What is the Economic Enhancement District (EED)?
The Economic Enhancement District is a Florida state-authorized program designed to revitalize underutilized and abandoned commercial properties within Winter Park’s Community Redevelopment Area (CRA). Approved by the City Commission on September 10, 2025, the EED provides state remediation assistance, technical support, and economic incentives to property owners and developers undertaking redevelopment projects.
Under Florida Statute §376.80-376.84, the EED removes barriers to investment by providing regulatory certainty, liability protection, and streamlined approvals. Environmental remediation is one aspect of the program—Winter Park joins eight neighboring communities (Orlando, Winter Garden, Maitland, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Winter Springs, Sanford, and Fern Park) in offering this proven economic development tool, with over 593 designated Brownfield Areas operating successfully statewide.
Who Qualifies?
The program welcomes commercial property owners, real estate investors, and business operators with properties in the Winter Park CRA. Eligible properties include vacant buildings, underutilized retail or office space, abandoned structures, and properties with actual or perceived environmental concerns. Participants must be current owners or authorized representatives with legitimate redevelopment intent and financial capacity to execute projects.
Benefits
EED participants access state-funded environmental assessments and remediation support, technical guidance from Florida environmental experts, and State incentives and/or local CRA grant opportunities. The program facilitates job growth, leverages existing infrastructure, increases property values, and strengthens the local tax base.
For inquiries or to schedule a consultation, determine if your property qualifies, discuss available incentives, and explore next steps with city staff, contact Kyle Dudgeon, Assistant Director at gro.krapretniwfoytic@noegdudk or 407-599-3225.
The Economic Enhancement District (EED) program is a revitalization initiative focused on supporting rehabilitation of underused or abandoned properties to better serve the community. This program provides reinvestment opportunities within a site or area to facilitate job growth, utilize existing infrastructure, increase the local tax base, and improve the environment. While environmental cleanup may be part of the process, it is only one aspect of the program, as properties within an EED could be eligible for local incentives to encourage redevelopment.
FAQs
- Brownfield Enhancement Area
They are real property with the potential presence of blighted conditions. These include environmental and/or economic limitations which can be correlated to similar conditions within CRA districts. Often these potential limitations complicate business development, property transactions, or overall investment.
Almost every city and county, in both rural and urban areas, have properties under this designation. Rehabilitating and redeveloping properties is necessary to preserve neighborhoods, reduce urban sprawl, and contribute to the economic health of communities. Using this long-provided statute, communities can leverage state funding and consider local options to produce jobs, increase the tax base, and/or add other benefits.
Access the map of Economic Enhancement District (EED).
- Brownfield Enhancement Area
No. An enhancement area does not in any way imply any negative connotation towards value. It only allows access to programming should conditions exist that enable program participation under the statute.
There is no downside to participating in the program.
- Brownfield Enhancement Area
No. While there are federal funds available, they have to be applied for during the regular application cycle as a separate grant proposal. State requirements for example include site specificity such as it must be owned by a municipality or non-profit organization and the applicant shall not have contributed to issues such as contamination. In these cases a minimum of Phase 1 and Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessments must have been conducted on the site to qualify.