North Beach CRA explained: what it is, who runs it and where its money comes from

The North Beach Community Redevelopment Agency is writing a plan for how to spend its money over the next five years, and it is asking residents to help decide. This explainer, the first in a Red Sidewalks series built from the agency’s own documents, covers the basics: what a CRA is, where its money comes from and who makes the decisions.

What a CRA is

A community redevelopment agency is a special district the city creates to fix up a defined area: to stimulate investment and improve its physical, economic and social conditions, according to the agency’s October open house presentation. North Beach’s agency says it works to improve neighborhoods, support businesses and residents, invest in public spaces and infrastructure, and make North Beach more resilient.

The district covers about 326 acres, bounded by 87th Terrace to the north, the ocean to the east, 65th Street to the south and Rue Notre Dame to the west, according to the agency’s city page. The map above shows its exact line, which takes in the Town Center blocks around 71st Street, part of Normandy Isle and the oceanfront strip. Miami-Dade County and Miami Beach approved the boundary by resolution.

Where the money comes from

The agency is paid for through tax increment financing, or TIF. Property values in the district are measured against a base year. As they rise, the extra property tax revenue above that base, the “increment,” is put back into North Beach through the agency, the presentation explains. A May 2026 county memo shown in the presentation says the county will keep making those annual payments through 2051, when the agency and the district end.

That money can only be spent on redevelopment inside the district: removing blight, promoting economic development, improving infrastructure and quality of life. In fiscal 2025 it came to $3.38 million, according to the presentation. The county memo lists budgets of $4.98 million for fiscal 2024-25 and $6.04 million for 2025-26, counting money carried over.

Who decides

The agency’s board is the Miami Beach City Commission, chaired by Mayor Steven Meiner, plus Miami-Dade County Commissioner Micky Steinberg, the presentation shows. City Manager Eric Carpenter is its executive director. The agency also has an advisory committee, chaired by Ronnie Issenberg.

The agency was created in 2021. Its founding redevelopment plan was approved by the city and the agency on May 12, 2021, and by the county on July 28, 2021. It builds on two earlier city plans: Plan NoBe, the North Beach master plan adopted in 2016, and a 2018 plan for the West Lots.

What’s happening now

Consultants are drafting the five-year strategic finance, investment and implementation plan; the presentation carries the logos of Daedalus Advisory Services and able.city. The next public session is the advisory committee’s meeting Tuesday, Nov. 10, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Normandy Shores Golf Club, 2401 Biarritz Drive.

Next in this series: what the agency can and can’t legally spend its money on.