At this time, we'll call to order the August 3, 2026 meeting of the City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency. We move to item two on the agenda. Approve the minutes of the July 13, 2026 DRA meeting. Is there a motion to approve the minutes? Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Move to item three on the agenda. Are there any citizens to be heard today on items that are not on today's Community Redevelopment Agency agenda? Seeing none, we'll move to item four point one. August Business Spotlight, Soul Sicilian Fusion. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Tasha Hatley, CRE Specialist, and today I'm pleased to recognize Soul Sicilian Fusion as our August Business Spotlight winner. Located at 516 Cleveland Street in downtown Clearwater, Soul Sicilian Fusion has become a destination for Italian cuisine and warm hospitality. Since opening in 2019, co-owners Nello Menza and Natalia Harrison have built a family-operated restaurant that offers residents and visitors well desserts and gelato. Every meal is thoughtfully prepared, creating a memorable experience that has earned the restaurant a loyal following. Their commitment to quality, hospitality, and serving the community has earned them recognition as Best Italian Restaurant in Clearwater, awarded by Gambero Rosso, a leading Italian food and wine media group. To help tell their story, CRA staff and public communications produced a video and article, which has been shared throughout social media channels and is also available at MyClearWaterCRA.com. Social Sicilian Fusion reflects the city and CRA's shared goals of supporting locally-owned business, strengthening downtown economic vitality, and creating a vibrant downtown. At this time, we invite you to view the video. Thank you. Natalia, I am the owner and the manager of Soul Sicilian Fusion. Soul Sicilian Fusion has been opened in September of 2019. We will be celebrating seven years this September. We serve majority Italian food with the flavor of Sicily. I'm so sorry. I'm going to start that over. My name is Natalia. I am the owner and the manager of Soul Sicilian Fusion. Soul Sicilian Fusion has been opened in September of 2019. We will be celebrating seven years this September. We serve majority Italian food with the flavor of Sicily. The chef and owner is Nen Lomenza. He is also Sicilian. This is a family restaurant, so the majority of people who work here is a family. The customer can expect, first of all, great food, great wine, great ambience. We make everything here is fresh. Also, of course, homemade. All sauces made in the house. Also, dessert. We make our own desserts in-house, including our own gelato. We've just recently been watered like the best Italian restaurant in Clearwater. We open from Tuesday till Saturday. We closed on Sunday and Monday. Our hours of operation from 5 till 10. When we open on Sunday, most likely same hours. Thank you. Congratulations. Congratulations. Maybe you'd like this one. I just wanted to get like a sensory thing going on. Yeah? Yeah, that's good. Okay. Three, two, one. Three, two, one. And can I get you two together closer? Really nice. All right. And then I'll just mention you on this side a little bit right here. There we go. Lena, you need to cut out. All right. Everyone over here. Three, two, one. Three, two. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah, we invite you to say a few words. No, I just want to say thank you very much for all your support. Well, ma'am, if you could, if you go to the microphone, yeah. We'll make sure everybody hears you, so. Thank you very much for your support, your help. I know it's been a wonderful seven years, and we will be very happy to continue to serve food in this wonderful downtown of Clearwater. Thank you so much. Yeah, and we want to thank you, too, because this isn't a new restaurant. You've been there and endured ups and downs, and I think the fact that you've succeeded over time has to do with not just the quality of the food and the service, but the quality of the two of you. And you brought an expertise and a touch, a very classy touch, to downtown Clearwater that our citizens greatly appreciate, which has led to the success of your business. So thank you for doing what you do and making downtown Clearwater great. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, with that, we will move to item 4.2 on the agenda. Upper third quarter budget amendments for the downtown Clearwater Community Redevelopment Area and adopt resolution 26-02. Good afternoon. Anne Lopez, CRA Assistant Director. This first item that I have before you is the third quarter budget amendments for the downtown Clearwater CRA. These amendments reflect a decrease in revenue of $33,976 of increment that was received by Pinellas County, a decrease of $2,108 in increment received from the city of Clearwater, a decrease of $577 of increment received from the downtown development board, an increase of $125,000 in estimated interest earnings. Adjustments to the budget reflect actual expenditures to date. There's the decrease of $577 of increment received from the downtown development board, and funding and transfers and capital projects are as follows. An increase of $125,000 in economic development city, an increase of $14,967.49 for infrastructure city, and a decrease of $33,976 in transportation county. And I'd be happy to answer any questions. There's also an ordinance. Do we have a reading? Resolution number 26-02, Resolution of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Clearwater, Florida, Adopting the Third Quarter Amendments to the Downtown CRA FY 2025-2026 Annual Operating Budget, Providing an Effective Date. Is there anyone here from the public today that desires to speak to this agenda item? Hearing, seeing none, is there any trustees discussion? If not, is there a motion? Agenda item number 4.2, right? Yes. Is there a second? Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Gen item 4.3. Approved the fiscal year 2026-2027 North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Agency Budget and adopt Resolution 26-05. Ann Lopez again. This item is a proposed fiscal year 2026-2027 Operating and Project Budget for the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Area. This proposed budget aligns with the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Area Plan and focuses on three priority areas, affordable housing, economic development, and improved mobility. Proposed tax increment revenue for the North Greenwood CRA is $1,205,405, which is an increase over the amendment from 25-26. Funding is divided between operating and projects. Operating expenditures include $34,679 for services, supplies, and other day-to-day operations, $9,533 for internal services, $255,279 for the CRA Executive Director and Staff salaries, which is shared with the downtown CRA. The remaining balance is split between the following projects. Housing County, $200,000, Economic Development County, $325,020, Economic Development City, $453,003. I would also like to note that a proposed budget was presented before the North Greenwood Citizens Advisory Committee at their July 7th meeting. That was based on the city's current millage rate. At the July 16th City Council meeting, the council approved a rollback rate of 5.8773 mills. As a result, the budget that's being presented to you today has been updated to reflect that millage rate and corresponding changes to the tax increment revenue for the CRA. If approved today, this proposed budget will be shared at the September 2nd North Greenwood Citizens Advisory Committee, and I'd be happy to answer any questions. There's also an ordinance. May we have a rating on this? Resolution number 26-05, a resolution of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Clearwater, Florida, adopting the North Greenwood CRA FY 2026-2027 annual operating budget providing an effective date. So you want to hear from the public today to the desires to speak to this agenda. Hearing, seeing none, is there any trustees' discussion? Not is there a motion? Move to the agenda item 4.3. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Most unanimous. Agenda item 4.4. Approve the fiscal year 2026-2027 downtown Clearwater community redevelopment budget, area budget, and adopt Resolution 26-04. This item is the proposed fiscal year 26-27 budget for the downtown community redevelopment area. This proposed budget supports implementation of the downtown plan and continued redevelopment efforts through the downtown CRA. Total tax increment revenue is projected at $6,710,910, which is an increase over the amended 25-26 budget. Operating expenditures are proposed with a decrease overall from the current fiscal year, while still continuing to provide adequate funding for operations. The operating budget also includes a payment of $406,214 to the downtown development board per the interlocal agreement. Project funding includes $976,126 for the salaries of the CRA executive director and staff. This is a cost shared with the North Greenwood CRA. $277,120 per the interlocal agreement between the CRA and the Clearwater Police Department for two dedicated officers to the downtown CRA. $1,995,076 for Economic Development City. $800,4,488 for Housing City. $952,424 for Economic Development County. And $2 million for Housing County. This overall proposed budget continues to invest redevelopment, economic growth, public safety, housing opportunities in downtown Clearwater. And I'd be happy to answer any questions. There's also an ordinance. May we have a reading? Resolution number 26-04, Resolution of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Clearwater, Florida, adopting the downtown CRA FY 2026-2027 annual operating budget, providing an effective date. Is there anyone here from the public today that desires to speak to this agenda item? Hearing and seeing none, is there any trustees' discussion? And if not, is there a motion? Move to approve agenda item 4.4. