Tampa Republic

One of Tampa's most historic communities will undergo a major transformation over the next few years. The City of Tampa has been awarded a $24.7 million federal grant to fund significant stormwater and mobility improvements in the Palmetto Beach area.

The Pathways to Palmetto project aims to transform one of Tampa's most diverse but underinvested neighborhoods by focusing on providing safer and more accessible transportation options while also improving resiliency for the vulnerable coastal community.

"Designated in 2012 by the National Park Service as a National Register Historic District, the Palmetto Beach area is home to some of our most vulnerable residents and for decades it has struggled with serious transportation deficits and coastal climate vulnerabilities that must be addressed as we work to Transform Tampa's Tomorrow across our city," said Mayor Jane Castor. "Thanks to the extraordinary U.S. Representative Kathy Castor, who secured this highly competitive federal grant, one of the largest we have received in our city's history, we will be able to uplift this richly diverse community by improving accessibility, providing flood relief, and conserving miles and miles of waterfront space for generations of Tampanians to enjoy."

The project focuses on Bermuda Boulevard, a two-lane roadway along McKay Bay. The existing roadway has unmarked street parking and experiences several stressors, including narrow sidewalks, no sidewalks along the Bay, expansive travel lanes that encourage high speeds, and a narrow landscape buffer area between the street and seawall.

Examples of improvements residents can expect include reconstructing the seawall, adding seawall trails, resurfacing and narrowing travel lanes, formalizing on-street parking, upgrading sidewalks, adding pedestrian crossings, planting trees, and more.

In addition to the $24.7 million grant, the City of Tampa will provide an approximate $6.1 million match. City staff are currently working with the U.S. Department of Transportation to finalize the grant agreement. Projects of this scale can take up to five years to complete.