Melbourne Downtown Community Redevelopment Area — Melbourne, Florida

The Melbourne Downtown Community Redevelopment Area is a special taxing district wrapped around Historic Downtown Melbourne, the commercial core that grew up along Crane Creek and the Indian River Lagoon. According to the City of Melbourne, the Melbourne Downtown Community Redevelopment Area was established by the City of Melbourne on August 10, 1982, expanded in 2006, and covers 321.96 acres. Its stated public purpose is to eliminate slum and blight conditions within its boundaries, a phrase drawn from Florida's Community Redevelopment Act.

The Downtown CRA is one of two redevelopment districts the city still operates. The second is the Olde Eau Gallie Riverfront CRA in the north end of Melbourne, created in 2001 with a 2001 tax base year and 297.20 acres. A third district, the Babcock Street CRA, reached its sunset date on September 9, 2024, according to the city's Community Redevelopment Areas page. The city classifies its CRAs as dependent special districts under Chapter 189 of the Florida Statutes, and the Melbourne City Council itself sits as the agency for each one.

The downtown district began as a response to retail moving west. The City of Melbourne states that redevelopment began after downtown businesses faltered following the development of suburban-style shopping centers along New Haven Avenue and Babcock Street. In 1982 the City Council approved a tax increment financing plan that captures both city and county taxes on downtown property values above the 1982 base level, so every dollar of growth in assessed value since that year feeds the Melbourne fund.

The paper trail is long. The city's archive lists Ordinance No. 1982-38, which created the agency, and Ordinance No. 1982-58, which created the CRA and adopted the original plan. Amendments followed in 1989, 1991, 1992 and 2003. Resolution No. 1937 made the finding of necessity for an expansion area, and Ordinance No. 2006-23 adopted a new plan for the enlarged district. The Downtown Melbourne CRA Redevelopment Plan was originally approved in 1982 and rewritten in November 2005, and it remains the document that sets which projects and programs the agency may finance.

Later ordinances kept the Melbourne district alive and changed its menu. Ordinance No. 2011-36 extended the sunset date and added a project, Ordinance No. 2016-52 extended the sunset date again and prioritized capital projects, and Ordinance No. 2019-58 reaffirmed the CRA termination date with project and program updates. New programs were added in 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2017.

Tax increment financing is the engine of the Melbourne Downtown CRA. The city's redevelopment overview explains that the increment is collected only from the general fund millage rates charged by the City of Melbourne and Brevard County. The city and county keep collecting the same amount of taxes as in the base year for the life of the district, while growth above the base flows into a redevelopment trust fund. Property tax revenue collected by the Brevard County School Board and by special districts is not affected.

State law sets the share. Section 163.387 of the Florida Statutes defines the annual increment as an amount equal to 95 percent of the difference between current taxes and the taxes produced on the base-year value, and allows a lower share of no less than 50 percent when the governing body sets one. In Melbourne that means downtown growth above the 1982 roll pays for downtown work rather than citywide services.

The money is fenced in. The City of Melbourne states that tax increment funds must be used for redevelopment purposes within the targeted area and not for general government purposes, and that every project must be consistent with the adopted plan. The revenue can be spent immediately, saved for a particular project, or bonded. The Downtown CRA keeps its own fund on an October 1 to September 30 fiscal year, and the city's budget page lists Resolution No. 4440, adopting the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Melbourne Downtown CRA Fund Budget, among the FY 2026-2027 budget resolutions.

The city's own ledger of results is specific. The Downtown CRA page credits the district with improved streets and sidewalks as part of an ongoing streetscape project; new benches, lighting and garbage cans; a parking garage; several surface parking lots acquired or leased for downtown Melbourne; economic incentive programs; and the acquisition of Riverview Park from Brevard County. Riverview Park now has its own adopted master plan, which guides the next round of spending there.

The CRA also funds partners. It provides an annual grant to Melbourne Main Street, which describes itself as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works to cultivate partnerships to revitalize Historic Downtown Melbourne. Main Street runs the downtown directory, events and promotion, while the CRA pays for infrastructure. Businesses inside the Melbourne Downtown CRA may also be permitted outdoor display and seating if they meet eligibility requirements set by the Community Development Department.

Design control comes with the money. Exterior changes to commercial buildings and signage inside the Downtown CRA require prior approval from the Historic & Architectural Review Board, a board appointed by the Melbourne City Council.

The Melbourne City Council serves as the Community Redevelopment Agency for the city's districts, so CRA business is taken up on the regular council calendar and does not appear on every agenda. The city states that the Melbourne Downtown Community Redevelopment Agency Board is composed of City Council members, who decide which programs and projects to fund under the adopted plan.

Recommendations come from a volunteer panel. The Melbourne Downtown Redevelopment Advisory Committee acts in an advisory capacity to the City Council and prepares recommended plans and modifications for the redevelopment area. Members must be residents of Melbourne or engaged in business in the redevelopment area. The committee meets at 8 a.m. on the first Friday of each month in the Council Chamber at Melbourne City Hall on East Strawbridge Avenue, with dates subject to change on posted agendas.

The city lists City Manager Jenni Lamb as the registered agent for the Melbourne Downtown CRA, and the Community Development Department as its staff contact. The city posts the district's annual report and audit, its performance measures and standards, and each year's adopted budget on the same page. Last verified: October 8, 2026, on the City of Melbourne website.

The Melbourne Downtown CRA has been active in council chambers through 2025 and 2026. Its archive records Ordinance No. 2024-56, which included a public private development project, DTM Apartments Joint Venture, LLC, in the plan, and Ordinance No. 2025-39, which adopted updated CRA projects and programs. Current priorities named by the city are the improvement of Riverview Park under the adopted master plan, the design and construction of a pedestrian bridge across Crane Creek, and streetscape improvements along U.S. 1 between Crane Creek and University Boulevard.

Land is part of the picture. Under the Live Local Act, the city published a City of Melbourne and Melbourne Downtown CRA surplus land list for 2024, identifying publicly owned parcels that may be appropriate for affordable housing.

The largest open question is state tax policy. On its Amendment 3 page, the City of Melbourne states that if the statewide property tax amendment on the November 3, 2026 ballot is approved, the City may need to sunset its two CRA districts early. Because the Downtown CRA's revenue is a slice of city and county property taxes, a smaller homestead tax base in Melbourne would also shrink the increment the district collects.