12-month prioritization memorandum

OBT CRA, 12-Month Prioritization Memorandum

1. Headline

The OBT CRA’s immediate constraint is delivery capacity. The CRA has a $6.83M fund balance, substantial FY 2026 budget authority, and a five-year pattern of spending only a small share of adopted budget. Over the next 12 months, the Board should focus on converting the funded Woods Avenue, Missing Middle, and economic development grant lines into visible commitments, while assigning the Future Capital Outlay reserve to named projects before the FY 2027 budget cycle closes.

Decision before the Board. This memo asks the Board to (a) endorse the 15-action sequence presented in §4, (b) authorize staff to begin procurement and grant-cycle activation on the four committed FY 2026 lines (P2, P3, P4, P5), and (c) direct staff to prepare an FY 2027 budget proposal that allocates the Future Capital Outlay reserve to named projects per the matrix in §4.3.

2. Budget snapshot

FY 2025-2026 Final Share program budget

The OBT CRA Final Share for FY 2025-2026 totals $8,674,177 in adopted program budget. The Fund 1025 Analysis as of March 2026 shows total revenue authority of $9,498,161, which includes $6,825,041 in cash brought forward from FY 2025 and is therefore larger than the program-budget figure by approximately the brought-forward amount. References to “FY 2026 budget” in this memo refer to the $8.67M program budget unless otherwise noted.

Source: OBT CRA Budget FY 2025-2026, FINAL Share.

Multi-year context

Source: FY 2021-2025 OBT CRA Annual Reports (audited financial statements); OBT-CRA Fund 1025 Analysis as of March 2026.

The Fund 1025 March 2026 snapshot shows one notable exception to the underspending pattern: a $869K Capital Improvement (Holden Heights) line that was 100% disbursed in the first half of FY 2026, evidently as the CRA’s contribution to the broader Orange County $26M Holden Heights infrastructure work. The Holden Heights $869K disbursement shows the CRA can move money on a project-by-project basis when there is a defined receiving entity. The next 12 months need more such deployments.

Per FL Statute 189.016(7)(b)5 disclosure

The audited FY 2021, FY 2022, FY 2023, FY 2024, and FY 2025 reports each state, verbatim, that the number of CRA-approved construction projects with a total cost of at least $65,000 scheduled to begin in the reported fiscal year was zero or none. Five fiscal years; zero $65K+ CRA-approved construction projects. This is the operational expression of the underspending pattern.

3. Findings

Finding 1. Deployment capacity, not funding, is the binding constraint. TIF revenue grew 2.4x from FY 2021 to FY 2025 (annual taxable-value increases of 8% to 13%); fund balance grew 3.5x to $6.83M. Adopted budgets exceeded actual spend by 75% to 90% every year. The FY 2026 budget commits more aggressively (Woods Avenue Construction $800K, Missing Middle $1.65M, Economic Development Grants $1M) but as of March 2026 had executed only 7.6% of operating ($660K of $8.63M). Without active project sequencing the year ends in the same pattern.

Finding 2. The plan corpus aligns around two catalyst sites within the CRA boundary; three additional 2017 catalyst sites sit south of the boundary and are out of scope. The 2017 OBTNext Master Plan defined five branded catalyst sites: West Downtown, Maker’s Row (Holden Heights), HOLDEN Authentic Food District, AMERICANA Auto and Service Hub, LAKE ELLENOR Education and Jobs District. The 2026 CRA Plan Update carries forward only West Downtown and Maker’s Row at figure level. Point-in-polygon checks confirm HOLDEN, AMERICANA, and LAKE ELLENOR sit south of the OBT CRA boundary (approximately 28.49 lat and below; CRA bbox is 28.51 to 28.55). The 2026 update is properly scoped, not a reduction.

Finding 3. Figure-only recommendations recover meaningful site specificity that narrative extraction missed. Of 99 recommendations in the gap-analysis substrate, 21 are figure-only items not present in narrative text (for example, Improve and activate Kaley Square, Improve Grand Avenue Park, Build a linear park along Nashville Avenue, Continue 19th Street around Lake June). 30 existing narrative recommendations gained figure citations that pinpoint geographic anchors. Where the prior text-extracted set anchored “improve intersections” generically, the figure set names Gore, Grand, Miller, and Kaley specifically.

Finding 4. Several priority actions depend on confirming statutory readiness. Chapter 163 (Florida Statutes), Sections 163.360 and 163.362, requires that CRA expenditures align with an adopted redevelopment plan and that the plan address specific capital projects, neighborhood impact, traffic circulation, environmental quality, school population effects, projected costs, and time-certain. The 2026 OBT CRA Plan Update is dated FEBRUARY 2026 FINAL, City Comments, indicating the plan update has not been formally adopted by the City of Orlando and Orange County. Until adoption is confirmed, figure-tied capital projects in the 2026 update are not yet eligible for trust-fund expenditure. Several priorities in §4 (notably P9 reserve commitments, P10 FY 2027 budget proposal, P11 acquisition due diligence) sequence behind that confirmation.

