The City of Ocala retained FCA (Steven Stainbrook, Principal-in-Charge) to complete a Community Cultural Arts Strategic Plan. Planning efforts were administered through the city’s Cultural Arts and Sciences Division (CAS) in partnership with the Marion Cultural Alliance (MCA). Plan goals and strategies were grounded in a qualitative and quantitative data-centered process that included a thorough inventory, market assessment, peer benchmarking, and visioning based on best practices and a multi-pronged community engagement effort. Over the course of the study’s Phase 1, over 1,000 touchpoints were created through stakeholder interviews, public open houses, community events, venue tours, and a formal survey. The 10-year strategic road map identified the city’s cultural resources, limiting gaps and providing phased programming, organization, marketing, funding, and capital projects that are economically viable. The visioning and implementation phases included a wide range of recommendations for specific improvements to public spaces connecting downtown to the adjacent Tuscawilla neighborhood, combined with incentives that leverage retail, residential spaces, live/work spaces, and ancillary cultural arts uses.
