Schedule: Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Registration Desk Open
7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Oceana Pre-Con

Tour (Bus): West Palm Beach/Riviera Beach
Sponsored by: NORA
(additional fee of $50.00; pre-registration was required)
7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Meet in the hotel lobby at 7:15 a.m. for boarding.

Attendees will explore the transformation of West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach, starting with the Historic Northwest District, where cultural heritage and modern development converge. Highlights include the iconic Sunset Lounge, Styx Promenade, and Heart and Soul Park, all key to the district’s revitalization. The tour continues to the Riviera Beach Marina Village, a reimagined waterfront offering recreation, culture, and economic opportunity. Finally, attendees will visit the NORA (North Railroad Avenue) district, a sustainable, mixed-use development that blends adaptive reuse with modern design. Each stop showcases how public-private partnerships (P3s) are reshaping neighborhoods, preserving heritage, and driving dynamic growth, all while fostering a stronger sense of community.

Tour (Bus): Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
Sponsored by: Discover The Palm Beaches
(additional fee of $50.00; pre-registration was required)
7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Meet in the hotel lobby at 7:15 a.m. for boarding.

Join us for a dynamic and immersive tour that will showcase two of Palm Beach County’s charming – and growing! – coastal towns: Delray Beach, affectionately known as the “Village by the Sea,” and Boynton Beach, the “Gateway to the Gulf Stream.” This informative guided tour highlights key investments both communities are making to ensure community-centered, inclusive growth that supports both people and place. In Delray Beach, visit affordable and workforce housing developed in partnership with local nonprofits, new commercial spaces in The Set that support small businesses while preserving the neighborhood’s cultural identity, and strategic CRA investments in downtown infrastructure that have played a pivotal role in enhancing the area’s vibrancy and appeal. In Boynton Beach, visit the new Town Square complex, view active development sites along East Ocean Avenue and Boynton Beach Boulevard, and tour the Boynton Harbor Marina, a key anchor for downtown activity and recreational experiences. The tour concludes in the Heart of Boynton with an inside look at vital affordable housing developments and a mixed-use project that is shaping the community.

Tour (Bus): Lake Worth/West Gate
(additional fee of $50.00; pre-registration was required)
7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m
Meet in the hotel lobby at 7:15 a.m. for boarding.

Join us for an engaging mobile tour showcasing cutting-edge housing, infrastructure, and redevelopment projects in the Westgate and Lake Worth Beach Community Redevelopment Areas (CRAs). We’ll kick off the tour in Westgate, located just west of downtown West Palm Beach, with a stop at the Dennis P. Koehler Preserve. This stunning 7.5- acre lake serves as both a park and a vital stormwater mitigation site. Next, we’ll explore the $11 million Westgate Avenue Streetscape Project, along with other significant CRA-led improvements, including the charming cottage housing at South Westgate Estates, Oswego Oaks Park, and Westgate Dog Park. As we travel along Congress Avenue, you’ll see exciting new multifamily developments, the future 47-acre redevelopment of the Palm Beach Kennel Club, and The Hangar – a luxury car storage facility that also includes community space. In Lake Worth Beach, we’ll visit vibrant mixed-use developments like Deco Green, the MID, and Lake Worth Station. We’ll drive through the historic district to admire the delightful Lake Worth Cottages, then head to Downtown Lake Worth Beach to see the iconic Gulfstream Hotel, currently undergoing restoration. The tour wraps up with visits to significant redevelopment sites, including The Bohemian – a residential project nestled next to the FEC railroad – and Madison Terrace, a planned affordable senior housing community, before we head back to West Palm Beach.

Tour (Walking): City Place/Downtown
Sponsored by: Burkhardt Construction, Inc., West Palm Beach, CRA, and Lewis Longman Walker
(additional fee of $50.00; pre-registration was required)
7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m
Meet in the hotel lobby at 7:15 a.m..