Finding 5. Regional coordination is undeveloped relative to the corridor’s regional role. OBT is a MetroPlan Orlando-designated regional connector, and the recommended street redesigns (Rio Grande Avenue, Westmoreland Drive, Woods Avenue) sit within FDOT and Orange County jurisdiction at points. The plan corpus does not document active coordination cycles with MetroPlan Orlando, LYNX (route 7 runs OBT), SunRail (Church Street and Sand Lake Road stations), or FDOT access management. Several priorities in §4 (P12 Westmoreland path extension, P9 reserve commitments, P15 OBT District Partnership stand-up) depend on intergovernmental coordination that should be operating alongside, not after, the project-level decisions.

4. Prioritized 12-month action list

The 15 actions below are sequenced across four quarters from May 2026 to May 2027. Each action names the FY 2025-2026 budget line that funds it (where applicable), explicitly tags actions without a budget line as “no FY 2026 budget line,” and references the gap-analysis recommendation IDs it advances. Quarterly groupings reflect what should be initiated; many actions extend beyond the quarter they begin in.

4.1. Q1 (May to July 2026), governance prerequisites + activate the largest committed lines

P1. Adopt or formally rescind the proposed Safe Neighborhood Boundary Expansion. No FY 2026 budget line; Board / legislative action. Aligns with safe-neighborhood-boundary-expansion. Open since 2017. The 2017 Safe Neighborhoods Plan introduces a Proposed Safe Neighborhood Boundary Expansion Area on Figures 3 through 7. Adopt the boundary expansion (extending program coverage to adjacent vacant, hotel, and auto-related parcels) or formally close the proposal. Holding a nine-year-open proposal in ambiguous status obscures program eligibility for the affected parcels and is a governance prerequisite to several FY 2027 reserve commitments.

P2. Issue construction services solicitation for Woods Avenue Construction. Budget line: Roadway Improvements / Upgrade Roads-Infrastructure / Woods Avenue Construction $800,000. Aligns with woods-avenue-reconstruction, makers-row-woods-rio-grande, re-design-woods-avenue-from-grant-street-to-miller-street-wi (figure). The 2026 plan update Figure 16 frames this as Maker’s Row anchor (item #1 and #8). Coordinate with the Missing Middle housing project (P4) so the right-of-way work supports both. This is the first $65K+ CRA-approved construction project in five years; structure procurement to satisfy FL Statute 189.016 disclosure for the FY 2027 audit.

P3. Award Maker’s Space Development Planning contract. Budget line: Commercial Development / Maker’s Space Development Planning $50,000. Aligns with makers-row-woods-rio-grande. Per 2017 master plan p. 112 KEY PARTNERS list, candidate partners are University of Florida College of Design Construction and Planning, design-and-construction businesses, and non-profit organizations. A small planning contract scoped to deliver a maker-space program plan, not a building, before the larger construction line draws down.

P4. Begin Woods Avenue “Missing Middle” project pre-construction. Budget line: Residential Development / Woods Avenue “Missing Middle” Project $1,650,000. Aligns with mixed-income-and-flexible-housing-tools, nashville-avenue-200-single-family-infill, housing-rehabilitation-and-infill. Two-thirds of the residential development budget. Initiate developer selection or partnership identification, parcel assembly review, and program definition (typology mix, AMI band targeting). The City’s LIFT Orlando coordination and Parramore Comprehensive Neighborhood Plan are the institutional reference points.

P5. Open Economic Development Grant cycle. Budget line: Commercial Development / Economic Development Grants $1,000,000. Aligns with light-industrial-and-maker-development-support, commercial-development-and-business-mix, streetscape-beautification-and-facade-programs. Largest single grant line. Define eligibility criteria up front so awards land in the Maker’s Row corridor and the Holden Heights and West Downtown subareas where the 2026 plan figures concentrate. Without explicit geographic and use-type criteria, grants disperse and the strategic alignment weakens.

4.2. Q2 (August to October 2026), execute placemaking + safety lines

P6. Complete 65-streetlight neighborhood installation. Budget line: Crime Prevention and Safety / Neighborhood Streetlight Installation (65) $300,000. Aligns with corridor-and-neighborhood-lighting, crime-prevention-law-enforcement-and-cpted. 65 lights, $300K. Both well-defined. Place using Safe Neighborhoods Plan Figure 7 (schools and head starts) and Figure 5 (named HOAs) as the prioritization layer; lights near schools and within HOAs without recent installations first.

