CRA outlines Bimini East vision, says TIF needed to make project viable

The Cape Coral Community Redevelopment Agency on July 29 presented its vision for Bimini East, a 19-acre property the city acquired and cleared of damaged units following Hurricane Ian, and said tax-increment financing (TIF) will be required to make the site attractive to private developers.

Executive Director L. Chisholm told commissioners the CRA’s role is to enable projects that the private market will not finance on its own. “The entire purpose of a CRA trust fund is to step in where the market cannot accommodate a project on its own and make that project viable,” he said, explaining that demolition and acquisition were used to reduce the barrier to entry and that TIF would provide gap financing generated by development. Staff noted that the authority to acquire land, demolish structures and fund public improvements comes from Florida Statutes, chapter 163.

Consultant Matt Simmons, invited to brief commissioners, described rising development interest along Cape Coral Parkway and said the corridor’s momentum supports a mixed-use redevelopment. “I’m thoroughly impressed with what I saw so far from Bimini East,” he said, citing recent projects such as Bimini Square as proof of concept.

Staff outlined the project timeline: planning and rezoning work that began in 2014, a CRA workshop in March 2024, an RFP issued in October, demolition of improved parcels (notice to proceed in January, completed in June) and ongoing developer negotiations. Zach Gogol, CRA project manager, said current project funding is focused on design and permitting and that a developer agreement (and related TIF agreement) will move through the city council when a private partner is selected.

Commissioners pressed for clarity on the CRA’s legal limits and fiscal mechanics; staff emphasized the four-part test for spending trust funds (must be inside the CRA boundary, consistent with the redevelopment plan, aligned with statutory purposes and appropriated in the budget). The presentation noted the MXB zoning allows higher density (up to 125 dwelling units per acre and up to 12 stories/160 feet) though the current Bimini East proposal is below those maxima.

Next steps include continued developer negotiations, Committee-of-the-Whole review and eventual council consideration of a developer agreement and a TIF structure. The board’s briefing made clear the CRA intends to use its limited, statutory tools to assemble a development-ready site and to provide redevelopment incentives where necessary.