The City of Fort Myers created the Downtown Redevelopment Agency (DRA) in 1984 to combat the deteriorating conditions within the downtown commercial area. Originally established as an Independent Special District, the City Council appointed itself the governing body of the City's Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), under the auspices of Florida Statute Chapter 163, in 1988 and the DRA then became a division of         the CRA. Currently, the City Council, along with the Mayor, serves as the Community Redevelopment Agency Board.

The role of the DRA was expanded in the early 2000's to manage the City's twelve other redevelopment districts. As a result, the name was changed to the Fort Myers Redevelopment Agency (FMRA) to better reflect redevelopment efforts throughout the City.  The FMRA currently oversees fourteen redevelopment districts within the City limits.