FRA 2023 Annual Conference

The 2023 Florida Redevelopment Association (FRA) Annual Conference will be held October 25-27, 2023 at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. For conference details, go to www.redevelopment.net.

When

10/25/2023 8:00 AM - 10/27/2023 5:00 PM
Eastern Daylight Time

Where

Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa 1000 TPC Boulevard Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082

Program

Select programs by

Wednesday, 25 October 2023

Description
Tour (bus): Big City Urban Tour: Downtown Jacksonville The tour will begin in the Southside CRA at RiversEdge, a $280 million, 30-acre redevelopment project on the riverfront site of a former electric generating station. The next stop will be the Sports and Entertainment District in the Northbank CRA (amidst the arriving Florida-Georgia revelers) where $495 million worth of contiguous development projects are underway along the riverfront, including a Four Seasons hotel, office building, riverwalk extension, riverfront park, and museum. We will also pass by the first multifamily project to locate at the Sports Complex, and a nearby restoration and rehabilitation of a historic warehouse to multifamily. Then it’s on to City Center where we will visit two of five historic structures (c. 1902-1955) along two city blocks that are in various stages of completion. The projects, with a combined capital investment of $100 million, include a former Federal Reserve Bank building, a former hotel, former residential-mansion and two former office buildings that are all using financing from incentive programs designed to foster the preservation and revitalization of unoccupied, underutilized and/or deteriorating historic buildings located in downtown. The next stop will be the LaVilla District, once home to brothers Rosamond and James Weldon Johnson, composers of the hymn Lift Every Voice and Sing. While in LaVilla, a historic multi-cultural neighborhood (and once a vibrant African American community and music and entertainment scene referred to as the Harlem of the South), the tour will visit Lift Every Voice and Sing Park, the model-mile of the Emerald Trail and Johnson Commons, a 91 unit for-sale townhome project. The tour will wrap up in the Brooklyn District, stopping briefly at One Riverside (a $164 million riverfront redevelopment project on the former site of Jacksonville’s daily newspaper), and conclude on the Northbank Riverwalk at the recently completed FIS headquarters building adjacent to Gefen Park. Space is limited. Time 7:30 AM - 12:00 PM 7:30 AM
Tour (bus): Coastal Community Tour: Jacksonville Beach The tour will start in the Southend District, showcasing the CRA funded South Beach Park and Sunshine Playground. The CRA and the City desired to utilize the space to encourage outdoor activities and a sense of community for residents and visitors. The park provides opportunities for free outdoor exercise along a paved walking path with various outdoor exercise machines, a space for children of all ages and abilities to play on the newly upgraded Sunshine Playground, large turf sports fields, a splash pad for cooling off during hot Florida summers, and a community center located within the Parks and Recreation building that citizens can rent. Recently, the CRA added additional landscaping, pickleball courts, resurfaced basketball courts, and the most recent project is the addition of new sidewalk entryways off of a busy thoroughfare to allow for easier pedestrian access to the park. The CRA is also adding a passive park to the Southend district. The next stop will be the downtown CRA district. This walking tour will offer an overview of the success of both public and private development and projects. We will discuss the history of the district, creation of a special policing unit, current and future projects for the district, including a renovation of a large civic owned plaza located in the center of the downtown district. Staff will provide insight on the processes and steps involved to create a thriving downtown district that has seen an abundance of strategic growth in recent years, and incentive programs and strategies allowing the CRA to aide in private investment within the district. Space is limited. Time 7:30 AM - 12:00 PM 7:30 AM
Tour (bus): Historic District Tour: St. Augustine and Lincol Take the bus tour along the beautiful historic bayfront, of Downtown St. Augustine. Ride along the main corridor of the Nation’s Oldest City on San Marco Avenue, where opportunities for mobility, parking and transportation improvements will be identified. The bus will then travel to Lincolnville, a historically African American community founded in 1866 by formerly enslaved people. Here participants will have an opportunity to ride down Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., one of the only streets in the nation actually visited by its namesake. Learn about the MLK Streetscape Project, the LCRA’s Institutional Rehab projects, and enjoy an opportunity to get off the bus and explore the two largest recreational spaces in the Lincolnville Community - the 25 plus acres of both Eddie Vickers Park and Dr. Robert B. Hayling Freedom Park. As the masterplan is being developed to improve the park spaces, participant will have an opportunity to learn about the proposed elements and explore the current ones. Other focal points of the tour will include new pocket park improvements, future project sites, and historic preservation efforts related to the historically aesthetic features of Lincolnville. Space is limited. Time 7:30 AM - 12:00 PM 7:30 AM
CRA Board Training Program This general educational session is designed for CRA staff, elected and appointed officials, volunteers and advisory board members. It provides a succinct overview of what you need to know that you don't know in the universe of CRAs. Learn some helpful practical, legal and administrative best practices for CRA policy making success. Space is limited. Time 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM 8:00 AM
Guest Registration Fee When 10/25/2023 8:00 AM - 10/27/2023 12:00 PM 8:00 AM

Thursday, 26 October 2023

Description
Extra Dinner Ticket: Academy Graduation and Awards Banquet NOTE: A full registration includes admission to the Graduation and Awards Banquet. Purchase this ticket ONLY if you need a ticket for a non-registered guest or if you will be attending the dinner only. Time 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM 6:00 PM

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