St. Pete’s Bold Vision: Affordable Housing, Resilience, and Transit Upgrades in State of the City Address

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch announced plans Wednesday to ask voters to approve a $600 million General Obligation bond referendum. The money would speed up sewer upgrades, flooding solutions, and other infrastructure improvements across town. Welch spoke at The Palladium in downtown St. Pete.

Welch outlined accomplishments from 2025 and goals for 2026 in his State of the City speech. He described 2025 as a year of recovery following Hurricanes Helene and Milton. He called 2026 a year focused on resilience, equity, and moving forward.

"Storms do not define St. Petersburg. How we recover defines who we are," Welch said during the address, according to St. Pete Rising.

The Building Department processed more than 54,000 permits in 2025. These permits represented $1.44 billion in construction activity. Officials completed 27 new commercial buildings. Workers finished 8,742 residential and commercial renovation projects. Following the hurricanes in 2024, officials waived fees for Post Disaster Emergency permits, issuing 15,635 permits and providing $3.03 million in fee relief.

Affordable housing made progress in 2025 with 434 affordable units, 122 accessory dwelling units, and 24 affordable homes completed. Another 571 affordable units and 238 workforce units are under construction. St. Pete became the first city in Florida to adopt the "Yes in God's Backyard" provision, allowing faith-based organizations to use underutilized land to expand affordable housing.

More than $20 million in state funding was secured to convert 3rd and 4th Streets downtown to two-way traffic. A new 540-space public parking garage opened in the EDGE District. Officials reached an agreement to acquire a one-mile CSX rail segment to extend the Booker Creek Trail north from the Historic Gas Plant site.

Hurricane recovery efforts continued through the $160 million Sunrise St. Pete program, which offers financial assistance for home repair and rebuilding. The Office of the City Auditor secured more than $37 million in expedited funds from FEMA for debris removal reimbursement. Officials invested $4.5 million in disaster relief and housing stabilization.

Welch closed his remarks by addressing the 86-acre Historic Gas Plant District site. After ending previous agreements last year, officials received multiple proposals for the site. A $59.7 million renovation of Tropicana Field is nearing completion.

The Manhattan Casino will reopen this summer as a 12,000-square-foot, city-operated event space following a $5 million renovation.