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Move to agenda item 4.5. Schedule an executive session for active litigation pursuant to section 286.011, subsection 8. Now, trustees, this is my item. You know, CRA trustees' meetings are open to the public. There is an exception to that. That is under 286.011-8, or excuse me, subsection 8. And that involves active litigation. So the purpose of this item is to schedule an executive session, a closed section, involving the CRUM versus CRA case. It's 2023 CA 8557-CI. And tentatively, I have a session scheduled for August the 20th at 11 a.m. that should have been confirmed with everybody's calendar. And during that session, we are able to discuss either settlement negotiations or strategy sessions related to expenditures. By statute, I'm required to state that I'm seeking advice concerning this litigation, so I am seeking advice concerning this litigation. During the session, the trustees will be available. I'll be present. The chief legal, or excuse me, chief executive officer will be present, as well as outside counsel. Nobody else can attend, and there will be a court report. So I'm open for questions if you have any. Okay. Any questions? Do we need to take action to schedule it for that date and time? Okay. And remind me... August the 20th, 2026, at 11 a.m. So moved. Okay. Moved and seconded. Anyone here from the public desire to speak this agenda? Hearing and seeing none. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Move to agenda item 4.6. Approve an agreement for development, purchase, and sale of property between the City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency and BDP Development Partners, LLC for seven community redevelopment agency-owned parcels located between South Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and South Washington Avenue north of Gold Street and authorize the appropriate officials to execute all documents necessary to effectuate closing. Good afternoon. Jesus Nino, CRA Executive Director. This item for you is an agreement for development, purchase, and sale of property between the Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency and BDP Development Partners, LLC. This is for the redevelopment of approximately 3.13 acres consisting of seven CRA-owned properties or just the property. This is located between South Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and South Washington Avenue just north of Gold Street. And this is for the public here, so I'll show some maps and a few pictures of the site. You can see in this particular picture the property is vacant. It is currently being used by other departments as far as for staging for various projects. Just to provide a little bit of feedback, a little bit of background, on January 14, 2026, the CRA did issue a request for development proposals. That was number 15-26 where we invited qualified developers to submit proposals to acquire and redevelop the CRA-owned property in a manner that's consistent with the downtown redevelopment plan and objectives that were established by the agency. Also on February 13, 2026, Archway Partner submitted a proposal to redevelop the site as a mixed-use and mixed-income development consisting of at least 178 affordable resident units with a ground-floor commercial component, and they're utilizing low-income housing tax credits as their primary financing source. BDP Development Partners, the entity before you today, is an affiliate of Archway that was formed to acquire, finance, develop, own, and operate the project. On June 15, 2026, this board did authorize staff to negotiate an agreement with the developer. Staff has successfully negotiated that agreement, and we're not presenting you the findings of that agreement, the contents of the agreement. That agreement provides for the sale of seven CRA-owned properties for their appraised purchase price of $2.52 million. Staff believes that the purchase price represents a value that is determined to be in the public interest for the redevelopment, consistent with the downtown CRA plan and also consistent with Florida statutes. Also, as shown here on the concept plans that I put up here, so the concept plan there is attached as an attachment as an exhibit to the agreement. So this project is going to be a low-income housing tax credit project that includes, again, 178 units of residents, residential units, together with at least 3,000 square feet of ground commercial space, which is creating a mixed-use development that expands housing opportunities while supporting neighborhood-serving retail and services. Because of the financing structure, the project may be constructed in one or more phases. The initial phase will include at least 75 housing units, with the remaining units completed in subsequent phases as financing is secured. So the concept that was shown to you is preliminary and will continue to be refined through the city's development review process while remaining substantially consistent with the approved concept and the requirements of the agreement. So the agreement also contains important safeguards for the agency. The developer must obtain all required development approvals before closing on the property. Closing is further conditioned upon securing financing and being prepared to commence construction, ensuring the property is conveyed only when the project is basically permit-ready and construction-ready. So the agreement also establishes clear project milestones, construction deadlines, and enforcement provisions to protect the agency's interests while recognizing the realities of affordable housing. Staff may approve up to one three-year extensions. Let's make sure I said that correctly. The staff may approve up to three one-year extensions, one year at a time if warranted. If additional time is needed by the developer beyond those extensions, the board here or the trustees may approve two additional one-year extensions, ensuring continued trustee oversight and accountability. Overall, this project