Tampa Starts $27 Million Conversion of Vacant Howard Avenue Warehouse Into Police Forensics and Evidence Hub

Construction has started on a long-empty city warehouse at 5005 N. Howard Ave., which is being converted into the Tampa Police Department's forensics labs, evidence vaults and vehicle impound lot. The city and TPD marked the start of the roughly $27 million adaptive reuse project on Aug. 11, and neighbors along that stretch of Howard should expect construction traffic and activity at the site until it wraps up, which the city expects in May 2028.

The point of the project is boring and important: right now, evidence and the people who process it are scattered. Forensic and evidence operations sit in separate spots, including downtown headquarters and the McKay Bay area, so material has to be driven across town before it can be examined. Acting Police Chief Brett Owen said consolidating everything into one building removes those cross-town transfers, tightens chain of custody and should cut how long investigations take to turn around.

What the building will hold

The existing warehouse runs about 38,000 square feet. Crews are renovating that shell and adding 7,300 square feet of new space. When it opens, it will house the Evidence Section, the Forensic Investigations Unit, the impound lot and the staff workspace tied to all three.

Inside, the plans call for high-density evidence vaults, secure intake bays and long-term storage racking built for a large volume of evidence, contraband and property. Separate contamination-controlled rooms are designed for ballistics, latent print work, and biological and digital evidence examination. Labs get their own ventilation and air-filtration systems for chemical safety, plus continuous power so a outage does not put stored evidence at risk.

The impound piece spills onto adjoining city property on North Albany Avenue. That lot is engineered for more than 150 vehicles at a time, with perimeter fencing and specialized paving for processing and storage.

How the price came down

Early estimates put the job in the $30 million to $40 million range. After bids came in, the total landed near $27 million, with the construction contract itself at $21.8 million. Tampa City Council voted unanimously in April 2026 to authorize that contract with Kokolakis Contracting, the lowest of three bidders. Mayor Jane Castor pointed to the competitive bidding as evidence the city held the line on taxpayer costs while still getting a modern facility.

The work is financed with non-ad valorem bond proceeds through the city's capital improvement program, along with phased allocations and reimbursements tied to a later phase. About 28% of the contracting and buildout work is committed to certified local firms. Among the participating companies: Architects Design Group, AJ Plumbing, Harmonics Electronics, Howard Associates Architects, Jones Edmunds, MB Drywall Solutions, Pye Barker Fire & Safety, Taimen Madison Lawn Care and Vertical Earth.

Reusing what the city already owns

The building was already Tampa's. Rather than buy land and put up something new, the city is gutting a vacant structure it has been carrying on its books and engineering it to current law enforcement standards. That is the trade the city made to get the number down.

The Howard Avenue announcement landed in a busy week on the city's news page. Also posted: an update showing the West Riverwalk section along the University of Tampa campus is a few months from completion, and a traffic advisory for the A.E.A.O.N.M.S. Imperial Session parade downtown.

The city has not released a schedule for individual construction phases at the Howard Avenue site, or said when TPD units will begin physically relocating. That move happens closer to the May 2028 completion date. Until then, the practical change for the area is the construction itself: crews, equipment and truck traffic at the 5000 block of North Howard and the adjacent Albany Avenue parcel.

For more Tampa news, visit Tampa Community Website, follow us on Facebook, and join the conversation in our Community Forum. You can read more public safety stories and keep up with city government coverage as this project moves ahead.