P7. Activate Mural and Asphalt Program in West Downtown and Maker’s Row, with engineered safety improvements alongside. Budget line: Roadway Improvements / Decorative Features / Mural and Asphalt Program $300,000. Aligns with streetscape-beautification-and-facade-programs, branding-awareness-and-marketing-campaigns. Concentrate murals on West Arts area and OBT-fronting walls in both subareas to reinforce the catalyst-site branding. Asphalt art at the Gore, Grand, Miller, and Kaley intersection cluster (Figure 16 item #11) functions as a placemaking and identity layer; pair it with FDOT-coordinated engineered traffic calming at the same intersections rather than treating asphalt art as a substitute for engineered safety improvements.

P8. Stand up CPTED program in Holden Heights residential blocks. Budget line: Crime Prevention and Safety / CPTED Projects $50,000. Aligns with crime-prevention-law-enforcement-and-cpted, intersection-diverters-pilot. Pair CPTED audits with the 2026 plan update’s Figure 15 bullet recommendation to pilot temporary intersection diverters; the audit identifies which residential intersections are highest priority for the diverter pilot.

P9. Issue Housing For All Building Grants and Housing Rehabilitation Grants under separate eligibility tracks. Budget lines: Residential Development / New Home Construction / Housing For All Building Grants $500,000; Residential Development / Housing Rehabilitation / Housing Rehabilitation Grants $500,000. Aligns with housing-rehabilitation-and-infill, mixed-income-and-flexible-housing-tools. Building Grants target new construction on publicly owned and assembled parcels in Holden Heights per Figure 15 bullet recommendation; Rehabilitation Grants target existing private homes (the historic use of CRA rehab funds is owner-occupied homestead repair, not public-parcel new construction). Coordinate both with Orange County and City of Orlando housing programs (FY 2024 MD&A confirms ongoing coordination).

4.3. Q3 (November 2026 to January 2027), FY 2027 budget development + reserve deployment

P10. Submit FY 2027 budget proposal anchored to the 2026 plan update. Internal CRA process; no FY 2026 budget line. Aligns with broad strategy. Continue the FY 2026 commitment shape (catalyst-site construction; grants with explicit geographic targeting) rather than reverting to maintenance-only spend. Introduce at least two new $65K+ construction lines, ideally tied to Figures 14 and 16 (West Downtown and Holden Heights numbered project legends).

P11. Commit the $2,190,685 Future Capital Outlay reserve to specific projects in the FY 2027 budget proposal.

The $2.19M reserve is the largest unallocated line in the FY 2026 budget. Without specific project allocation, the reserve rolls forward, extending the underspending pattern. The matrix below proposes the highest-leverage candidates surfaced by the 2026 plan figures. Each carries a plan-status note (whether the project is figure-tied in the 2026 update and therefore subject to plan-adoption confirmation per Finding 4) and a primary intergovernmental dependency.

Aligns with finding-tif-underutilization, future-capital-outlay, tax-increment-eligible-uses. Pin the matrix to four candidates so the FY 2027 budget proposal offers the Board a defined deployment, not a list of possibilities.

P12. Begin acquisition due diligence on the Holden Heights Community Center frontage parcel. No FY 2026 budget line; propose for FY 2027. Aligns with holden-heights-community-center-frontage. The 2026 plan update Figure 15 explicitly recommends this acquisition. Chapter 163 (Florida Statutes) authorizes voluntary acquisition and related redevelopment activities within a CRA when consistent with the adopted redevelopment plan; any acquisition strategy should be reviewed against the adopted plan, City and County procedures, and applicable limits on eminent domain. Engage the City and County on willing-seller status before this lands on the FY 2027 budget as a fully scoped item.

P13. Initiate MetroPlan Orlando, LYNX, SunRail, and FDOT coordination cycle on the corridor projects. No FY 2026 budget line; intergovernmental coordination. Aligns with transit-and-mobility-partnerships, corridor-transportation-circulation-and-parking. The 2026 plan figures recommend redesigns on Rio Grande, Westmoreland, and Woods Avenue. These need to be on MetroPlan’s TIP, coordinated with LYNX route 7 service, and reviewed against FDOT access management standards. Establish a quarterly coordination meeting with each entity. The Westmoreland path extension to Pineloch (P11 candidate) needs Orange County co-sponsorship before it can be budgeted; the coordination cycle starts now.

4.4. Q4 (February to May 2027), institutional standup

P14. Confirm or close out HOLDEN ROOTS neighborhood association formation. No FY 2026 budget line; engagement / clerical. Aligns with community-events-and-engagement, obt-neighborhood-partnership. The 2017 Safe Neighborhoods Plan Figure 5 lists HOLDEN ROOTS as a proposed-name 15th HOA. Confirm whether formation completed in the intervening nine years, support active formation if not, or remove from the program inventory. Maker’s Row community engagement runs through this anchor.

