{"id":126433,"date":"2026-01-21T14:27:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T14:27:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/126433\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T14:27:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T14:27:38","slug":"jane-castor-says-tampa-will-finish-strong-amid-construction-and-transit-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/126433\/","title":{"rendered":"Jane Castor says Tampa will \u2018finish strong\u2019 amid construction and transit plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

With just over a year remaining in her second and final term, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0administration is shifting into a \u201cfinish strong\u201d phase to wrap up major redevelopment projects while positioning the city for continued growth under its next Mayor.<\/p>\n

Castor told Florida Politics that she is focused on completing long-planned initiatives in the coming year, and creating what she called \u201cproject launch pads\u201d for the next administration after nearly seven years of rapid development and population growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve accomplished a great deal in just a bit less than seven years,\u201d Castor said. \u201cOur city\u2019s grown dramatically. We\u2019re focused on finishing up some of those projects and getting other projects ready for the next administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castor said recent city budgets have emphasized investment in transportation, affordable housing and workforce development.<\/p>\n

Transportation remains Tampa\u2019s biggest challenge, she said, calling it the city\u2019s \u201cAchilles heel.\u201d Castor pointed to the defeat of Hillsborough County\u2019s voter-approved transportation surtax as a major setback for the region, though she emphasized that local governments have continued pursuing alternatives.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe mourned the loss of that, but we didn\u2019t stop,\u201d Castor said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, Tampa and regional partners turned to grants and federal funding, securing nearly $4 million through a U.S. Department of Transportation program known as the Regional Infrastructure Accelerator. The grant supports planning for large-scale, multicounty transportation projects across Hillsborough<\/a>, Pinellas<\/a> and Pasco<\/a> counties, including both local and regional transit options.<\/p>\n

One proposal under consideration would expand Tampa\u2019s streetcar system beyond its current footprint in Ybor City, Channel District and downtown, extending north into Tampa Heights. Castor said the city is also examining longer-term regional transit connections, including potential airport links and public-private partnerships to help finance future projects.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, construction across Tampa continues at a rapid pace, particularly along the riverfront and in historically underserved neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Castor highlighted projects nearing key milestones, such as the West River redevelopment in West Tampa \u2014 where a new Riverwalk extension<\/a> is under construction. Castor also noted the Rome Yard project near Rome Avenue and Columbus Drive, a 16-acre mixed-use development now rising out of the ground.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In East Tampa, the city recently held a ribbon-cutting for the new East Tampa Recreation Center, a sprawling, multiblock complex that Castor said will be among the best facilities in Tampa\u2019s parks system once completed later this year.<\/p>\n

Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods are also seeing a wave of new residential construction. Castor cited multiple high-rise developments near downtown, additional riverfront condominiums along Kennedy Boulevard, student housing tied to the University of Tampa, and the long-anticipated opening of the five-star Pendry Hotel near the river this year.<\/p>\n

Ybor City and the Channel District remain hot spots for redevelopment as well, with Water Street Tampa entering its second phase and developer Darryl Shaw advancing residential, office and retail projects, including a food hall, near the Gas Worx site.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city is just on fire,\u201d Castor said. \u201cI keep saying I\u2019m going to change our city bird to the crane, there\u2019s cranes all over the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

As lawmakers convene in Tallahassee for the ongoing Legislative Session, Castor said her top request is simple: leave property taxes<\/a> alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Property taxes remain the primary revenue source for cities and counties, she said, and are already constrained by Florida\u2019s Save Our Homes cap, which limits annual increases regardless of rising property values.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny cuts to property tax would be cuts to police and fire, to our parks and recreation, and to all the other city departments that rely on property tax funding,\u201d Castor said.<\/p>\n

Castor also addressed ongoing discussions surrounding professional sports facilities, noting that planned improvements to Raymond James Stadium<\/a> and Benchmark International Arena<\/a> are already accounted for through Hillsborough County\u2019s voter-approved Community Investment Tax extension. She said city and county officials are meeting with the Tampa Bay Rays<\/a> as discussions continue around a potential baseball stadium<\/a> site near Hillsborough Community College.<\/p>\n

Looking beyond her tenure, Castor said she does not plan to seek another political office, but intends to remain active in civic life after leaving City Hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have any plans politically, but I definitely will stay involved in the community,\u201d Castor said. \u201cI was born and raised here in Tampa, so I\u2019ll always be involved \u2014 participate on boards, volunteering, whatever way I can \u2014 to help continue to grow this great city.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With just over a year remaining in her second and final term, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor\u2019s\u00a0administration is shifting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1412,11284,629,5756,4136,1157,7074,11708,8627,135,3815,137,136,16611],"class_list":["post-126433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-benchmark-international-arena","tag-city-of-tampa","tag-hillsborough","tag-jane-castor","tag-pasco","tag-pinellas","tag-property-taxes","tag-raymond-james-stadium","tag-riverwalk","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-rays","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-tampa-riverwalk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}