Tampa Council Votes Today on $93M Flood Fix for South Tampa — City Says There's No Backup Plan

Tampa City Council members vote Thursday on a $93 million plan to stop the flooding that has swallowed streets in Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines for years, and the city says there is no fallback if the vote fails.

The project would dig a major new stormwater line beneath South Howard Avenue to carry floodwater straight to Tampa Bay. That means road closures along one of South Tampa's busiest commercial corridors for three to four years of construction, a tradeoff that has split the neighborhood down the middle. Residents and nearby medical offices are pushing for a yes vote. Many businesses along South Howard want the council to slow down or find another way.

There isn't another way, according to the city. Brandon Campbell, Tampa's mobility director, told reporters at a City Hall news conference this week that officials studied roughly two dozen alternate routes before settling on South Howard.

"If we could avoid South Howard, we would," Campbell said. "South Howard provides the most direct route to the bay, and it is the most effective and efficient way to move the water out of the neighborhoods."

He said the project has been in the works for about 18 months, since the 2024 hurricane season flooded, damaged or destroyed roughly 300 homes across the two neighborhoods. If council votes it down Thursday, Campbell said, the project stops. There is no Plan B.

What residents are dealing with

David Adams, who lives in one of the affected neighborhoods, described the flooding at the same news conference. He said streets fill with two to three feet of water during ordinary heavy storms, not just hurricanes, and that happened twice in August alone. He said families with children have described the flooding as a source of real anxiety, not just an inconvenience.

City officials describe Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines as low-lying bowls that back up even in moderate rain, a design flaw baked into the century-old drainage system beneath the neighborhoods. The city's project page lists the work as 60 percent through design, with an estimated cost of $100.4 million once engineering and other costs are folded in on top of the roughly $93 million construction price council is voting on. Construction is currently planned to start in 2027 and wrap by 2030, funded through stormwater bonds, stormwater assessments, the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority and a state resilience grant.

Why South Howard businesses are fighting it

The opposition is organized under the SoHo Business Alliance, a group representing restaurants and businesses along the corridor. The alliance has argued the construction disruption would cost jobs and revenue up and down South Howard, and it has pushed back hard on the city's cost and benefit numbers, at one point suing the city over public records related to the project's planning.

Luis Calvo, office manager at a pediatric neurology practice in one of the flood-prone neighborhoods, made the counterargument at this week's news conference. He said staff have been unable to leave the office and patients unable to reach it during storms, and that the stakes go beyond property damage.

"We cannot put a price on health," Calvo said, "and not going through with this project will put lives at stake, put children's lives at stake."

Council's decision Thursday will not end the debate over how South Tampa balances flood relief against the cost of disrupting a commercial corridor for years. But it will decide whether the city moves forward with the only route its engineers say will work, or starts the search over with the same flooding problem still sitting in Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines. The city has not said what, if anything, would replace this plan if council votes no.

Want more on how this story unfolds? You can find continuing coverage at Tampa Community Website, follow updates on our Facebook page, or join the conversation in our Community Forum. For more on decisions shaping the city, check out our government and politics coverage and our latest news stories.