Infrastructure Upgrade Intiative Infrastructure in South Florida low income neighborhoods has been allowed to deteriorate. Water and sewer systems, in particular, are inadequate and need to be rebuilt. A lot of the present system is antiquated and is at or near full capacity. Development is hindered because the cost of upgrading the infrastructure is typically placed on the back of the developer. Doing development in inner city neighborhoods is difficult at best. Added costs to a project for water and sewer make many projects unfeasible. The South Florida Community Develoment Coalition proposes an "Infrastructure Upgrade Initiative" involving a significant increase in spending on the upgrade of decrepit infrastructure.The Initiative calls for a multiyear budgeting of capital improvement expenditures to pay for the infrastructure investment. These neighborhoods should be made a priority for public sector Infrastructure investment. A high priority should be expediting "lift station" repair in these communities (a major bottleneck to development affecting large geographic areas). Financing Mechanisms: Consideration should be given to the use of the same types of public financing mechanisms as have been used for arena and stadium financing as well as the recent $45 million investment by the County in the proposed Performing Arts Center (which will directly adjoin Overtown without having first substantially improved living conditions for Overtown's residents. Have the Coalition's proposed "Neighborhood Development Zones" be designated as "Tax Increment Districts" in order to provide a dedicated income stream to help pay the debt service incurred for the infrastructure investment. Large-scale commercial development has an impact on the affordability of housing. The County should require developers of buildings larger than 50,000 square feet to build either affordable housing or pay an "in-lieu" fee of $5 per square foot for the upgrade of zones infrastructure. A revenue sharing formula should be implemented wherein County revenue is shared between richer and poorer neighborhoods so as to help pay for the infrastructure investment Fines collected as a result of code enforcement activities in the Neighborhood Develoment Zones should be placed into a trust fund and used to help pay for the cost of the infrastructure upgrade.