Accounting Services in Titusville, FL

The Titusville Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has three grant programs for property owners and businesses investing in the Downtown CRA District. One is the Commercial Interior Renovation Incentive Grant. The city describes it as a reimbursable, matching (50%) grant for renovating the interiors of older and historic commercial and mixed-use buildings: up to $50,000 for commercial operating space, and up to an additional $50,000 for mixed-use projects that include both non-residential uses and residential living units. Pools, clubhouses and leasing offices attached to the residential side do not count as the non-residential use.

The agency's policies and procedures, dated November 2024, set the edges. The district runs from Grace Street in the south to Buffalo Road in the north, and from the FEC Railroad tracks in the west to the Indian River Lagoon in the east. The building must have been constructed before the Florida Building Code was adopted on March 1, 2002, and buildings with residential uses on the first floor are not eligible. The applicant can be the owner or a tenant. A tenant needs the owner's written consent, and the property owner co-signs the grant award agreement.

Eligible items are permanent improvements under three headings: Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, Florida Fire Protection Code requirements and Florida Building Code requirements, which the document lists as interior plumbing, the interior electrical system and the HVAC system. Painting, permitting fees, routine maintenance, new construction and the applicant's own labor are all on the ineligible list.

"Reimbursable" is the word that matters for the books. The applicant pays for the work first. Approval has to come before work begins, and the document says grants will not be awarded for work already completed or in progress. Applicants must demonstrate that all the financing needed to complete the project has been secured, and that their matching funds are at least one-half of the grant amount requested. The application form puts the rate this way: the city reimburses 50% of the project cost as grant funds, or 60% for projects valued at $5,000 or less. The type and source of the project funds go on that form.

Awards are based on the lowest qualified bid. An applicant can choose a different contractor, and is then responsible for all costs above the lowest qualified bid.

The money comes afterwards. The policies document says approved projects generally receive 75% of the grant award at completion and 25% at the first year of building occupancy, by check. Before any of it is paid, the applicant submits all receipts and required documentation, including contractor invoicing and evidence of payment, for both the reimbursement and the match.

The conditions outlast the check. The city may ask for an audit of invoices related to the project, at the applicant's expense. Applicants agree to maintain the improvements for at least five years. The grant has to be repaid if, within five years of receiving it, the building is demolished, or is destroyed by more than 50% of its value and not rebuilt within two years.

Funding is first come, first served, and the document says that applying is not a guarantee of funding. The agency also keeps the right to amend the guidelines without notice, so read the current version before planning around it. Questions about a project go to CRA staff at (321) 567-3860.