Eau Gallie Redevelopment in Melbourne, Florida, in 2026

Redevelopment in Eau Gallie is paid for mainly by the Olde Eau Gallie Riverfront Community Redevelopment Area, a Melbourne tax increment district created on May 22, 2001, with the EGAD Main Street program working alongside it.

The City of Melbourne set up the district under authority granted by Brevard County, and it covers 297.20 acres of the old Eau Gallie downtown, which joined Melbourne after a 1969 vote (City of Melbourne). The district captures both city and county taxes on property values that exceeded the 2001 base level, and the money pays for capital projects and economic incentive programs (Olde Eau Gallie Riverfront CRA).

Only part of a property tax bill feeds the fund. Melbourne says the increment comes solely from the city and county general fund levies, so taxes collected by the School Board and by any special district are left out of the TIF process (City of Melbourne CRAs). Two districts remain on the city list, the Melbourne Downtown CRA and the Eau Gallie one; a third, on Babcock Street, expired at its sunset on September 9, 2024 (City of Melbourne).

One date conflict sits in the official record. The Florida Department of State wrote in October 2024 that the Eau Gallie Community Redevelopment Area was established in 2000 and that Eau Gallie became a Waterfronts Florida Partnership community in 2003 (Florida Department of State). The City of Melbourne, which governs the district, gives May 22, 2001. Neither source explains the difference, so both dates are reported here as each agency states them.

The Eau Gallie CRA has built or improved Eau Gallie Square, bought the Highland Avenue parking lot, rebuilt the Eau Gallie Pier and paid for sidewalks, benches, signs and facade grants.

The city lists those results as the products of the redevelopment district on its CRA page (City of Melbourne). The table groups them with the work the city says is next.

Source for every row: City of Melbourne Olde Eau Gallie Riverfront CRA page. The city page does not attach dates or dollar amounts to the completed items; it points readers to the CRA Annual Report and Audit for that detail.

The current spending priorities posted for the Eau Gallie CRA are lighting on Highland Avenue and Eau Gallie Square, public parking infrastructure and crosswalks on Pineapple Avenue.

The Pineapple Avenue work is a partnership with the Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization on what the city calls the Pineapple Avenue Complete Street project, meant to provide crosswalks based on an adopted master plan (City of Melbourne). Crosswalks are the listed scope; the city page names no construction date for them, so the timing of the Pineapple Avenue work is not yet public on the CRA page.

The city posts the money side as well. The CRA page now carries an adopted budget for October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, next to the earlier proposed version, Resolution No. 4439 with its attachment, a 2026 County Delegation of Authority and Ordinance No. 2026-20 (Olde Eau Gallie Riverfront CRA resources). Those files are PDF and Office documents, so this guide does not quote their figures; the CRA fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30.

A practical note for property owners: proposed plan changes start with an advisory body rather than the council. The Olde Eau Gallie Riverfront CRA Advisory Committee advises the council and prepares recommended plans and modifications for the area, and its members must live in Melbourne or do business in the redevelopment area (City of Melbourne). It meets in the Council Chamber at City Hall, though the city says dates, times and location can change and appear on each posted agenda.

A public private partnership proposal from Melbourne Hospitality Holdings, LLC went to two Melbourne public hearings, on October 28, 2025 and December 9, 2025, and the city CRA page posts no final decision as of October 18, 2026.

The city describes the first item as the First Public Hearing for the P3 Unsolicited Detailed Proposal, held October 28, 2025, and says City Council considered a revised proposal at a public hearing on December 9, 2025 (City of Melbourne).

Because the CRA page lists no outcome after the December 9, 2025 hearing, anyone tracking the hotel should read the council agendas and minutes rather than rely on the CRA summary. The CRA board is the Melbourne City Council itself, so any action on the proposal appears on a regular council agenda; the city warns that CRA business may not appear on every one (Olde Eau Gallie Riverfront CRA). This guide does not state the site, room count or terms of the proposal because no official page read for it lists them.

The Florida Department of State credits the EGAD Main Street program, launched in 2010, with more than $1.3 million of private and over $2 million of public investment, plus 45 new businesses and over 300 jobs.

Those figures come from the state release that picked the district as Florida Main Street Program of the Month for October 2024, which also records the 2024 Sunshine Booster Award for the Sounds of the Lagoon Project (Florida Department of State). Six years earlier the same department named EGAD the September 2018 Community of the Month and described a mix of more than 100 businesses and an Outdoor Museum of more than 30 murals (Florida Department of State 2018).

EGAD Main Street publishes matching figures on its own undated impact page: $1.3 million private, well over $2 million public, over 45 new businesses and over 300 new employees, for a combined $3.2 million in reinvestment (EGAD Main Street). By its own account, Highland Avenue vacancy was around 30 percent when the district was designated in 2010, tax incremental funding has grown 57 percent since then, and the program has won over $22,000 in state and local grants. These are the organization's own estimates, not audited city figures, and no newer official count was found on October 18, 2026.

The state program around EGAD has also grown: Florida Main Street oversaw 49 communities in 2018 and 57 in 2024, both under the Division of Historical Resources (2018 release; 2024 release).

Exterior changes to commercial buildings and signs inside the Eau Gallie CRA need approval from Melbourne's Historic and Architectural Review Board before work starts.

Its nine seats are seven regular members plus two alternates, and its regular session falls on the third Wednesday of every month at 6 p.m., held in the council chamber of City Hall (City of Melbourne HARB). It reviews the exterior appearance of non-residential buildings in the city's redevelopment districts, and its rules call for one architect and one contractor among the members. Design guidelines and the application are posted on the board page (City of Melbourne).

Historic designation adds a second layer for some buildings. Local designations since 2006 total six individual resources plus one district containing 12 additional contributing resources; designated properties must meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, and a Certificate of Appropriateness, issued at no cost, is required before a building permit for exterior changes (City of Melbourne Historic Preservation). The city list includes the Eau Gallie Yacht Club on Houston Street and the Rossetter House, whose listing covers parcels on both Houston Street and Highland Avenue.

Businesses in the CRA may be allowed outdoor seating, outdoor display and an A frame sign if they meet eligibility rules. The Community Development Department handles those questions at 321-608-7500, at 900 E. Strawbridge Ave. (City of Melbourne). Last verified: October 18, 2026, with fresh reads of the Melbourne CRA, HARB, advisory committee and preservation pages plus the two state Main Street releases.