of life and general welfare of the people who live and work in and around redevelopment areas.
Funds for CRA projects are drawn from tax increment funds, which are collected from the four redevelopment areas. When a redevelopment area is established, the current assessed values of the property within the project area are designated as the base year value. Tax increment comes from the increased value of property, not from an increase in tax rates. Any increases in property values as assessed because of change in ownership or new construction will increase tax revenue generated by the property. This increase in tax revenue is the tax increment that goes to the CRA. |
