About the Lake Worth Beach CRA
As recent developments prove, Lake Worth Beach is a city that is on the move. The CRA is committed to smart growth, a concept that ensures the board acts with input from citizens, local leaders and the business community. This is the basis for our commitment to the citizen-friendly master plan process, which we believe will give Lake Worth a roadmap for future development and conservation.
Select from the tabs below to learn more.
- Community Information
- Redevelopment Plan
- CRA History
Lake Worth Beach Community Information
Lake Worth Beach offers a great quality of life in a friendly, mid-size coastal community. Exciting festivals, cultural diversity, and opportunities for home ownership in a variety of price ranges attract new residents daily.
Opportunities for leisure activities are easily found. For golfers, the spectacular Lake Worth Beach Municipal Golf Course features play along the scenic Intracoastal Waterway. A 19-acre public beach is open to the public from 6:00 a.m. to Midnight daily. The arts community has discovered and embraced Lake Worth Beach. The Lake Worth Playhouse and numerous studios and galleries are highlights of any visit to the downtown corridor.
Diners will discover a wide range of restaurants to suit every palate. From diverse ethnic specialties, international cuisine, small bistros and neighborhood pubs, Lake Worth Beach has something for every taste. Distinctive stores offer an eclectic array of merchandise and one-of-a-kind items.
Lake Worth Beach is proud of both its historic past and its dynamic future. New housing is becoming available throughout the City. Historic districts have been established to help preserve the old Florida architecture. City Hall is part of the Old Town National Register Historic District and the City Hall Annex is listed as a National Register landmark. But Lake Worth Beach is also a city embracing change.
Located in coastal central Palm Beach County, Lake Worth Beach is easily accessible by road, rail, air and water. A large and diverse work force is available to support new business from light industrial to home occupations. In December 2004, the City annexed approximately 74 acres of property in the Park of Commerce. The purpose of the annexation was to increase the potential of employment within our municipal boundaries by increasing our capacity to accommodate heavy commercial and low to high traffic generating industrial uses.
Education is strongly represented in Lake Worth Beach. Four public elementary schools– all newly rebuilt or remodeled- and a middle school as well as private and parochial schools are located in the City and the surrounding area. Lake Worth Beach High School, the premier public high school in Palm Beach County, continues a tradition of excellence spanning more than 65 years by boasting magnet and prototype programs that have won national recognition for excellence. Palm Beach State College is located two miles west of downtown while Florida Atlantic University is a 20-minute drive away. Both offer extended adult programs as well as full-time curricula.
Visit Lake Worth Beach and enjoy all the opportunities our residents enjoy every day. You might just decide Lake Worth would be a great place to live and work.
Redevelopment Plan
The Lake Worth City Commission adopted Resolution 47-89 in 1989, creating the Lake Worth Beach Community Redevelopment Agency. The CRA is a quasi-public agency that operates under Florida State Statute 163, Part III. A Community Redevelopment Plan was produced in 1989 to outline the community’s desired public and private improvements along with a funding program, including the use of tax increment funds. In 2001, the boundaries of the CRA were expanded to include all of Dixie Highway and the areas including and surrounding 6th Ave. South and 10th Ave. North, also known as the “Gateways.”
The primary source of funding is provided through tax increment financing. Tax increment revenues are deposited into a redevelopment trust fund. The taxable value of all real property in the redevelopment area is determined at a particular year, also known as the “base year.” Contributing taxing authorities, the City and County, continue to receive ad valorem taxes. Any increase in ad valorem revenue above the base year value is deposited into the redevelopment trust fund and used to carry out redevelopment activities.
The Lake Worth Beach CRA is governed by a seven member volunteer Board appointed by the City Commission. The Board serves the area by implementing Redevelopment Plan objectives and promoting redevelopment activities. The Redevelopment Plan provides a workable program, consistent with community needs, to afford maximum opportunities for private participation in undertaking redevelopment activities in the district. The agency has many powers at its disposal to carry out redevelopment activities including the ability to acquire and sell property, provide incentives to attract and promote private development, to apply and utilize grant funding and to construct public improvements.
The CRA has undertaken public infrastructure, affordable housing and property acquisition projects over the past decade and has leveraged funds thus attracting private investment to provide increased levels of service to accommodate sustainable growth. The CRA strives to improve the economic vitality of the district and quality of life of the citizens of the City of Lake Worth Beach.
History of the Lake Worth Beach CRA
The Lake Worth City Commission adopted Resolution 47-89 in 1989, creating the Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency. The CRA is a quasi-public agency that operates under Florida State Statue 163, Part III. A Community Redevelopment Plan was produced in 1989 to outline the community’s desired public and private improvements along with a funding program, including the use of tax increment funds.
The primary source of funding is provided through tax increment financing. Tax increment revenues are deposited into a redevelopment trust fund. The taxable value of all real property in the redevelopment area is determined at a particular year, also known as the “base year.” Contributing taxing authorities, the City and County, continue to receive ad valorem taxes. Any increase in ad valorem revenue above the base year value is deposited into the redevelopment trust fund and used to carry out redevelopment activities.
The Lake Worth Beach CRA is governed by a seven-member volunteer Board appointed by the City Commission. The Board serves the area by implementing Redevelopment Plan objectives and promoting redevelopment activities. Trust fund monies are dedicated to specific redevelopment plans and projects and not for general government purposes.
The agency has many powers at its disposal to carry out redevelopment activities including the ability to acquire and sell property, provide incentives to attract and promote private development, to apply and utilize grant funding and to construct public improvements. Zoning and land use development regulations and their enforcement are overseen by the City and its advisory Board and are not functions of the CRA.
The CRA has undertaken public infrastructure, affordable housing and property acquisition projects over the past decade and has leveraged funds thus attracting private investment to provide increased levels of service to accommodate sustainable growth. The CRA strives to improve the economic vitality of the district and quality of life of the citizens of the City of Lake Worth Beach.