advances several key objectives of the downtown CRA plan by activating underutilized CRA properties. Plus, it puts it back on the tax rolls. It also expands affordable housing for the downtown and introduces neighborhood-serving commercial space. Accordingly, staff is recommending approval of the agreement in addition to the resolution that's attached. At this time, I invite the applicant, who is here, to introduce himself and just say a few words. From there, we'll be open for questions. Good afternoon, board. Brett Green, president of Archway Partners. And I just want to say thank you all for having us here today. We're extremely excited about moving forward on this uniquely positioned development just outside of downtown here, hoping to build on what we've already accomplished. As many of you all know, we just recently had the grand opening for Clearwater Gardens just down the street on Cleveland Street. And, you know, this particular property on Martin Luther King in Washington is very well positioned for residential, affordable, mixed income, mixed-use housing. Hopefully, we can add additional families that live right down the street from all the activation that we're trying to do downtown on Cleveland Street, as you all have discussed at the prior DDB meeting. So more families right down the street only bodes well for future economic development. But, you know, to add to what Jesus mentioned earlier, we plan on developing this project as quickly as we can possibly obtain the necessary funding from the state and county to build this project. It is a competitive process, but we appreciate you all working with us on the last project. And similarly to this one, we will be pursuing any and all funding sources that may be out there that we'll need to develop this project. And, you know, kudos to staff and the city attorney's office for moving this project along. I think it might have been record timing because we do have a funding application that's due on the 13th. So immediately after this, we're putting our application together, which we needed this purchase and sale agreement to do so. And we appreciate you all moving this along and allowing us to get this through, you know, subject to your approval. But, you know, we're looking forward to hopefully, you know, doing what we can to get the funding necessary to build this development. Okay. And any questions, happy to answer, Jim. Well, first, let's see. Is there anyone here from the public today that desires to speak to this agenda item? I'm seeing now any questions from the trustees, Council Member Albritton? Oh, you know, tax credits are very competitive and hard to get. So is that what the three one-year extensions is about? Yeah. You should get it this year, you keep going until you do? Yeah, so one of the things that we put in our proposal was, you know, the willingness on our end to get this development, what's called permit ready. It won't be able to be possible for this particular year because the timing is so short. But at just a high level at the state where we get most of the tax credit from, they've instituted a, you know, new scoring metric that you kind of move up the ranking if your development is permit ready, which means you have a set of construction drawings that have been reviewed, approved by the building department, and the city signs a form saying your project is approved for construction immediately. And we're agreeing to invest the funds necessary to get our project permit ready. It will cost substantial dollars. We'll have, you know, several hundred thousand dollars invested in plans for this, specifically for this site. So, you know, at our risk, we just want to make sure if we're not successful in obtaining the funds in the first year that we have a little bit of runway to try, you know, any other alternative pathways to get the funding secured for the development. It's good to hear you know what to do because it is very competitive unless you know how to get up that ladder. You may be waiting a few years to get it. So that sounds good. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mayor. I appreciate some of the things you just said, pursuing any and all funding sources. It is an extremely competitive process. It's basically a lottery ball popping up with your number on it for that 9% tax credit. I hope you're successful, and I hope we get this in the first year. If not, is there a possibility that pursuing any and all funding sources could close that funding gap and not be mandated according to that tax credit approval, or are we still just going to keep trying? So the 9% tax credit is just one specific type of funding source that we would pursue. It's not necessarily lottery-based. You know, as I mentioned, with the permit readiness and things like that, you can really increase the chances and put yourself in a much smaller bucket. But there's also, you know, 4% tax credits with tax-exempt bonds. It's not an exact lottery process there. It is competitive, right? We're competing with other affordable housing developments in the county and in the state. But, you know, how much funding you ask for from the state, you know, increases your chances. The less you ask for per unit, you know, you have a higher chance of getting the funding. So it's not absolutely a lottery process. But, you know, the idea was