Areas all over Ocala have undergone redevelopment plans that have successfully revitalized or are in the process of revitalizing parts of town that had previously been neglected.
East Ocala is next on the list for a revamp, right behind downtown, west Ocala and North Magnolia Avenue, all of which have seen drastic change over the last several years. The Ocala City Council will be voting later this month to determine whether or not they will be earmarking property taxes collected from the east Ocala area to be spent only in East Ocala with the goal of improving a dilapidated area.
The East Ocala Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) occupies approximately 950 acres that need commercial investment, infrastructure and redevelopment. The CRA geographic region is bordered by Northeast 39th Avenue to the east, Pine Avenue to the northwest, East Fort King to the south and Northeast 28th Street to the north.
East Ocala’s median household income is 75 percent of the overall city average, and more than 68 percent of buildings and homes have what is considered to be a quality of infrastructure that is below average, 74 percent of which were built before 1979.
With city approval, the East Ocala Redevelopment Area plan hopes to generate about $32 million over the next 30 years. The plan aims to improve roadways, build new utility and pedestrian infrastructure, and to financially incentivize developers to move into the area.
Over the last 50 years, east Ocala’s major commercial corridors have become run down and unattractive to developers. Without investment, they have been underutilized, abandoned and have become obsolete. This new plan aims to fix all of that while bringing lots of money to the city.
For more details on the redevelopment plan, read the full article at ocala.com.
