Flagler Property Deal Revives Old Questions About Pompano CRA, Former Consultant

By Attiyya Atkins

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — A pair of proposed improvement grants for a property in Pompano Beach’s Old Town district sparked a much larger conversation Tuesday about redevelopment, private investment and the line between public service and private opportunity.

The Pompano Beach Community Redevelopment Agency considered two grants totaling $62,559.32 for the commercial property at 120-122 N. Flagler Ave., now owned by Old Town Center LLC.

The CRA agenda called for up to $49,400 for exterior improvements and another $13,159.32 toward interior improvements. City documents say the work could include stucco and masonry repairs, waterproofing, roof repairs, painting, plumbing, electrical and mechanical upgrades and other renovations intended to make the property more attractive to commercial tenants.

But Commissioner Beverly Perkins raised questions about the property’s history and its ties to former CRA consultant Kim Briesemeister and Redevelopment Management Associates, or RMA.

The history stretches back more than a decade.

Florida corporate records show Briesemeister and RMA principal Chris Brown as managers of Old Towne Flagler LLC, an entity created in January 2015. The company was associated with property at 122 N. Flagler Ave., according to city business records.

At the time, RMA was under contract to manage Pompano Beach’s CRA and played a major role in shaping redevelopment plans for the city.

The private property investments of RMA’s principals became a source of controversy in Pompano Beach years ago, with commissioners and residents questioning whether redevelopment consultants should be investing personally in areas they were helping the city revitalize.

RMA terminated its CRA management contract in 2018. In announcing its departure, the firm cited what it described as an increasingly hostile political environment surrounding CRA meetings. Pompano Beach subsequently moved CRA operations in-house.

Today, the Flagler property sits in the middle of a dramatically different Old Town.

The Soulful Steep, a tea house, salt cave and emporium, operates at 122 N. Flagler Ave. The business is part of the city’s broader Old Town redevelopment area, which includes restaurants, cultural venues, public spaces and new residential development.

That history made Tuesday’s discussion about more than the roughly $62,000 in proposed CRA assistance.

Resident Jocelyn Jackson, who identified herself as a property owner, offered another perspective during public comment: real estate investors purchase property with the expectation that it will appreciate and eventually generate a return.

Private investment is a central goal of a CRA. The harder question is how cities ensure the people helping create that opportunity—and the public—operate under rules that are transparent, consistent and understood by everyone.

Villij News is continuing to review property and corporate records connected to the Flagler Avenue transaction.