TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa officials say a newly released simulation shows the proposed South Howard Flood Relief Project would reduce flooding in Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines, while some South Howard business leaders continue to raise concerns about the project’s impact during construction.
Tampa Mobility Director Brandon Campbell said the city’s model examined a five-year, eight-hour rain event with 5.3 inches of rain. He said the city cannot stop all flooding during strong storms and hurricanes, but officials wanted to show the public what the project is expected to do.
Campbell said the model from AtkinsRealis, a global engineering firm working on the project, shows the project would reduce structural flooding for 96 homes and businesses.
The $92.7 million project would install a 6,000-foot box culvert along Howard Avenue from Bayshore Boulevard to Swann Avenue before turning west to an AMI pond (located in the Palma Ceia Pines neighborhood near the HCA Florida South Tampa Hospital parking deck).
“If you pause at hour seven, basically what you’ll see is significant flooding throughout both Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines, and all of the water gone within both of those neighborhoods in hour seven,” Campbell said of the simulation video.
Residents who support the project said flooding has affected the area for years. Some shared images of damage left by Hurricane Milton and said even ordinary summer storms can cause flooding.
“People have kicked the can down the road so many times in the past 20, 30 years, the flooding now is catastrophic,” said Suzanne Fernandez, a Palma Ceia Pines business owner.
Resident Maegen Luka said her Parkland Estates home, Palma Ceia Pines town home, and storage unit have all flooded. She shared video she said was taken on Sept. 4, 2025, in Palma Ceia Pines during a typical summer storm, with no hurricane or tropical depression.
“We are on borrowed time,” Luka said. “Please, decades of neglect must come to an end now.”
The city of Tampa released a simulation from global engineering firm AtkinsRealis of flooding before and after the completion of the South Howard Flood Relief Project. (City of Tampa)
Some opponents question the city’s results and say the construction could hurt South Howard businesses.
Stephen Michelini, general manager of the SoHo Business Alliance, said businesses along South Howard could struggle to survive during construction. He said an engineer working with his group is proposing that the city redesign and reconstruct the Zom and AMI ponds, which he said would add capacity, reroute water southward, and avoid disruption along Howard Avenue.
“The plan they’ve come up with is utter destruction of all of these properties up and down Howard, and we’ll lose, you know, maybe 60% or 70% of the businesses,” Michelini said. “They won’t be able to survive.”
Campbell said the project has been planned over several years and that 24 alternatives were considered, including different routes and technologies. He said the current plan is the one the city found would do the most for the least cost.
The Tampa City Council is expected to hear a presentation on the project during its meeting on Thursday.