Get your steps in on this up-close and personal walking tour of the streetscapes and real estate developments along the Rosemary Avenue and Clematis Street corridors! We’ll start walking from the Hilton West Palm Beach lobby past the Restoration Center hardware anchor store on Okeechobee Boulevard into the heart of City Place, where you’ll hear brief presentations from the developer as well as the design team that helped bring their vision to life. After a quick presentation, we’ll have breakfast at Maman and continue our walk to Clematis Street, the nightlife hub of downtown West Palm Beach! We’ll continue our tour walking east on Clematis Street, hearing from the design team and the West Palm Beach CRA about streetscape planning, design, and implementation. You’ll also hear from the contractor about how the corridor was kept accessible during construction to keep pedestrian traffic flowing through the area. Once we reach the waterfront at Flagler Drive and Clematis Street, you’ll get to listen to a presentation from the CRA about how they activate the waterfront for events and the exciting future the City/CRA has in store for the area. After the waterfront presentation, we’ll start to head back to the hotel but make one more stop at the Chase/Trinity streetscape project, where attendees will get to see a full streetscape project in action. Please wear comfortable shoes and bring a bottle of water. Total distance will be between 2 and 2.5 miles!

CRA Board Training Course
8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Oceana C

Presented by: Jeff Burton, Ph.D., FRA-RA, Executive Director, City of Bradenton CRA

This is a general educational session designed for CRA staff, elected and appointed officials, volunteers, and advisory board members. It provides a succinct overview of what you need to know that you don’t know in the universe of CRAs. Learn some helpful, practical, legal, and administrative best practices for CRA policymaking success.

Exhibit Hall Open
11:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Oceana AB

Welcome Luncheon in the Exhibit Hall
12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Oceana AB

Keynote Address
Sponsored by: Redevelopment Management Associates, LLC
1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Coral Ballroom

Keynote Presentation: The Walkable City

Keynote Speaker: Jeff Speck, Partner, Speck Dempsey LLC

Jeff Speck, FAICP, FCNU, LEED-AP, Honorary ASLA, is a city planner and author who advocates internationally for more walkable cities. As Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 through 2007, he presided over the “Mayors’ Institute on City Design” and created the Governors’ Institute on Community Design. Prior to his federal appointment, Speck spent 10 years as Director of Town Planning at DPZ & Co., the principal firm behind the New Urbanism movement. Since 2007, he has led Speck & Associates (now Speck Dempsey), an award-winning urban planning firm serving public and private clients around the world.

With Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Mr. Speck is the co-author of “Suburban Nation,” which the “Wall Street Journal” calls “the urbanist’s bible.” His 2012 book “Walkable City” was the best-selling city planning title of the past decade and has been translated into eight languages. He is also the principal author of “The Smart Growth Manual and Walkable City Rules.”

Jeff Speck has been named a fellow of both the American Institute of Certified Planners and the Congress for New Urbanism. In a recent Planetizen poll, he was voted one of the ten “most influential urbanists of all time.” Speck was the 2022 recipient of the Seaside Prize, whose former awardees include Jane Jacobs and Christopher Alexander. His TED talks and YouTube videos have been viewed more than six million times.

Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall
2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Oceana AB

Redefining Redevelopment: Overcoming Red Tape with Innovation
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Oceana C

A dynamic discussion on innovative approaches to redevelopment that break through traditional bureaucratic barriers, focusing on collaboration with communities and unconventional partnerships to create impactful projects.

Moderator: Kim Briesemeister, Principal, Redevelopment Management Associates (RMA)

Speakers: Ana Maria Aponte, Development Services Director, CRA, City of West Palm Beach; Genia Baker, Project Manager, CRA, City of West Palm Beach; Joe Furst, CEO and Founder, Place Projects

Part 1: Securing Legacies: Overcoming Barriers to Increase Generational Wealth in Redevelopment Areas
Part 2: Starve the Crisis, Feed the Vision
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Oceana D

This session will explore critical strategies for preserving communities and preventing displacement. Key topics include heirs’ property, vacancy prevention, and community stability. The discussion will also delve into the preservation of residential properties including title continuance and estate planning and their impact on home valuation. Attendees will gain insights into how these tools can be leveraged to maintain community cohesion and ensure long-term housing preservation. Attendees will also explore how strategic planning collaboration and innovative funding can address housing challenges, showing affordable housing as the catalyst for community growth.

