The City of St. Augustine Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) announces the West City Community Redevelopment Area (WCCRA) Plan adoption! During the June 23, 2025, City Commission regular meeting, Ordinance No. 2025-07 passed with a unanimous vote, following the required public hearing.
The WCCRA was established in May 2024, after a Finding of Necessity (FON) study assessed conditions of blight within the identified boundary area. It is the city’s third and largest redevelopment area, covering over 600 acres of the western part of the city. In July 2024 the City Commission appointed a steering committee, whose sole purpose was to work with staff and residents to develop a redevelopment plan. The redevelopment plan is a collaboration of input garnered through various public engagement efforts by CRA staff and the steering committee. The WCCRA Plan prioritizes a six-point action plan for community stabilization over the next 30 years through housing policy and other stabilization efforts, public space enhancement/beautification, locally oriented business development and new business programming, mobility/connectivity and infrastructure improvements, branding/signage, and historic preservation efforts. To review and download the plan and other information related to the CRA please visit www.CityStAugCRA.com.
Under Florida Statute (Chapter 163, Part III), local governments can designate targeted areas as Community Redevelopment Areas (CRAs) to address conditions of “slum” and “blight” within that area. To establish a CRA, a formal "Finding of Necessity" (FON) study must be conducted to assess conditions of blight in a proposed area. A technical term defined in the Florida Statutes, “blight” is an area that exhibits signs of physical and economic distress. CRAs are dependent, special districts that utilize Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to fund projects undertaken within the district. TIF revenue is generated by the increase of property values within the designated CRA. The St. Augustine CRA is a public agency overseen by a CRA Board consisting of the members of the St. Augustine City Commission. They are enabled by the Community Redevelopment Act (1969) to implement redevelopment activities at the local level.
For questions regarding the CRA, contact Jaime D. Perkins, Community Services Director, at 904.209.4254.
For media inquiries contact Melissa Wissel, Communications Director, at 904.293.3307.
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Photo attached: WCCRA Steering Committee members (pictured, L to R): Brooke Bohall, Wanda Sams, Jeffrey Kempf, Arthur Culbert, Dianya Markovits, Jeanne Moeller, BJ Kalaidi