Visuals
Maps from the plan
A full CRA stood up end to end for DeSoto County's historic county seat — economic assessment, Finding of Necessity, and an adopted Redevelopment Plan with catalytic projects and a TIF funding strategy.
The City of Arcadia — at the crossroads of US 17 and SR 70 — retained BusinessFlare® in 2023 to assess whether a CRA could revitalize a deteriorating historic core.
BusinessFlare® delivered the economic assessment, the Finding of Necessity (approved November 6, 2024), and the full CRA Redevelopment Plan (adopted December 3, 2024) — establishing the agency, its goals, catalytic projects, and a TIF-based funding strategy.
Field surveys, photographs, and agency data documented all five statutory blight conditions across an 812.8-acre core spanning Historic Downtown, the Historic Neighborhood, and the Southwest Neighborhood — with higher poverty and unemployment and lower incomes and home values than both the City and County.
From finding to funded plan. Open each to go deeper.
An assessment of a historic downtown of roughly 8,000 residents carrying concentrated blight, poverty, and vacancy — with identity and character to build on.
The Finding documented all five statutory blight conditions, establishing eligibility to create the CRA under Chapter 163, F.S. — approved by the City on November 6, 2024.
The Plan organized redevelopment into five goals and three project districts targeting business attraction, façade and streetscape, and housing and infrastructure.
The engagement delivered the trust-fund ordinance, seven-year financial projections, board training, and a two-day October 2024 public engagement — with the Plan adopted December 3, 2024.