Fort Myers CRA Wins Two Redevelopment Awards

FORT MYERS, Fla. (October 25, 2019) – The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) of the City of Fort Myers received two prestigious awards in the “Large City” category at this year’s Florida Redevelopment Association (FRA) Best of Florida Redevelopment Awards Program. Founded in 1974, with a statewide membership of over 300+, comprised of nonprofit public and private sector stakeholders, FRA’s deep commitment and sincere dedication to supporting community revitalization throughout Florida culminates each year with an annual conference and awards program.
This year’s FRA Roy F. Kenzie Awards program recognized the “Best of the Best” in redevelopment in Florida and was hosted in Downtown Tampa, Florida.  This past week, CRA staff and leadership attended this year’s FRA Conference and Awards Program. To their amazement and delight, they were presented with a FRA Roy F. Kenzie Award for Outstanding Rehabilitation Renovation or Reuse Project. Fort Myers CRA also jointly received FRA’s Roy F. Kenzie Award for Planning Studies with Stantec Consulting Ltd.
The Collaboratory won FRA’s 2019 Best Outstanding Rehabilitation Renovation or Reuse. The Collaboratory is the catalyst for revitalizing the Midtown section of Fort Myers’ Downtown redevelopment area. As southwest Florida’s first public sphere, Collaboratory is where people from different backgrounds, interests, and areas of expertise come together to exchange ideas—whether meeting locally in person or virtually worldwide through the ultra-high-speed Florida Lambda Rail network.
The Collaboratory was a joint venture with SWFL Community Foundation, City of Fort Myers, the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency resulting in transformation of the former 1924 Atlantic Coast Line Railway depot into the cornerstone of Collaboratory’s campus, along with a modern addition and sustainable, high-tech footprint, to propel Midtown into the 21^st Century.
The winning CRA Planning Study was the CRA’s Fort Myers Redevelopment Areas, Boundary Reviews, and Recommendations Study. The CRA wanted to take a fresh look at the “big picture” of redevelopment success and opportunity within the City of Fort Myers.
The Fort Myers Redevelopment Area Boundary Review & Recommendations Study provided an analysis of redevelopment areas, impact, previous planning efforts, implementation completed, current demographics and conditions, funding, and overall city redevelopment needs to evaluate and identify opportunities to strengthen redevelopment success. The report concluded each analysis with recommendations and action steps for the CRA to implement. The entry was submitted by Stantec Consulting Services, which worked in conjunction with the Fort Myers CRA to create the report.