TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — A nearly $100 million flood relief project will move forward in South Tampa after a narrow city council vote, with flood victims celebrating and business owners vowing to continue fighting.
Tampa City Council approved the South Howard Flood Relief Project in a narrow vote, greenlighting a nearly $100 million infrastructure effort aimed at reducing severe flooding in South Tampa neighborhoods including Parkland Estates and Palma Pines.
Council members Bill Carlson, Guido Maniscalco, and Naya Young voted no. Council members Charlie Miranda, Lyn Hurtak, Luis Viera and Alan Clendenin voted yes.
WATCH: Flood relief project passes Tampa City Council, opponents explore legal action
What the project does
The project will create an underground river using 10x10-foot underground box culverts to move millions of gallons of stormwater out of affected neighborhoods and directly into the bay. The total project cost is $100.4 million, with a guaranteed maximum price contract of $92.7 million with Kimmins Contracting.
The primary feature is a 10x10 gravity box terminating at the AMI Pond. The project also includes secondary pipelines connecting the Selma Expressway and a 72-inch pipeline relieving Parkland Estates. City officials described it as a legacy project that will eventually serve downstream neighborhoods.
The project is designed for a five-year, eight-hour storm, which is the city engineering standard. That is equivalent to 5.3 inches of rain in eight hours. City Infrastructure and Mobility Administrator Brad Baird told the council that just six weeks before the vote, a storm smaller than the design storm produced significant flooding in the affected neighborhoods.
According to the city, more than 1,000 homes will benefit from reduced street flooding. Nearly 100 homes and businesses will avoid structural damage during strong summer storms. If another Hurricane Milton-level storm were to hit, structural flooding would be reduced by up to 70%, saving more than 220 homes and businesses.
Baird also pushed back on repeated claims that Phase 1 of the project would provide no relief for Palma Pines, calling that assertion "simply not true."
"You've heard the rhetoric that Phase 1 provides no relief for Palma Pines. I want to stress that that is simply not true. You still have some street flooding, but no structures are flooded," Baird said.
Baird also addressed concerns that storm surge would render the project ineffective, saying that even during Hurricane Helene, when bay elevation reached 8 feet, the project would have only seen an 8% reduction in flow, with 92% of flow continuing at full speed.
What happens next
Members of the SoHo Business Alliance say they are not done fighting the project and plan to pursue legal action.
City staff says construction will likely begin after Gasparilla.
The timeline carries significant financial stakes. According to project supporters, $7.7 million in design costs has already been spent. A $10 million state grant was awarded specifically to this project, and a potential $25 million additional grant is also tied to it moving forward. Supporters also cited $21 million pledged by FDOT and the Crosstown Expressway, and the Kimmins Guaranteed Maximum price contract that supporters say was set to expire in October. Supporters argued that a no vote would forfeit those funds and that any future solution would cost more.
The city's business assistance plan
Baird outlined a business assistance plan that he said has never been used on a city project before. Construction will be limited to sections of approximately 400 to 600 feet across 24 different phases, with areas restored and reopened as quickly as possible behind each completed section.
The plan includes a dedicated four-person business support team to work directly with merchants to solve construction-related issues, including coordinating and handling deliveries. The city also committed to clear signage, detour management, construction vibration monitoring, maintained pedestrian access, reduced construction noise, marketing support, and a SoHo Open campaign to help smaller businesses.
Baird said the city will conduct pre- and post-construction inspections of each structure along Howard Avenue to document any damage and determine remedies.
The city's rebuttal of alternative routes
Baird told the council the city evaluated 24 alternatives, including five alternatives added by the SoHo Business Alliance, and that every single one of the Business Alliance alternatives was more expensive, less feasible to build, more disruptive, and less effective than the proposed route.
"The proposed plan easily protects more businesses, homes, and families than any other alternative," Baird said.
Baird specifically addressed the SoHo Business Alliance's alternative, which included upgrading the Cleveland system and routing construction away from South Howard Avenue. He said the alternative does not achieve the project's flood relief goals and does not come close.
The alternative route is 35% longer, which Baird said means more time and more cost. It runs through neighborhoods, a route city council has already denied. It would require tree removals. It relies on three vaults and pump stations with 12-foot-deep construction. Construction of one vault would require demolition of a parking deck not owned by the city. Part of the route runs next to CSX tracks, which Baird said is very unlikely to be permittable. He also noted the route was studied internally in 2019 and 2020 and rejected for the same reasons.
Baird pointed to the Dale Mabry and Henderson project as a comparable success story, saying that flooding at that intersection was fixed and has not returned. He said box culverts and large trench boxes were used in that project and in five other city success stories.