Moderator: Christopher Roog, CEcD, Executive Director, CRA, City of West Palm Beach

Speakers: Phebe Fuqua, Project Manager, CRA, City of Daytona Beach; Kristopher Smith, Heirs Property Practice Lead, LISC Jacksonville

Leveraging Brownfields Resources to Inspire CRA Revitalization
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Coral Ballroom

This session will explore state, federal, and local grants, incentives, and resources to jump-start the reuse of environmentally stigmatized properties within CRAs. Brownfields practitioners, including active CRA managers/consultants and environmental legal counsel, will discuss layering incentives and resources to increase the tax base and inspire community and economic development within CRAs. Multiple case studies of successful CRA Brownfields projects will also be discussed.

Moderator: Miles Ballogg, National Brownfields Practice Leader, Ensafe

Speakers: Miles Ballogg, National Brownfields Practice Leader, Ensafe; Jeff Burton, Ph.D., FRA-RA, Executive Director, CRA, City of Bradenton; Travis Moore Hearne, Esq., Environmental Practice Group, Mechanik Nuccio Hean & Wester, P.A.; Edward Johnson, President, Edward Johnson Community Solutions, Inc.

Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall
3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Oceana AB

Informed Decision-Making for CRAs: The Power of Data Gathering & Analysis
3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Oceana C

This panel will discuss the triad of meaningful data gathering and analysis from community engagement, economic trends, and parcel data related to CRAs. Learn how leveraging data can help ground and target your agency’s goals, actions, and benchmarks, leading to informed and measurable plans.

Moderator: Gail Hamilton, CRA Director, City of Zephyrhills

Speakers: Hannah Hollinger, Urban Planner & GIS Analyst, GAI Consultant, Inc. | Community Solutions Group; Claudia Ray, Senior Planner & Urban Designer, GAI Consultant, Inc. | Community Solutions; Natalie Frazier, Urban Analytics Manager, GAI Consultant, Inc. | Community Solutions; Gail Hamilton, CRA Director, City of Zephyrhills

The Business of the CRA vs. the CRA Brand
3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Oceana D

This session will focus on understanding the critical difference between what a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) does and what it means to the people it serves. CRAs are tasked with revitalizing communities, attracting investment, and improving quality of life, but their impact isn’t just measured in projects and policies. It’s also shaped by public perception, stakeholder trust, and the agency’s ability to communicate its value effectively. In this session, we’ll explore the fundamentals of CRA operations vs. CRA identity, unpacking the psychology of how residents, business owners, elected officials, and developers interpret the agency’s work. Participants will learn how to align redevelopment efforts with a compelling brand narrative.

Moderator: Michele Hylton-Terry, MPA, FRA-RA, Executive Director, Fort Myers CRA, FRA President Elect

Speakers: LaShaun Collier, Deputy Director of Communications, CRA, City of Fort Myers; Erica Thaler, Chief Marketing Officer, RBOA – Digitally Driven Marketing

Reimagining Public Parks: Transforming Spaces for Communities of Tomorrow
3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Coral Ballroom

Attendees will gain insights into innovative approaches for park redevelopment that prioritize environmental resilience, effective community engagement, and sustainable funding models, empowering them to drive impactful change in their own communities.

Moderator: Christopher Roog, CEcD, Executive Director, CRA, City of West Palm Beach

Speakers: Dan Biederman, President, Biederman Redevelopment Ventures; Leah Rockwell, Director, West Palm Beach Parks and Recreation

Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Oceana AB

New Member Welcome
6:30 p.m.- 7:00 p.m.
Hibiscus