Why the Lake Worth CRA is so crucial to the City's success

Found this RFP on the CRA's website:

RETAIL FEASIBILITY, STRATEGIC PLANNING; BUSINESS RECRUITMENT

The RFP release date is February 20th of this year and the submission deadline is on March 27th.

Here are some highly interesting items in the RFP:

     Dixie Highway, once a bustling retail and commercial center, continues to suffer from a myriad of old and new challenges that include older buildings, underutilized sites and land constraints. Once the “spine” or “Main Street” of the area, this area suffers from a lack of identity and character and in many areas, a lack of attractions or amenities. [emphasis added] These challenges impact community livability as more and more business is conducted outside of the City. Goods and services and local jobs are no longer provided close to home and residents leave the area to shop and work. Although demand has been predicted by previous studies, the City continues to lack retail nodes or newer office space for workers. Understanding the City’s market potential gives the City leverage with retailers and service providers. Without this understanding and a philosophy of continuous process improvement, the quality of life in a City or area will decline. Dixie Highway may move traffic in a quick fashion but the current form is not sustainable, nor can it be expected to thrive without change and direct intervention.      

     The City has recently gone through an overhaul of the land-use development regulations. The new ULDR’s and the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) should be looked at in context to the developing market. These documents are available on the City’s web site at www.lakeworth.org and www.municode.com. 

[and . . .]

     The goal of this market study is to complete and assessment of the entire Lake Worth Dixie Highway corridor (from the Lantana city limit to the West Palm Beach city limit) current economic market and climate, to project its future business development potential, to analyze market sectors and shares, describe business types most appropriate for various areas and to identify opportunity sites for new business creation.

Dixie Highway in the City of Lake Worth is very underutilized. Talk of Lake Worth being a "sustainable" and "resilient" city rings hollow as people need to leave the city limits for their basic retail needs and employment opportunities.