The City Commission created the Margate Economic Development Advisory Board on April 6, 1994. After extensive research the board recommended the creation of a Community Redevelopment Agency. The first step in this process, the finding of a need was completed in March 1996 following a thorough investigation of existing conditions in the proposed Redevelopment Area. A CRA was then created in October 1996 to oversee the formulating of the Community Redevelopment Plan. A Community Redevelopment Plan was then completed by The RMPK Group (formerly Design Studios West) and adopted by the Margate City Commission in September 1997.

The CRA has undertaken several successful activities in the past few years including landscaping of the commercial corridors, architectural design guidelines for building renovations, façade grants, landscape grants, and new business recruitment. As a result, the tax base has grown, providing additional revenues to support future redevelopment activity. Realizing the opportunity to formulate a more progressive redevelopment strategy, the Agency authorized the preparation of the Redevelopment Plan Update in March 2001.

In recognition of the need to prevent and eliminate slum and blighted conditions within the community, the Community Redevelopment Act confers upon counties and municipalities the authority and powers to carry out “Community Redevelopment”. For the purpose of this, Community Redevelopment Plan, the following definition taken from the Florida Statues shall apply: “Community Redevelopment” or “Redevelopment” means undertakings, activities, or projects of a county, municipality, or Community Redevelopment Agency in a community redevelopment area for the elimination and prevention of the development or spread of slums and blight or for the provision of affordable housing, whether for rent of for sale, to residents of low or moderate income, including the elderly, and may include slum clearance and redevelopment in a community Redevelopment Area or rehabilitation or conservation in a community Redevelopment Area, or any combination or part thereof, in accordance with a community Redevelopment Plan and may include the preparation of such a plan.”

The ability of the county or the municipality to utilize the authority granted under this Act is predicated upon the adoption of the “Finding of Necessity” by the governing body. This finding must demonstrate that:

1. One or more slum or blighted areas, or one or more areas in which there is a shortage of housing affordable to residents of low or moderate income, including the elderly, exist in the county or municipality; and,

2. The rehabilitation, conservation, or redevelopment, or a combination thereof, of such an area, or areas, is necessary in the interest of the public health, safety, morals, or welfare of the residents of the county or municipality.
 

Overview Of Redevelopment Activity

The City of Margate has made great progress since establishing its Community Redevelopment Agency in 1996. Streetscape improvements, including the buffer walls on Atlantic Boulevard and the median landscape on State Road 7, have transformed the physical appearance of these primary roadways. Other beautification efforts, including adaptive reuse of aging properties and façade upgrades funded through the CRA’s grant program, have improved the appearance of the redevelopment area. These activities have resulted in private investment that has stimulated the local real estate market.