that, and we've had discussions with, you know, assistant city manager battle about, you know, you guys got to move this along. You know, we want to see this project built. So we're hopeful that, you know, if we don't get it this time right now, you know, in the next couple of days that we'll discuss it with you all, you know, all the different options, show you all the staff what we can do and what the options are and see how we can move it forward as quickly as possible. You know, not waiting year after year. We, you know, we want to move this development along as well. Yeah, thank you. 178 units residential downtown is a big help. We know we need feet in the streets to help all the businesses continue to thrive, especially the new ones that are coming. And I appreciate the expedited process that you're doing to really be permit ready and hopefully move yourself up that list. Absolutely. Any other? Well, I'll just say that, you know, we are agreeing to kind of tie the property up here for a period of time to give you a chance to find the funding and all. And I think we're all willing to do that because of the confidence we have of you and your company. And after seeing what you did at the Cleveland Street development, that property came out fantastic, and you filled it right away. So that's – we – at least I was impressed. I think many of us were impressed with what you've already done there. So for me, that gives me confidence that this will be successful as well. So thank you for your past work in Clearwater, and we look forward to potentially more work here in Clearwater. Thank you. Appreciate it. Okay. With that, any other discussion? And if not, is there a motion? Motion to approve Agenda Item 4.6. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Thank you all. Agenda Item 4.7. Approve an agreement for development, purchase, and sale of property between Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Clearwater and St. Benedict Holdings, LLC for the redevelopment of 706 North Missouri Avenue, Clearwater, Florida 33755. Adopt Resolution 26-06, approving the sale of said property, and authorize the CRA Chair or his designate to execute all documents necessary to effectuate closing. Good afternoon. Jesus Nino, CRA Executive Director again. I decided before you is an agreement for development, purchase, and sale of property, again, between the Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency and St. Benedict's Holdings, LLC for the redevelopment of CRA-owned armory property, which is located at 706 North Missouri Avenue. To provide some background, on February 22, 2026, the CRA published a Notice of Disposition of Property, inviting proposals to acquire and redevelop the armory site. That solicitation sought a local business headquartered in Clearwater that would redevelop the property for commercial uses in a manner consistent with the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Area Plan. St. Benedict's Holdings was the only respondent and submitted a proposal to expand the operations campus of Yomama's Foods, a locally headquartered company that's located right across the street. On April 20, 2026, this board authorized staff to enter into negotiations with the developer or St. Benedict's Holdings LLC. Staff successfully completed those negotiations, and we're here before you to present that agreement. So the agreement provides for the sale of the property for a purchase price of $2 million. Those proceeds will be used to offset costs associated with relocating parks and recreation out of that facility. The intended use of the armory site includes warehousing, distribution, shipping, light manufacturing, packaging, corporate offices, training, research and development, and other related commercial uses. The property must be placed into its intended commercial uses within 120 days after closing. It must also continue to operate in that manner for a 15-year period. So another important feature of the agreement is the preservation of the historic armory building. The developer has agreed to use reasonable best efforts to preserve and adaptively reuse the main armory structure while allowing appropriate improvements needed for modern business operations. So the agreement also includes important community benefits. During the 15-year restrictive period, the business has committed to actively recruit and hire employees for its clearwater operations. It will commercially, reasonably, it will use reasonable efforts to create up to 30 full-time jobs with the goal of employing at least 10 North Greenwood residents. The business will also partner with CareerSource to advertise job opportunities, participate in at least one job hiring event each year with the CRA, and work towards establishing apprenticeships, internships, or technical college partnerships to create pathways to employment. Overall, this project advances several key objectives of the North Greenwood Community Development Area Plan by turning the property back into the tax rolls, which will contribute back into the increment funds of the area. So accordingly, staff is requesting approval for this agreement for development, purchase, and sale of the property, adoption of Resolution 26-06, for approving for the sale of the property. In addition, the applicant is here to answer any questions, Mr. David