The case for the project
Residents from Parkland Estates and Palma Pines described years of repeated flooding that they said has become unbearable.
David Adams, a Parkland Estates resident, told the council the flooding is not a hurricane problem. It is a chronic one.
"The flooding in Parkland Estates and Palma Pines is unbearable. It's two to three feet of water at the street level, and it's happened four times in the last 40 days. This is not a hurricane problem. This flooding problem must be fixed," Adams said.
Adams argued the project is generational in scope, saying it would eventually tie in multiple neighborhoods and provide benefits to the city for years to come. He also pushed back on alternative proposals from opponents.
"The alternative suggested by the opposition is not effective, and will include laying pipes through Parkland Estates and through New Suburb Beautiful. Council's already denied a solution that goes through the neighborhoods. This is a commercial project that needs to go down commercial roads and through commercial districts," Adams said.
Bill Kohlega, a Palma Pines resident, told the council his family's townhome took a foot of water during Milton. He said twice in August, less than two inches of rain put the roads in front of his house underwater, cutting parents off from nearby schools.
"We have all paid our taxes and the stormwater fees. Stormwater systems are one of the most fundamental services a government should provide," Kohlega said.
Beth Feinl, a professional engineer who lives in Palma Pines, said she was recovering from her final surgery for breast cancer when her home flooded.
"When my home flooded, I was recovering from my final surgery for breast cancer. I mention that because it changed what flooding meant to me. At the time when I needed my home to be a safe place to recover, it wasn't," she said.
She acknowledged the legitimate questions raised about costs, construction impacts and business concerns, but said the problem has been studied, modeled and documented.
"This is an opportunity for you to do the right thing by your constituents. Not because the project is inexpensive; it isn't. Not because the construction is easy; it's not. But because this is a known problem and continuing to live with it has a cost too. Residents and businesses have already been paying that cost," Feinl said.
Ashley Moran told the council her one-story home, not located in a flood zone, flooded completely during Milton. She said she was trapped with her elderly in-laws and dogs for 9 hours.
"I don't want to have to sell my little home. I don't want that to be my only solution. We just want the chance to live safely in our homes," Moran said.
Dr. Mark Abdoney, whose surgical facility has flooded twice in nine years, once in 2015 and again during Milton in 2024, warned the council of a potential health crisis if the project does not move forward.
"This project, if it does not go through, it's going to leave the city with a potential health crisis of epic proportions, should during a hurricane or some other flood event, HCA hospital shut down. Not to mention ambulance access to the hospital during floods," Abdoni said.
Elizabeth Dinwoody urged the community to support South Howard businesses throughout construction, framing the project as something the city could get through together.
"It's the city that has to fix this problem. It's years, decades, that this project has been studied. It's not a coincidence that all of the projects point to Howard," she said.
The case against the project
Business owners along South Howard Avenue painted a stark picture of what construction would mean for their livelihoods, their employees and the broader South Tampa economy.
Linda Meisner, co-owner of Body by Design on West Dekle Street, said city staff has been unable to answer basic questions about how her clients, employees, and business will function during construction.
"City staff will not meet with us and cannot tell us how to access our business during the project. They have no answer for how our clients or employees will reach the business, or where everyone will park when they can't reach our own parking," Meisner said.
Another businessowners also raised concerns about potential structural damage to her century-old bungalow from construction vibrations, saying the city's response has been inadequate.
"Both the city and staff repeatedly refuse to answer questions about what happens if our 100-year-old bungalow is damaged by the vibrations of the digging the massive trenches nearby. They have said we will need to get an inspection before the project and another after the project at our own expense to prove that we have damage. That is ridiculous," she said.
Shawn Routten, general manager of the Epicurean and a member of the SoHo Alliance, said the financial damage to his business has already begun before construction has even started.
"Our revenue loss is already happening, and we haven't started the project. And it's coming from our neighbors, the people that we work with, live with," Routen said.
Routten said he recently lost a wedding booking because of uncertainty surrounding the project, and that a $2.2 million annual airline contract requires no construction within a half mile of where crews stay. He said 11 professional sports teams that spend over $1 million per year at the Epicurean would also likely take their business elsewhere.
"I'm now losing weddings. I'm now losing that contract. None of them will support us again. They're not going to come into a war zone," Routten said.
Routten said the SoHo Business Alliance conducted its own economic impact study and that the number was significant. He also estimated approximately 1,200 employees could be laid off.
"No one did an economic impact study. We did. It was a very big number," Routten said.
