OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A $6.2 billion corporation? The City of Ocala is worth more than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A visual presentation by Urban3’s Joseph Minicozzi, Aug. 27, 2024, at the Institute of Human and Machine Cognition gave a comprehensive and in-depth look into the City of Ocala’s growth potential and economic viability.  During that presentation, Minicozzi noted that Ocala is currently worth more than $6 billion.

The presentation provided recommendations, policies and implementable items that the city will put into action to carry out the 2050 vision, much like it did with the 2035 vision.

“It’s important that we keep our DNA and be Ocala, not be somewhere else,” said Peter Lee, City of Ocala city manager. “And that we pass to the next generation something that’s meaningful and solvent.”

“It’s important for everyone to understand the DNA of their community,” echoed Minicozzi.

But what’s the genetic makeup of the city, its inherited traits, and what can the county learn from the city’s past as they move forward?

“In studying the functions performed by your county, you will find there’s a duplication of services, an overlapping of jurisdictions and lack of coordination between the communities within in it,” said Minicozzi.

Building equity in real estate: a chance for urban revitalization

Real Estate raises the questions of equity and fairness. The established development patterns of the area have produced outcomes that the city must now economically address.  With a fair amount of activity centered around the mall, the city’s downtown area and the advantages it offers can sometimes be overlooked.

“It was a lot to decipher, but I think it was great,” said Barry Mansfield, Ocala City Council president. “This is actually the way we want our city to grow. We’ve always talked about it. We want to go up. We want to bring the density downtown. It’s good for the city.”

Ocala is poised for growth and its economic viability continues to be a source of optimism with the last decade yielding positive results. However, when the city was experiencing exponential growth from about 1960 to 1980 the population increased, but the value of the land didn’t.

Learning from the past: lessons for a brighter future

“The county’s going through a massive growth spurt, and your city went through that growth spurt in 1960,” said Minicozzi. “Maybe this is a lesson for the county?”

The Community Redevelopment Act (CRA) provides for a Community Redevelopment Agency and Tax Increment Financing to be used to create growth in areas where there are blighted conditions.

RELATED: Planning for growth in Ocala and the city’s financial future

“When you tear houses down, you have the same amount of road, pipes, water pipe and sewer pipe. About 11% of the city is vacant land. That property owner isn’t paying that much in taxes for that land vacancy because there’s no building on it. Is the dirt worth more than the building on top of it?” asked Minicozzi.  “Just because it’s not vacant, doesn’t mean that it’s not upside down. Financially, if I had a dead business on the property, and it’s not contributing – you have 709 acres in your CRA, and you have another 387 acres that are financially upside down. CRAs are a development tool that’s empowered in the State of Florida.”

How infrastructure is impacted by growth

Minicozzi continued to explain that infrastructure is necessary, and it’s something that will be impact future generations, but many people aren’t aware that municipal governments list pipes and roads as assets, but they’re something that can’t be sold, so in reality, they’re liabilities. He mentioned that they’re not readily seen because they’re being carried by the municipality as an asset. There are cautionary tales of what may be, with the caveat of cities being aware of what they’re growing into.

“This is almost like government 101, when we’re elected into our positions, this is a great crash course into what’s going to come before us every other Tuesday,” said Kristin Dreyer, Ocala city council president pro-tem. “It’s a necessity for all elected officials here in Marion County and Ocala.”

Roads are long-term investments, and if a developer builds a road, the homeowners who buy in that development will be paying for the road through their mortgage, with the developer eventually turning over the road to the city.

“Every 10 years, you have to resurface that road. It’s called millage. You have to scrape off the top and fix it,” said Minicozzi. “And after that fourth cycle, it’s a full reconstruction and you get to start it all over again. The first cycle of infrastructure – life cycle – is what we’re focusing on. You’re stuck with them forever.”

According to Minicozzi, Ocala has about 377 miles of roads, 654 miles of water pipe, 444 miles of sewer pipe, and 383 miles of stormwater pipe. He noted that all the surfaces are distinctive, and all have different ways of functioning.

“This is your commitment to your land to make it worthwhile to have revenue on,” said Minicozzi.

He added things that aren’t always what they seem, and people are often quick to criticize when they don’t have all the facts, not understanding what lies beneath the surface.

“The city is carrying an operating deficit of $76 million. So, when you see that a road isn’t in good condition, or that you don’t have a sidewalk in a certain spot, or maybe you hear about a water pump failure, it’s not that the city isn’t doing its job,” said Minicozzi.  “It’s that it doesn’t have the capacity of money in the right place because you aren’t collecting any, and that’s the reality when you build.”

Minicozzi said that growth projections are a priority including:

  • infill
  • vacant lots, looking at them as opportunity
  • the city’s downtown expansion

He adds that looking at productive examples of other things that already exist within the community are among those components that will be studied carefully.

“You don’t have to transplant Tampa or Orlando here,” said Minicozzi. “Little buildings can have a big punch. Think about the long-term affect for future generations, think about your grandkids and what they can yield. That long-term investment is worth the wait, gain or effort. You’ll get more out of it.”

A PDF of the presentation will be available this week at Ocala City Hall.