Habib. Also, we have Mr. Matt Middich here to also answer any questions on details of the agreement. If I missed anything, Mr. Battle, you can slip it in there. May we have a reading? Go ahead. Resolution. Yeah, do the way. Resolution number 26-06, resolution of the Community Redevelopment Agency in the City of Clearwater, Florida, approving and authorizing conveyance of certain real property located at 706 North Missouri Avenue, Clearwater, Florida 33755 by special warranty deed pursuant to the terms of an agreement for development, purchase, and sale of property, authorizing appropriate officials to execute said deed, releasing any automatic reservation and right of entry in accordance with Section 270.11 Florida statutes, providing for severability and providing for an effective date. See, I want to hear from the public desire to speak to this agenda. Hearing, seeing none, is there any trustees, discussion, or questions? Vice Mayor Cotton. Yes, sir. Thank you. First, I'd just like to thank staff, Mr. Herbie, you and your staff and representatives in the North Greenwood CRA staff and community members on working to get to an amicable way forward that promotes a wonderful homegrown business and the community members that are in that area and live there. So I think this is a great project. I look forward to it. And I just wanted to say thank you again to everybody involved. Menino. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for being here. Appreciate the time that you and your staff and our staff put. Appreciate you listening throughout the process. And you not just listening but hearing the residents and their concerns. Some of those meetings weren't the easiest, but you approached them extremely professional, open to listening and engaging with the residents. It's proof that you heard is in this agreement in some of the things, preservation of the building and adding employees, paying attention to if you can add employment in our North Greenwood area, as well as maybe an apprenticeship down the road, I heard. All great things for the community. You've been a tremendous success story for the city of Clearwater. We look forward to hearing many more success stories. So, yeah, thank you. Thank you. Councilman Tishida. So, without repeating all the details in the contract, let me just say that I am very pleased that this agreement reflects many of the concerns that the community has expressed. And we have spoken many times, and I'm really appreciative that you listened. But I especially appreciate that these commitments are in writing. So it shows that there's a real intention there and that there's a genuine effort to make this project something that the community can be part of and proud of. So thank you for working very hard, along with everyone that was involved. You know, the light's at the end of the tunnel right now, right? It's a long process. So thank you. Anybody else? Well, adding on to what the others have said, congratulations on being number 16 in the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Fast 50, here recently. Not the first time you've been recognized as a fast-growing company, not just here in Tampa Bay, but nationally. And, you know, sometimes you'll see your mamas on Good Morning America, first thing in the morning, and national television. And so for us to keep this nationally known brand in the, not just in Clearwater, but in this CRA to retain you in our community as part of the CRA, it's just, it's a big win for not just the city, but it's a big win for our entire community and for this CRA. And I appreciate you personally respecting the history of this neighborhood and the history of the armory and what the armory has meant to members of our community for many, many years and how many memories they've had there. And I appreciate you going out of your way to show your respect for that and work with the community to develop this property in a way that will help your business grow and succeed further and also respect that. And then part of this agreement is, Council Member Teixeira just said, involving the young people in the community, people in the community, but particularly the young people, engaging the young people in our community to work potentially at your facility. I think that's an important thing in developing the workforce we have here is our way forward as a community. It's hard to relocate folks here to clear water to work for our businesses, but we can certainly cultivate the talent that exists in our young people. And your commitment in this agreement to doing that going forward is important too. So thank you for wanting to remain here in Clearwater. Others could have moved easily out of town. We know you had offers to do that. And so I appreciate your love for our city and your willingness to stay here, and congratulations on this agreement. Appreciate that. So with that, if there's any further counsel or caution? I'll hear it right away. He read it already, yeah. And I think I asked for a public comment. Anyone here from the public desire to speak this agenda, okay? With that, is there a motion? I'll move to approve agenda item 4.7. