City outlines West Riverwalk funding plan as advocates press for $10 million CRA allocation

Tampa officials and Riverwalk advocates told City Council on Jan. 9 that they are assembling a $52–$57 million financing package to complete the West Riverwalk and said they are pursuing multiple outside funding sources to reduce the city's borrowing needs.

The council heard presentations from mobility staff and several public commenters who urged approval of a $10 million allocation from the West Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and asked the city to pursue federal and state earmarks to fill remaining gaps.

Nut graf: The project already has a $24 million federal BUILD grant and a CRA funding request for $10 million; city staff said they are seeking additional support from a congressional earmark and a state funding request. If those are not fully awarded, the city will need to use other sources, including lines of credit or bonds, to make the project whole.

Vic Bday, director of mobility, told council the core build grant ($24 million) plus the $10 million CRA request gets the project most of the way to the current construction estimate, and that staff and the city's government-relations team had asked Congresswoman Kathy Castor's office for a $4 million earmark and planned a separate state funding request. Bday said the county's recent surtax proceeds and other competitive funding sources might provide additional leverage but are not guaranteed.

Friends of the Riverwalk and other groups urged the council to approve the CRA allocation and described the project as a neighborhood and economic development priority. Mary Beth Williams of Friends of the Riverwalk said the West Riverwalk would complete a planned 12.2-mile multimodal path and improve connections among Hyde Park, West Tampa and Tampa Heights. Anthony Derby, representing Friends of the Riverwalk, said the expansion would bring economic and public-health benefits and increase resilience along the river.

Staff and supporters said design is underway and that construction is expected to begin later this year. Vic Bday said most required easements have been secured except for several parcels being coordinated with university and private developers; he said 60% design submittal is anticipated by the end of the month.

Council members and members of the public raised questions about when the city would begin borrowing and how borrowing would be structured. Mike Perry, the city's budget officer, said staff planned to use an interim line of credit (drawn only as needed) before considering long-term bonds; he said final bond timing and costs would be presented at a later briefing on debt capacity. Bday said a preliminary engineering estimate for remaining instrumentation/design/contingency work was in the millions and that full completion (if funded now) could take roughly two years.

Quotes: "The project hits upon just about every aspect of stated goals by both the council and the administration relative to safety, mobility, affordability, quality of life and connectivity," Vic Bday said.

"Providing funding for the rest of the West Riverwalk is a bold step toward continuing the momentum we have built as a city," Mary Beth Williams said.

Ending: Council members and staff said they would continue pursuing federal and state grants and would return with financing details; the CRA funding request was presented to the CRA board and will return to council as part of the normal budget/CRA process.