A presentation of a retail recruitment strategy given at Wednesday’s Apopka Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board meeting pinpointed a $235 million opportunity gap in the city’s trade area.   

Garet Smitherman, portfolio director for Retail Strategies LLC, gave data on demographics, retail gaps, and peer analysis, identifying the need for more grocery stores and full-service restaurants.  

The city hired Retail Strategies LLC for $40,000 to provide retail recruitment services for a one-year period, according to Antranette Forbes, city economic development director.   

“We’ve identified a gap of $235 million where there is opportunity—those are all dollars being spent outside of your trade area for products and services that could be spent inside,” Smitherman told the CRA Board. “Our main goal, in partnership with the city, is to bring in the businesses and retail offerings you want, create new jobs, and grow Apopka’s local economy by reversing that trend.” 

In another discussion, Forbes gave an update on how much each of the several CRA’s programs has spent. Among those programs, the Residential Renovation Assistance Program (RRAP) awarded over $460,000 from a $900,000 budget, the largest current expenditure. The RRAP gives up to $30,000 to homeowners for exterior improvements to their homes.  

The CRA’s Facade Renovation Assistance Program spent $53,512 this year, and $219,406 since the CRA’s inception. This program assists with exterior upgrades to commercial properties. 

Forbes said three programs will be removed from the city’s CRA. Also, she will introduce new programs to the CRA Board at the next meeting. The program changes are due to updates in the Florida Statute that put more restrictions on CRAs and how they can spend funds, thus directly affecting their financial assistance programs.   

“The intent of the [Apopka CRA] changes is obviously to increase transparency and oversight and also offer measurable public benefit and so impact,” Forbes said. “These are considered developer obligations and intended to mitigate projects related to impact, not public costs.” 

In June 1993, the CRA adopted the first Community Redevelopment Plan. Under state law, local governments can pinpoint CRA Districts in their communities for such needs as more affordable housing or improvement of infrastructure and buildings.  

The CRA board consists of City Council members and two other individuals appointed by local government to oversee the activities and programs within the designated CRA District.