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Unanimous. Thank you very much. I'd also like to say I'd like to thank you all, especially the city staff and the CRA staff. This was a very challenging, coordinated effort for six and a half years. We had to work with the state and with the county and with the city, and really everyone has put a lot of work and time. So thank you all. This is a very exciting day for us as a business as we turn the page forward to the future. We have already started. We've hired two additional jobs. We have three open jobs. We had ten summer interns this past summer here from local schools here. So we look forward to honoring our commitments and to being a big contributor to the North Greenwood area for many years to come. So thank you all, and very much appreciate this coordinated effort. And, you know, it was definitely something that's very important to us and our team here, and we're looking forward to it. So thank you. Thank you. With that, we'll move to item four point – excuse me, five point here. CRA's Director's Report, August 2026. Again, Jesus Nino, CRA Executive Director. This is the August 2026 Director's Report. I'll start off by updates to the downtown. As we're all aware, there's just so much happening in the downtown. At this last community outreach meeting, Ms. Tara Kivett, the city's engineer, she gave a presentation to the community of capital improvement projects throughout the city of Clearwater, which is a lot. People were fairly impressed. But she did discuss the city hall. People were impressed just by the visuals that she provided them. And she also provided examples of innovation that we're doing here at the downtown, too. This is an example of the living seawall that's being installed by the condominiums. And this one is AECOM. This is a multidisciplinary firm, particularly Landscaping Architectural Service – Landscape Architectural Service and Urban Design Services that they're going to provide us. This is specifically for the 400 and 500 block. For them to develop a cohesive vision for those two blocks, it pretty much ties everything together. We've been doing a lot of projects there for the past two years, kind of piecemeal, bicycle racks here. Just various improvements. So this firm will come in and kind of just tie it all together. But one of the things they're going to do is they're going to work with stakeholders, you, city staff, and stakeholders in the community, merchants, and residents. So we're developing – we're putting together two workshops on August 25th. It's a Tuesday. There's two sessions, afternoon from 2 to 3.30 p.m. and another one from 5.30 to 7 p.m. To be located here in the library, this is going to be a special workshop for residents, businesses, property owners, and community stakeholders to come together with AECOM and explore ideas on how to improve the 400 and 500 blocks. So all of you are invited in the community that's watching. Then we've already started working with Stampe Regional Planning Council to update our downtown community redevelopment area plan. So this is just to make sure that we remove any type of outdated information. For instance, the plan right now says that CRA will convince the county not to basically leave as a downtown. It doesn't prevent us from holding them back or anything, but we're just kind of trying to remove that type of language and other cleanup language just to make it easier to redevelop. The Naseola Parking Garage, this is exciting news. So they're about to start going vertical, and once they start doing that, that's going to be a very fast project. As they're precast pieces, they're going to be delivered soon. And from what I understand, they're going to go vertical starting on the week of August the 15th. Naseola Avenue Corridor Improvements, the Public Works Department has already put out a bid for a contractor. That bid went out on July 29th, 2026. The deadline to submit, basically the bids are September 9th, 2026 at 2 p.m. 600 block of Cleveland Street. All of you have been seeing all the Cleveland Street Alliance information that's out there. So as you see, the 600 block, they've already done a lot of demolition. Hopefully they start construction fairly soon for that particular project. The People's Bank, that's nothing new anymore. They basically unveiled the clock. This took place on July 25th, 2026. And from what we understand, they have over 3,000 people attended that basically unveiling of the clock. Then speaking of the People's Bank, it's also exciting news that Streetlight Taco is going to be the tenant for that particular building. I'm not sure if you had a chance to visit the Streetlight Taco over in Tampa, but it is good. So I'm sure this one will be just as good. And that's for the public out there, 432 Cleveland Street. Then this one is also another exciting business. This is at 420 Cleveland Street on the 400 block. This is Nubo. It's a soft food bakery, basically. Once we get more information, we'll bring it to you. It's pretty exciting. Then this one, we haven't spoken to the business tenant that's going into the 1196 Cleveland Street. But if you do drive by, you do see some activity in there. Individuals walking around, putting up art and paintings. So they do have a sign up that's going to be called the Dream Space. CRA staff is attempting to contact them to see how we can help them, either with a grant or just great customer service from the city. Then the construction of the Ballard Hotel, that obviously continues. But hopefully fairly