TAMPA, Fla. — Mayor Jane Castor laid out the road map toward her goal of “transforming Tampa’s tomorrow” in her annual State of the City address Wednesday morning.
Her speech focused on housing affordability, transportation, workforce development, and resiliency.
On the topic of transportation, the mayor threw her support behind the one-cent transportation sales tax voters in Hillsborough County will consider on the November ballot. County leaders say the tax if approved by voters, would generate millions of dollars in revenue to repair roads, create new sidewalks, and address the county’s limited transit options.
The mayor addressed the need for more projects to address localized flooding that has plagued neighborhoods like East Seminole Heights, where one such project is currently underway.
On the topic of affordable housing, the mayor highlighted steps the city is currently pursuing: a goal of building 10,000 more affordable units by 2027, a program that helps homeowners repair and rehabilitate their aging homes, and assistance for renters.
“In the home building, anything from tiny homes to single-family homes all the way up to multi-level residential, and then we are also looking at home remodeling — putting millions of dollars into allowing homes to be remodeled so that individuals can stay in those homes,” Castor said Tuesday.
Her speech also asked the community for help addressing the shortage of affordable housing, as mortgage rates, rent prices, and other costs continue to climb at crippling levels.
“We’re doing everything that we can, I mean, from every angle, and any ideas or initiatives that anyone else has, we are more than happy to include those,” said Castor.
