Tallahassee restaurants we wish made USA Today Restaurant of the Year
Every year USA Today releases its best restaurants list, here is a few Tallahassee restaurants we think should be added to it.
- A citizen advisory committee approved a $30,000 funding request for a public art installation at the SoMo Walls property.
- The project involves stacked shipping containers for murals, separate from previous funding the site received.
- The SoMo Walls development has already received approximately $2.5 million in public dollars.
- The funding request sparked debate among board members and residents over the use of public money.
A $30,000 funding request raising both questions and support is moving forward following a lengthy discussion at Monday’s Greater Frenchtown/Southside Citizen Advisory Committee meeting.
The CAC Board voted unanimously to greenlight Knight Creative Communities Institute’s request to use the money toward a 2,720 square-foot public art installation: stacked shipping containers on the SoMo Walls property, along the site’s perimeter. The move stands to benefit the businessman, who up until last night, chaired the citizens committee.
The funding, while modest in size, sparked debate since the SoMo Walls site already received assistance by the Tallahassee Community Redevelopment Agency in recent years.
CAC Board member Katrina Tuggerson, president of the Capital City Chamber of Commerce, wanted to know if the CRA could give an additional $30,000 toward a project that’s already received funding. She read aloud language from a 2020 document that she said included details about walls being used for an art feature.
The proposed murals were not part of the original assistance from the CRA, said CRA Executive Director Stephen Cox. He said the original ask and what was before the CAC board were two different requests
“One of the things that we required from the owner was to construct the wall,” said Cox, adding a proposed mural concept wasn’t part of the original project plan. “The intention was always to put murals on the walls. But as far as what our assistance was, we agreed that walls were going to be a requirement from the property owner because they indicated that was part of the concept.”
The SoMo Walls property, which has previously received roughly $2.5 million in public dollars in recent years, transformed a 2.3-acre site into a retail and dining destination at South Monroe between Oakland Avenue and Harrison Street.
It’s owned by developer and political fundraiser Bugra Demirel, who received $1.8 million in a special arrangement from the Intergovernmental Agency, overseeing Blueprint tax funds at the Office of Economic Vitality. The project received $776,000 in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) from the CRA; $560,000 in grants and $216,000 as a reimbursement, as previously reported.
Demirel, who chairs the CAC Board, recused himself from the actual vote but did decide to chime in after listening to comments and concerns raised by board members and residents.
He broke down some of the financing based on CRA assistance and also said he’s planning to pitch in $30,000 toward KCCI’s project through his Cascades Gardens LLC. He said the previous grant funding was 10% of the project cost ($560,000 from $5.6 million) and $216,000 to put the utilities underground.
“The project ended up being an $11.5 million project,” he said, adding the actual cost came to $7.8 million after the public assistance was taken into account. “I just wanted to clarify that it was a redevelopment grant based on the cost and based on the overall improvements on the property now.”
He went on to say SoMo Walls “did say that these walls were going to be assigned to the artists” and added $30,000 has already been spent on the property and another $12,000 was spent on sculptures.
“The cost of installing the artwork continues to be in our budget,” Demirel said. “That’s the reason we are participating with another $30,000 separate KCCI project. I just want to bring it up that we have invested. We are continuing to invest on the artwork, and this $30,000 commitment that we made to KCCI is part of it.”
Mixed bag of support, criticism
Several residents came out for and against the funding request.
Sam Varn, a resident who spoke at the meeting and a member of the 2026 Catalyst Team for KKCI, said this proposal isn’t just a mural.
“It’s about supporting the southside CRA goals. The goals we support through this are beautification, economic activity and community pride,” Varn said. “From the Catalyst Team’s perspective, this project is not just decorative art but a practical tool to bring space to life.”
KCCI Executive Director Betsy Couch said the nonprofit’s projects in the past have had an economic impact of more than $1 billion, adding they’ve “enhanced public spaces.”
“What you will see if you look at KCCI projects, we always incorporate the work of local artists in that neighborhood first,” Couch said. “The community is always involved, and quite frankly I think that’s why our projects are beloved.”
She said that project costs for previous projects didn’t utilize CRA funding. But, with the increase cost of supplies and inflation, Couch said it’s necessary to tap into CRA money to make the project “come to life.”
Gerri Seay, who formerly owned the B Sharps Jazz Cafe in Frenchtown and an outspoken critic of local government spending, questioned the merits of who will ultimately benefit from funding proposals like this and said it’s not the residents of Frenchtown or the south side. She suggested the main benefit will go to Demirel and his restaurant and distillery on the property.
“The poor people, who are making $25,000 a year for a family of four don’t get a grocery store, get a bank, they don’t even get a shoe shop,” Seay said. “So, let’s be very clear about what’s happening with this money. This is for others. It’s not for the people.”
After the meeting, Seay said she wasn’t surprised to see the board’s support of the funding request but also said “they know it’s wrong headed.”
“Yet, they probably have some other guideline that they have to obey, not us,” she said. “Somebody else is in charge and somebody else wants it done …”
Correction: Sam Varn was misidentified in a previous version of this article.
Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at [email protected] and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
