Boynton Beach Insider

The Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (BBCRA) is a quasi-government agency that assist with supporting with the redevelopment of blighted areas, creating affordable housing, improving infrastructure, and providing resources to help locally owned, small businesses thrive.

The agency is led by the BBCRA Board, which includes the Mayor and City Commissioners. The BBCRA has been committed to revitalizing and reimagining Boynton Beach since it was created in 1982, has reinvested millions of dollars back into the community through redevelopment plans and strategic projects.

What Exactly Does the CRA Do?

Here are just a few of the things the BBCRA focuses on:

• Improve streetscapes for a fresh, welcoming look
• Offer business incentives for storefront upgrades
• Develop affordable housing and community spaces
• Revamp downtown and waterfront areas
• Support innovative community policing initiatives

Check our About the BBCRA video to get an insider’s look on the work that we are doing within eastern Boynton Beach.

Here’s the best part—property owners don’t pay extra taxes! Instead, a portion of existing city and county taxes collected within the BBCRA area is redirected toward redevelopment efforts. As property values grow, so does the CRAs ability to fund impactful projects! Each year, the CRA Board review the annual budget to determine which projects and programs will continue to contribute towards the CRAs mission to revitalize areas in need of a boost and help the local community thrive.

Where Is the CRA Area?

The CRA area covers 1,650 acres along Boynton Beach’s eastern edge, comprised of six special districts: Industrial Craft, Boynton Beach Boulevard, Heart of Boynton, Cultural, Downtown, and Federal Highway.

Building Places People Can Call Home

The CRA is committed to acquiring blighted properties that can be redeveloped for affordable housing or other uses that would contribute to the vibrancy of the city. Through public/private partnerships the CRA has maximized funding options and spearheaded multiple development projects within the community, including affordable and workhouse housing projects. Through creative partnerships, the CRA has been able to maximize impact to create affordable rental units and for-sale properties, with various projects, including:

• Model Block
• Ocean Breeze West
• Ocean Breeze East
• Heart of Boynton Village Apartments
• Cottage District

Walkable, Welcoming Streets

Additionally, streetscape improvements and infrastructure projects along the city’s main thoroughfare Boynton Beach Boulevard have been completed throughout the years to enhance the areas roadways to ensure efficient and safe transportation routes for residents and visitors. The expansion of the Boynton Beach Boulevard, east of Federal Highway, helped to alleviate traffic and offer an additional entrance to the Boynton Harbor Marina.

Park enhancement to Sara Sims Park and Jaycee Park have improved both parks making them viable areas where community members can congregate safely. Boynton Beach entrance features predominately placed on Federal Highway make a clear distinction for the city’s boundaries and welcoming visitors to the area.

A Developing Downtown Core

The city’s developing downtown along East Ocean Avenue will be a central hub to attract visitors to Boynton Beach. Anchored between the Town Square project, which housing City Hall and the Library, and the Boynton Harbor Marina, the area is expected to be a vibrant location for shopping and dining, as well as housing that will be available to support the rising need as our area continues to grow throughout the years.

What was once a vacant lot and eyesore to the community is now 500 Ocean – a vibrant place to live, work, and dine. The luxury development will be accompanied by additional mixed-use projects – The Piece, The Villages, and Town Square, which will all assist with creating a thriving downtown.

Waterfront Vibes

As the eastern anchor of the downtown core and the only south Palm Beach County publicly owned marina, the BBCRA-owned Boynton Harbor Marina has become an even more exciting and active waterfront destination with its spectacular dining venues and family fun activities such as fishing and scuba diving charters, boat rentals, drift fishing, and Jet Ski rentals.  The BBCRA acquired the marina in 2006 for the purpose of preserving the “working waterfront” and future public access to the waterway. 

Affordable & Eco-Friendly Transportation

The Coastal Cruiser rideshare service was implemented to address the lack of transportation within the BBCRA area. The rideshare service, which is powered by Circuit, is an eco-friendly and affordable solution that assists with transporting residents to key destinations in eastern Boynton Beach.

Community Safety That Feels Personal

The Neighborhood Officer Program (NOP) was created to cultivate high levels of mutual trust, understanding and respect between police and the residents of the neighborhoods they patrol by integrating police personnel into the fabric of our community.  The program assists in reducing crime and works toward improving the quality of life within historically plighted neighborhoods where it requires the development of problem-solving partnerships and substantive relationships

Local Businesses Are the Heartbeat of Boynton Beach

Local businesses are the heartbeat of the community. The BBCRA has remained steadfast in its commitment to support new and established local businesses with a variety of supportive measures to assist with helping them remain viable amongst their corporate competitors.

The BBCRA’s Business Grants provide financial assistance to eligible businesses with rent reimbursement, property improvements, and marketing assistance to help them attract and retain customers. The BBCRA’s in-house Social Media Outreach Program, is a customized program that assists businesses with developing strategies to ensure that their business has a prevalent online presence.

The BBCRA also offers support to new businesses through ribbon cutting and grant opening ceremonies to help introduce them to the local community, SEO via an online business directory on the BBCRA website, targeted blog posts to promote businesses, and through programs that provide professional photography and videography that allow the businesses to have content that can be used to promote themselves.

The Boynton Beach Bucks program provides businesses with a great way to offer special offers without having to come out of pocket for the deals. The CRA reimburses the businesses for any of the custom deals that are redeemed.

The CRA Is About People, Not Just Projects

The CRA continues to play an integral role in enhancing eastern Boynton Beach through redevelopment and economic development efforts. Our community programs are making a difference.

The Boynton Beach CRA is more than just an agency — it’s partner to the community and catalyst for change. Together, we’re shaping the future of Boynton Beach —block by block, dream by dream.

Stay up-to-date with the latest from the BBCRA by subscribing to our newsletter or following @BoyntonBeachCRA on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.