David Laxer, co-owner of Berns Steakhouse and Berns Fine Wines and Spirits, said his business employs close to 300 people, many of whom have been with the company for 20, 30, and 40 years. He said tipped and hourly employees could see a 25% to 50% drop in income during construction.
"No one knows their business like a business owner, and to tell them otherwise is disrespectful," Laxer said.
Laxer also warned that the damage would not end when construction does.
"The pain will end after construction is complete is also false. Our customers will develop new dining patterns and group business will settle into other restaurants, other hotels, and all those years of goodwill will be lost," Laxer said.
John Lister, executive chef at Ava on South Howard Avenue and a fourth-generation Tampa native, was direct.
"There are multiple businesses that will fail. We will fail. We won't survive this. This is too difficult," Lister said.
Anthony Chicklowski, representing CRG Group and local brands, said his company has operated on South Howard for 30 years and employs 600 people.
Patrick Shamino, land use chair for the Historic Hyde Park Neighborhood Association, said the city has never presented a comprehensive stormwater plan and that dedicating this much funding to a single project would postpone or cancel other stormwater projects throughout the city.
"Tampa does not maintain its existing stormwater infrastructure. We've asked for a comprehensive plan. It's never been presented," Shamino said.
The council's deliberation
Councilwoman Hurtak raised the question of whether the Broadway Avenue project, which East Tampa residents had advocated for, would still be funded if the South Howard project moved forward. City CFO Dennis Rojaro confirmed that while the city had intended to use approximately $1 million from that project's available balance for the South Howard project, a way had been found to proceed with the Broadway Avenue project without that funding.
Hurtak said she could not conduct a full economic impact analysis of the project's opponents without a comparable study of what flooding has already cost the affected neighborhoods, the hospital, and its patients.
"To be able to use a number like that, I need both," Hurtak said.
She framed flood relief as a core function of city government and said hospital access was a non-negotiable concern.
"Not being able to access a hospital is just not okay. Anything we do, we have to be able to access a hospital. This is literally why we exist. Cities exist to solve the problems of infrastructure for neighborhoods and businesses," Hurtak said.
Even some of the yes votes were not enthusiastic. Council Chair Alan Clendenin described the vote as one of the most difficult decisions he has faced since joining the council, saying he was up at 2:30 a.m. wrestling with it.
He said he challenged the cost and assumptions of the project, examined the engineering and flooding data, and listened carefully to both supporters and opponents, including residents and businesses along South Howard Avenue who raised concerns about construction impacts, parking, deliveries, traffic and whether their businesses could survive the disruption.
Clendenin said he kept returning to one question throughout the process.
"Was there, is there another way? Is there a less expensive or less disruptive alternative that provides the protection this community needs. I really wanted that answer to be yes," Clendenin said.
He acknowledged unresolved uncertainty involving the CSX railway but said difficult decisions rarely come with every uncertainty eliminated.
"Doing nothing is also a decision. We know homes and businesses are vulnerable to flooding. We know streets can become impassable, and we know severe flooding can affect people's ability to move safely through a city and reach critical services," Clendenin said.
Clendenin framed flood protection not as an infrastructure issue but as a public safety issue, putting it alongside police, fire and emergency response as a core responsibility of city government.
"To those residents and business owners, I want you to know this. I heard you," Clendenin said. "Your concerns made me dig deeper. They made me ask more questions, and they made this decision much harder. But we weren't elected only to make the easy decisions. We're elected to make the difficult ones based on the facts before us and what we believe is in the best interests of the people that we serve."
Councilman Viera also voted yes, describing the decision as deeply personal. He said his perspective shifted after Hurricane Milton, when he held a community meeting for flood victims.
"I did a community meeting for flood victims, and a lot of folks who had briefly spoken with me on this issue came there dressed up in T-shirts and looking like they just came out of Noah's Ark, and it was like a week later, and "my heart went out to them," Viera said.
Viera said he could not, in good conscience, abandon a neighborhood to repeated flooding.
"As a local government, we can't abandon a neighborhood in effect to be flooded. Whenever there's heavy rain in this area, it gets flooded. Are we just going to say no? We're just going to give this up. I can't do that in good conscience," Viera said.
Councilman Carlson, who voted no, pointed to flood maps showing that some Palma Pines homes would still flood even after the project is complete and argued that hundreds or thousands of families in other parts of Tampa, including East Tampa, North Tampa, and New Tampa, would have no path to flood relief for the next five to six years because of the cost of this project.
"Every one of those dots represents a family that flooded, and what we're doing is we're saying all of those families except this one area has no chance of getting any help. All those hundreds or thousands of families have no chance of getting help in the next five or six years because the city is overpaying for a bad project," Carlson said.
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