soon, in the next couple weeks or months, they're going to start going vertical. And that's when it's going to be very interesting as far as our skyline with just construction going up instead of just foundations. Same thing with the Bluffs. Hopefully they start going up fairly soon. This one, the city's administration, they continue to do their partnership with Pinellas County with their RFN for the disposition surplus of their properties. And we continue to work with them. Clearwater Main Library, we're continuing to meet with individuals and kind of give tours out there. And if proposals do come in, that makes sense. City administration, CRA staff, and any other department will sit at the table with them. And see what we can negotiate and bring to you and hopefully open up a window when that time comes. Then we do have a sculpture series of art from Ms. Amber Bryce that more basically is an old art that's installed. The sculptures are going to be replaced with new ones. Ms. Amber also has a call for an artist. So we do want a catalytic piece at Coachman Park, something that sets us apart from everyone in Pinellas County and the region. Something that's identifiable everywhere. Even if you forget the name of Clearwater, which you want, you'll recognize that piece. So she does have a request for qualifications, a signature sculpture for Coachman Park. The budget is $200,000, $250,000. So submissions are due September 30, 2026. For North Greenwood, we continue to have our CAC meetings. And they're fairly successful recently. And more and more people are starting to participate. Our next one is scheduled for September 2, 2026, 5.30 p.m. at the North Greenwood Recreation Center. And we also fund public art out there, but it's functional art. Basically, if a building needs to be painted or something like that, we just put a mural up. So we're working with Ms. Amber to put up murals in North Greenwood. This particular one is Let's Go Carding, the business, at 400 North Harrison Avenue. So if you haven't driven by, it's very nice. It's another one, this mural is at 1045 North Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. It's at the Early Head Start Center. Night at the North Ward that took place July 30th. That was a big success. And thank you for the mayor, the city manager, assistant city manager battle, our Britton and Lena. They were there in attendance. And the presentation was awesome for the community. Then the tour itself, it was very impressive. We did have waivers signed before any individual went into the building. From what I understand, this morning, over 351 waivers were signed. So that doesn't mean that 351 people went in. So that means there was more people there than that. That's very successful. A lot of individuals were asking questions, very good questions that we're bringing back. And we'll use that feedback to become better. And once we release, we'll be ready. I'm not sure if anyone wants to say anything about North Ward after I've concluded. Property disposition, we're just continuing to dispose of our properties just to get them on the tax rolls. The next one, the one that's right now out is 103 North East Avenue. That concludes my presentation. Hopefully I went quickly. Any questions for the record? Can you go back to the AECOM slide? Sorry, I just want some further clarification. Sort of like, you know, what's the scope of the work? Are we looking at landscaping and lighting or a new theme? And I just kind of want to know what questions are going to be asked at those workshops. So that's part of the workshops. They are putting together surveys that they're going to send out to individuals. But it's also elicitation. So basically they'll be just trying to kind of draw ideas from individuals. So it's all is above. Shading, lighting, landscaping. Nothing that's going to be real disruptive to the actual infrastructure there. But it's just a new design of the district or whatever it may be called. But it's just kind of just getting that feedback and ideas from the community and stakeholders. Okay. And then are they part of the, what do you call it, parklets or no? Are they going to be contributing to that? They may. So this is part of the Cleveland Street Activation and Mobile Vendor Initiative. This is just kind of a next step. And we did hire a firm called Placemakers Design Studios. They came in. They designed two parklets. So we do have those designs. And we're ready to basically construct them. But we are kind of waiting for Osceola Avenue as well. If they do open up the 400 block, then it's not going to be good to install it now. Plus we're kind of just waiting a little bit for the heat to go away. But the 500 block, we're hoping to go ahead and put in that parklet. And then last but not least, as part of the board for the TBRPC, I wanted to formally thank our staff as well as them for getting together and working very hard. Serving on this board has really given me a big appreciation for the amount of brain power that is available in that board. And so I really wanted to thank everybody, including our staff, for working together for the benefit of our downtown. That was it. All right. Thank you. Thank you. That removed item six on the agenda, and that is to adjourn the August 3, 2026 meeting of the City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Aid.