Michele Hylton-Terry Presented with 2019 Economic Development Person of the Year

FORT MYERS, Fla. (October 2, 2019) – At the Annual NAACP Freedom Fund Gala on Saturday, September 21, 2019, Master of Ceremonies Lee Pitts presented Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Executive Director Michele Hylton-Terry with the Lee Pitts Live Economic Development Person of the Year Award for 2019.
Mr. Pitts noted that he chose Ms. Hylton-Terry for her unwavering effort in leading the City of Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency in creating jobs, housing and economic growth in our under-served communities.
“As head of the Fort Myers CRA, Michele Hylton-Terry is one of the most important people in Fort Myers as it relates to the economic development of the City, which is in full growth mode,” states Lee Pitts, host and executive producer of Lee Pitts Live on FOX 4. “She is already balancing the process of using tax increment funds to bring improved housing and business growth to the MLK CRA and making sure the community is informed and shares in the renaissance,” concludes Pitts.
Ms. Hylton-Terry has led the way as executive director since July 2018. During this time, she has implemented several new programs:

• TIF Guidelines and Application was adopted by the CRA Board of Commissioners and became effective October 1, 2019. The Guidelines streamline the application process and provide a consistent method to analyze each project.
• A Job Creation and Talent Attraction Program targeting specific industries to bring higher-paying jobs to Fort Myers. This program incentivizes the creation and retention of full-time employment within Fort Myers redevelopment areas by offering a grant payment to companies that create or relocate high-wage, full-time jobs within the Downtown Area. As funding becomes available, the program will expand to other redevelopment areas.
• TIF rebates have been approved in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (MLK) Redevelopment Area for Seaboard Waterside Apartments, an eight-story, 420-rental-unit development on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Seaboard Street. This project will generate approximately $4.5 million in tax increment that will be reinvested in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Redevelopment Area.
• St. Peter Claver Place Apartments, which will include 120 apartments of a 214-unit affordable housing development to be built on Michigan Avenue. Both apartment projects will provide needed housing, and help to revitalize the east side of Fort Myers as the entire city continues to grow.

About Community Redevelopment Agencies
Community Redevelopment Agencies have proven historically to provide distressed communities with a better economy through improved infrastructure, job opportunities, and housing. Their mission is to make housing and urban areas safer for residents, to preserve and grow business, and to provide a sense of place for all who live there. CRAs have demonstrated that the use of Tax Increment Funding (TIF) dramatically improves the economic and social outcomes within their targeted areas. These outcomes benefit both cities and counties and, more importantly, the taxpayers.
About the Fort Myers Redevelopment Agency (CRA)
The Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency was created in 1984 by the City of Fort Myers, Florida, under Florida Statute Chapter 163, to formulate a plan and strategy for the revitalization of the downtown River District. The Fort Myers CRA has continued to grow, and redevelopment areas have been added throughout the city. Today, the Agency oversees 12 different redevelopment areas within the Fort Myers city limits. The Fort Myers CRA, along with the City’s Community Development Division, prepares plans for the revitalization of each area and coordinates the implementation of the plan’s recommendations. Tax Increment Funds (TIF) generated by each area, combined with other funding sources, are used to upgrade the public infrastructure and to stimulate redevelopment in the same area where it was generated. The Fort Myers City Council members, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, oversee the Agency’s divisions and their operations. The Fort Myers CRA office is located at 1400 Jackson Street in the Downtown River District. Contact: 239-321-7100
About the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Founded February 12, 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization. Its more than half-million members and supporters throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, campaigning for equal opportunity and conducting voter mobilization. The NAACP Lee County Branch is located at 3903 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in the MLK redevelopment area. Contact: 239-936-2352
About Lee Pitts Live
Lee Pitts Live is the longest-running local television talk show in southwest Florida. The award-winning show, now in its 28th year, broadcasts Sundays at 8:30 a.m. on FOX 4. Over the air, it reaches over 750,000 households in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry, Glades, Desoto and Sarasota counties. It streams worldwide on FOX4now.com and has a strong social media platform. The YouTube channel has thousands of interviews. The show casts a wide net in its guest selections and topics. Entertainers, politicians, educators, children and athletes are among the many guests who have appeared on the show. Its producers are committed to maintaining diverse programming. To date, over 8,500 guests have appeared on the show. Veteran host Lee Pitts is executive producer and creator of Lee Pitts Live. Lee Pitts Live is located at 8765 Azalea Court, Suite 103, in Tamarac, Florida. Contact: 877-830-0391