The Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency on Oct. 21 approved multiple CRA grant awards intended to improve commercial building exteriors and installed signage, while denying other applications and urging revisions that would produce more visible, transformative improvements.

What passed
- 706 South U.S. Highway 1 (Blue Sky Property Holdings LLC): a commercial façade grant approved up to $25,000. Agency staff said the application scored 600 out of 600 possible points and listed a total exterior investment of $193,550 covering siding, framing, roof replacement, new windows, stucco repair, painting, signage, metal awning, permanent landscaping and irrigation.
- 2210 Orange Avenue (listed as FedEx LLC in staff materials): a commercial façade grant approved up to $25,000. Staff reported the project scored 578/600 and listed a total exterior investment of $100,900; the applicant intends to use the space as a childcare facility for approximately 140 children and proposed stucco finish, new windows and doors, security cameras, permanent landscaping, parking upgrades, awnings and an ADA-compliant entrance.
- 515 South Indian River Drive: after discussion the board approved a $25,000 façade grant for this parcel, accepting the application’s supplemental images and concluding the applicant’s intended “end result” met program intent; staff will verify as-built conditions during inspection.
- 2001 Orange Avenue (Jesus Is King Church): approved a reimbursable commercial sign grant up to $5,000 for a 3-by-10-foot LED illuminated wall cabinet sign; staff confirmed the grant is 100% reimbursable up to the cap and requires submittal of invoices for reimbursement.

What was denied and why
- The CRA advisory committee recommended denial of four applications that the committee concluded primarily proposed routine maintenance or work not sufficiently visible to the public. The board concurred and voted to deny with an opportunity to resubmit after revision. The denied applications and committee notes included:
- 1217 Delaware Avenue (EJ 09 LLC): scored 328/600; requested $6,000; committee found proposed repairs were largely routine maintenance and encouraged resubmission with a detailed landscape plan and additional trees.
- 515 South Indian River Drive (initial CRA recommendation was denial): committee initially recommended resubmission with upgraded landscaping and facade enhancements; after the board reviewed the applicant’s additional application material the project was approved.
- 300 South Sixth Street (Fort Pierce Charter Development LLC): scored 247/600; requested $25,000; committee concluded work (repave and restripe parking lot) constituted general maintenance rather than transformative façade improvements.
- 616 Atlantic Avenue (Dance Ministries LLC): scored 223/600; requested $10,008.73; committee noted proposed parking-lot work and landscaping were not readily visible to the public and suggested removing or replacing a shade fence to increase visibility.

Program context and criteria
Miss Garcia, FPRA staff, summarized the commercial façade program and the evaluation criteria used by the six-member CRA advisory committee: visual impact/blight elimination (50 points), total project investment (25 points), design and creativity (15 points), and community benefit (10 points). She said the program budget for fiscal year 2025 was $300,000, with $175,742 awarded so far and $124,258 remaining from the prior year. Staff will prepare grant agreements for approved projects and present them at the November board meeting for execution.

Board direction to applicants
For denied applications the board directed staff to provide applicants with specific suggestions — for example, adding trees, refined paint palettes, or architectural enhancements — and allowed applicants to revise and resubmit in time for possible consideration in November or December. On one application (515 S. Indian River Dr.) the board explicitly accepted the applicant’s supplemental materials as the intended outcome and approved the grant subject to inspection and verification.