Tampa’s State of the City focused on reflection, hope and unity: ‘We are Tampa strong’

Castor highlights progress in State of the City

FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa Mayor Jane Castor delivered her State of the City address on Monday morning.

Back-to-back hurricanes

The backstory:

The press conference began with a video documenting last year’s back-to-back hurricanes, devastation and recovery.

According to Castor, first responders went to nearly 200 emergency calls during Hurricane Helene, rescued 52 residents and eight pets from rising water and put out fires.

During Hurricane Milton, Tampa’s emergency personnel handled more than 15,000 calls. During the height of the storm, she said they rescued 15 people who were trapped inside a home that was crushed by a large tree.

Recovery and resilience

Local perspective:

Castor stressed that though Tampa residents are in recovery, we must be resilient because more storms are coming.

She said the city is being proactive and working to put itself in the best position possible and pointed to investing $94M in wastewater upgrades. The city is also reinforcing seawalls and modernizing the energy grid.

Castor admitted that all of this is disruptive because it means digging up roads, rerouting services and blocking streets.

Tampa's State of the City address

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor delivers her State of the City address.

However, she said the temporary inconvenience will be worth it in the long run.

One of her first priorities as mayor was to launch the pipes program and, so far, the city has replaced 62 miles of aging waterlines and 209 miles of deteriorated wastewater lines, which she says saves millions of dollars.

"We’re not just fixing pipes, we’re future-proofing Tampa," Castor said.

The city also created a disaster assistance fund to help residents recover from the storms.

The future of Tampa

Dig deeper:

Castor said she expected Tampa to be a different city over a decade but did not think it would happen so fast.

"The future came fast and Tampa rose to meet it," Castor said. "We are not the same city we were six years ago."

She highlighted that the city has built thousands of new homes and hundreds of new storefronts.

She also focused on the upgrades that have been made to the city’s stormwater and wastewater pipes.

New bike and pedestrian paths also make it easier to get around, as does the trolley, which Castor said is used daily by commuters.

According to Castor, Tampa continues to be one of the safest large cities in America and thrives economically.

"Bottom line, the state of our city is strong," Castor announced.

She said Tampa’s home prices rose more than 175 percent over the last decade. According to Castor, rental rates are back to the 2021 levels, and she vowed not to price residents out of the city that they built.

Castor noted that Tampa is $3B short on road repairs and $1B short on sidewalks. However, she said more than 235 miles of Tampa streets have been repaved since 2019.

Castor said the city plans to replace parking lots with homes, businesses and offices.

The city is expanding the RiverWalk and extending the streetcar.

While the city moves into the future, Castor said she wants to ensure that smart growth reflects the city’s history.

The Source: This story was written with information Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said during a press conference on Monday morning and reporting from FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia.

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