P15. Initiate the OBT District Partnership and OBT Neighborhood Partnership. No FY 2026 budget line; institutional design. Aligns with obt-district-partnership, obt-neighborhood-partnership. Both have lived as planned recommendations across the 1990, 2017, and 2026 plans without formal stand-up. Without a designated district-level steward, several priorities below depend on ad-hoc coordination, which is the most common failure mode in CRA implementation: priorities slip because no one is accountable for them across budget cycles. Stand up the District Partnership with named co-chairs and a quarterly meeting cadence; align the Neighborhood Partnership to the Safe Neighborhoods boundary (whether expanded per P1 or not).

5. Risks and watch items

WI-1. Statutory readiness and plan adoption. The 2026 OBT CRA Plan Update is dated FEBRUARY 2026 FINAL, City Comments, suggesting outstanding City of Orlando review. Until the plan is formally adopted, figure-tied capital projects (in particular the four P11 reserve-commitment candidates and the FY 2027 budget structure in P10) are not yet eligible for trust-fund expenditure under Chapter 163. Confirm adoption status before the FY 2027 budget proposal is finalized.

WI-2. Underspending recurrence. The FY 2026 operating execution rate at March 2026 (7.6%) extends the FY 2021-2025 pattern. P2, P4, and P5 are the three largest committed lines; their procurement and grant-cycle activation in Q1 is the single biggest determinant of whether FY 2026 closes the gap or rolls $5M+ forward again.

WI-3. Construction-project disclosure threshold. Five fiscal years of zero $65K+ CRA-approved construction projects creates an external perception risk if FY 2026 reports another zero despite the Woods Avenue lines. Procurement structure for P2 and P4 should produce auditor-recognizable construction projects of $65K or more.

WI-4. Inter-jurisdictional dependency on Orange County, City of Orlando, FDOT. Westmoreland path extension (P11 candidate, P13), Rio Grande boulevard re-design (P11 candidate, P13), and broader Holden Heights infrastructure follow-on all depend on entities outside the CRA. Designated points of contact at each entity, established in Q1 alongside the Q3 coordination cycle, shorten cycle time considerably.

WI-5. Catalyst-site geographic clarity. P10 and P11 should be reviewed against the OBT CRA boundary GeoJSON (not the broader OBTNext corridor) to ensure proposed projects sit inside the CRA. Three of the 2017 catalyst sites are south of the boundary; including them as in-scope would put the CRA in jurisdictional ambiguity.

WI-6. HOLDEN ROOTS formation status. The 2017 plan listed this as a proposed-name HOA in formation; status as of 2026 is undocumented. Confirmation either way affects how Maker’s Row community engagement (P3, P5) is run.

6. Methodology and substrate

This memo is anchored to a 99-recommendation gap-analysis substrate compiled across the document corpus listed in the engagement scope: 1990 OBT CRA Plan, 2017 OBTNext Master and Implementation Plan, 2017 OBT Safe Neighborhoods Plan, FY 2021-2025 OBT CRA Annual Reports, OBT CRA Plan Update February 2026 FINAL with City Comments, OBT-CRA Fund 1025 Analysis as of March 2026, and the FY 2025-2026 FINAL Share. The substrate combines narrative text extraction, figure-by-figure visual transcription of numbered project legends and concept maps, and reconciliation against existing recommendations.

Recommendation source types: 48 narrative-only, 21 figure-only, 30 narrative + figure (figures cite the same project the narrative names). Status distribution: 76 planned, 16 ongoing, 6 completed, 1 unspecified, plus 1 institutional finding. Six “completed” entries are city or county capital outside the CRA budget (Camping World Stadium $200M, Jones High School $50M+, Orange County Holden Heights infrastructure $26M, OPD Headquarters $41.5M, Fire Station 2 $4.9M, Westmoreland multi-purpose path City segment).

The substrate is browseable at the gap-analysis showcase page with status, category, source, and outside-CRA filters; line-rendered street segments display the spatial extent of street-redesign and corridor-wide programs.

Per the engagement scope, this memo does not include detailed cost estimates for the actions listed. Documented figures from the FY 2025-2026 FINAL Share and FY 2021-2025 audited reports are reproduced verbatim where relevant. Geographic and budgetary specificity beyond what the source corpus provides is flagged as such in each action item.

7. Appendix and references

The full 99-recommendation gap-analysis substrate is browseable at the showcase page. Filter by category: finance and current_status: ongoing to surface the budget-execution finding; filter by source_type: figure to surface the 21 figure-only items; filter by outside_cra: true to surface the 3 catalyst sites south of the CRA boundary.

Source documents referenced in this memo are stored in the engagement's source-documents folder. The Word and PDF versions of this memo are downloadable from the showcase memo page.