ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For sale signs, empty lots and construction crews are a common sight throughout the Shore Acres neighborhood in St. Petersburg. Visible reminders of the frustration residents have felt for years over persistent flooding.
Tampa Bay 28's Jada Williams has told countless stories about flooding in this neighborhood over the years. Now, the city is taking steps to address it.
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Kevin Batdorf, immediate past president of the Shore Acres Civic Association, said the flooding has been a near-constant presence in the neighborhood during certain times of year, and that residents have been pushing for a fix for a long time.
"Imagine three to five days a week during the summer, or when the tides are high, when the tides become king tides. We have water in the streets here, so people are driving their cars, vehicles, trying to walk through it. It's just, it doesn't work. So we've asked for a fix for years, and here we are," Batdorf said.
Batdorf, who has lived in Shore Acres since 1986, said the neighborhood's flooding problems go beyond major storms. He drew a clear distinction between the kind of flooding that comes with hurricanes and the kind that shows up on an ordinary day.
"There's a difference between surge flooding and rainy day high tide flooding. This project is going to help improve water in the streets when there is no rain or when it's a heavy rain. It's not going to do anything for surge flooding except remove the water quicker after a storm hits us," Batdorf said.
The toll of recent storms is still visible throughout the neighborhood. Batdorf said hundreds of homes have not yet begun rebuilding, and some homeowners have walked away entirely.
"I don't know the specific number. I do know there are hundreds of homes that have not even started. Some people just left. The banks are going to take some of those back, but there are also hundreds of families that have decided to lift their homes, paying for it out of their own pocket," Batdorf said.
Despite that, Batdorf said he sees signs of hope.
"If you drive through the neighborhood, you see it's a renaissance, and this project gives people more confidence to actually live and build here," Batdorf said.
He said the Shore Acres Civic Association has spent years pushing the city to act, and that this project is the result of that sustained pressure.
"A couple years ago, Shore Acres Civic Association convinced the city that we need help, and they agreed to replace all the existing backflow preventers. That was phase one. This project, according to the city, is phase two. Once it's installed and up and running, then we will look at different areas of the neighborhood that need addressing. They've already got plans for two more pumps to go into the neighborhood," Batdorf said.
The city held a public meeting on the project on March 4, 2026. Batdorf attended and said the turnout reflected how much residents want answers.
"It was very well attended. A lot of Shore Acres residents wanting to know answers as to what this is actually going to do. Is this the final fix? And of course, the answer is no, it's not the final fix, but it's a step in the right direction," Batdorf said.
He said the neighborhood's long history speaks to its resilience and its permanence.
"This neighborhood's been here for over 100 years. We're not going anywhere," Batdorf said.
Now, the city of St. Petersburg's Engineering and Capital Improvements Department is moving forward with plans to install a new underground stormwater pump station near the intersection of Bay Shore Boulevard and Connecticut Avenue NE. The project is scheduled to begin in October 2026 and is expected to take 20 months to complete.
Brejesh Prayman, the city's director of engineering and capital improvements, said the pump station will connect to an existing outfall that will be modified and brought up to current standards.
"What we met last night with the residents on was a new stormwater pump station that will be installed in the vicinity of Bay Shore and Connecticut, in the intersection, generally at that intersection, and then connects to an existing outfall that we will modify and bring up to current standards to convey storm water during heavy rains, and also some high tide conditions where we may experience sunny day flooding and provide a point for safe discharge and mitigating that nuisance flooding, but also some of the higher risk flooding from heavy and intense rain events," Prayman said.
The current stormwater system in the area relies on gravity to move water, but that system is limited when water levels at the discharge point are high. Prayman said the pump station addresses that problem directly.
"By utilizing a pump station system, we are providing for higher volume of capacity in a stormwater system, because now we're pushing against and out against that higher tail water condition, which effectively is no longer impacting our capacity in our stormwater system," Prayman said.
The pump station will house six pumps — four larger pumps and two smaller pumps — installed underground at the intersection. Prayman said the layered design provides operational flexibility.
"It gives us the operational flexibility that in the future, if we do have to take pumps down for maintenance, we can still provide a level of service," Prayman said.
Each of the larger pumps is estimated to be at least 10 to 12 feet tall, though they will be located entirely underground. Once the water is pumped out, an energy-dissipating structure will slow the discharge before it reaches Tampa Bay. Grates will also be installed to prevent trash and debris from flowing into the bay.
The project will also include upsized stormwater conveyance pipes along Connecticut Avenue NE, roadway improvements, a portion of seawall raised as part of the city's sea level rise response, and an elevated electrical building designed to blend into the surrounding neighborhood. The station will also feature backup generators to ensure power remains available during storms.
Prayman said the electrical components are being built to exceed the base flood elevation for the FEMA flood zone in which the station is located, giving the system the resiliency to come back online after a major surge event.
"Once the storm surge recedes, the storm water pump station can come back online," Prayman said.
He acknowledged, however, that the pump station is not designed to prevent surge flooding during extreme storm events.
"The challenge would be surge, because we cannot design for the extreme levels of surge, knowing that there are these lower sections of residential sea walls or public sea walls. There are multiple avenues that surge can be introduced into the surface itself, but what we're really designing for is the actual rain events and mitigating at sea level rise and at higher tide impact," Prayman said.
Prayman said the city plans to communicate all traffic changes in advance through the project website and street signage. Construction activity is expected to take place on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Properties will maintain access throughout the project, though the intersection of Bay Shore and Connecticut will need to be closed during construction due to the size of the pump station installation.
Residents can stay informed by visiting the project website at stpete.org, emailing info@shoreacresresiliency.com or calling 727-386-8279.
For Batdorf, the fight to fix Shore Acres goes beyond this single project. He said the state of St. Petersburg's infrastructure citywide, not just in Shore Acres, is what compelled him to take his advocacy a step further.
"The infrastructure in St. Petersburg, not just Shore Acres, but across St. Petersburg, is in dire straits right now," Batdorf said.
He said that concern and his assessment of the current field of candidates is what pushed him toward a decision he never expected to make.
"I have some specific ideas on how to pay for the infrastructure, on how to fix the issues, and that's why I'm running for mayor. Never thought I would need to do it, but I feel compelled, based on everything that I'm looking at right now. The candidates that have proposed running, I believe I'll be the best candidate for mayor," Batdorf said.
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