CDA board adopts funding plan and asks city to impose special assessment to cover surf park bond shortfall

The CDA board voted to adopt a proposed funding plan and authorized staff to ask the city to impose a special assessment on the June 2027 real estate tax bill to cover an anticipated shortfall tied to the Atlantic Park surf park development.

Municap, the CDA's administrator, estimated that a pre-stabilization advance of $974,694 from the TIP fund will be needed to make the first principal payment due Aug. 1, 2026, and that a maximum pre-stabilization advance of $1,225,758 could be required for bond year two (Aug. 2, 2026–Aug. 1, 2027). "Municap estimates that a pre-stabilization advance of $974,694 will be needed from the TIP fund to make that first principal payment on August 1, 2026," a staff member told the board. The presenter said the $1,225,758 figure would still not cover the annual debt-service requirement of about $4.7 million, leaving an approximate $1.7 million gap that the bond documents require be addressed with a special assessment if pledged revenues are insufficient.

The board heard that the 25-cent special property tax and a developer-collected 5% special admission fee (primarily on the surf park), plus other developer fees remitted to a trustee, began being collected in FY26; revenues to date reflect a partial season and staff cautioned estimates are uncertain now that the development will have its first full summer of operations. Municap will provide an update on Oct. 1 after summer collections, and the board could reconvene on Oct. 15 to reduce or release any proposed assessment based on updated receipts. Staff recommended adopting the Municap preliminary funding plan (Table C) and the special assessment roll (Appendix A2) allocating the estimated deficit by parcel, and asking the city to impose and collect any special assessment on the June 2027 real estate tax bill.

Board members and the mayor praised the project as a regional economic engine during discussion. The mayor said the mixed-use development and entertainment venue have attracted regional and international attention and noted private investment on site, and one member cited a prior economic-impact figure of about $3.5 million. Councilwoman Amelia Ross Hammond emphasized the project's planned swim and surf lessons, saying operators intend to run programming for local children. "We promised an entertainment venue ... that was the limit of our investment in the parking garages," the mayor said, calling the project "something incredibly unique." Another board member referenced the New York Times listing and repeated an anticipated visitation figure that was discussed by board members.

The board moved to adopt minutes from June 17, 2025, and then voted to accept Municap's preliminary collection report, adopt the special assessment roll for assessment year 2026–2027, adopt revenues for the Aug. 2, 2026–Aug. 1, 2027 year, and empower the sheriff to take necessary actions to request the city impose the assessment in accordance with the report. The resolution was adopted by roll call; the transcript records affirmative votes as "I," but individual tallies were not legibly mapped to a full roll-call list in the record provided.

Next steps: Municap will report updated revenue figures after the summer, the board may meet Oct. 15 to reconsider any proposed assessment, and the city would impose and collect any approved assessment on the June 2027 real estate tax bill if directed by the board.