Tampa is strong and resilient, mayor says in State of the City virtual driving tour

TAMPA, Fla. - Mayor Jane Castor conducted her State of the City address virtually; broadcasting it via Facebook during a driving tour of Tampa.

It was a unique address, filmed like she was giving someone a tour of the city and highlighting all of its successes over the past year.

She showed the Water Street Project, drove through neighborhoods, showed construction projects, and talked about the city’s housing shortage.

FOX 13 sat down with Mayor Castor to touch on a lot of subjects she covered in her state of the city address.

We asked her about navigating the pandemic. What worked and what didn’t?

"As you’re going through it, you just have to make the best decision with all of the available information at the time and I’m not a fan of looking in the rearview mirror, make the best decision you can and you move on to the next issue," Mayor Castor said.

Mayor Castor also talked about her goals to combat the city’s affordable housing shortage.

"It’s magnified when you’re looking at workforce housing or affordable housing so I have a very robust goal of 10,000 affordable units by 2027 and I have no doubt that we’re going to be able to reach that goal and hopefully surpass it," said Mayor Castor.

During 2020, the city permitted $4.5 billion in developments, which is $1.9 billion more than in 2019. Mayor Castor says that reflects Tampa’s growth, with people and businesses moving to town.