Today, the City of St. Pete launched a new initiative, called Sunrise St. Pete, to determine how to spend $159.8 million the city was awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support long-term recovery efforts from Hurricane Idalia (August 2023) and Hurricane Helene (September 2024).

On January 7th, HUD Agency Head Adrianne Todman announced the allocation of nearly $12 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for communities across 24 states and territories.

St. Petersburg was the only city in Tampa Bay to receive funding. However, Pinellas County received $813,783,000 and the State of Florida received $925,394,000.

“Over the last two years, too many communities have been impacted by devastating disasters – damaging homes, destroying infrastructure, and stretching local capacity to recover,” said HUD Agency Head, the Honorable Adrianne Todman during the funding announcement. “The impacts of these funds will be felt for years to come – especially for disaster survivors and communities in the most impacted areas.”

The City of St. Pete’s new initiative, Sunrise St. Pete, will prioritize community engagement, ensuring that residents have a voice in the planning of recovery programs.

Eligible projects include housing repairs, infrastructure improvements, economic revitalization, and affordable housing development.

Additionally, a significant 70% of funds must benefit low- to moderate-income households.

The City has invited residents to attend an in-person community meeting during Mayor Welch’s City Hall On Tour event on March 26, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. at the Coliseum (535 4th Avenue North).

The expected timeline for distributing funds is as follows:

• March - May 2025: The City will use public input, in addition to data gathering, to inform the development of the Action Plan.
  

• March 26, 2025: The Community can provide public input at City Hall On Tour at The Coliseum at 5:30 p.m.
  

• May - June 2025: Once the Action Plan has been developed, the community will have an opportunity to provide input on the Plan during a formal public hearing and online through the City's website.
  

• July 2025: Submit Action Plan to HUD.
  

• July - August 2025: HUD has up to 45 days to review/approve Action Plan.
  

• Q3 2025: A grant agreement is reached.
  

• Within Approximately 2 Years: Grant funds reach St. Pete.