Turning around the central Tampa neighborhood of Sulphur Springs will require smarter planning, years of work and tens of millions of dollars. The blight didn’t appear overnight, and it won’t disappear quickly. But the city of Tampa has made a good start in recent months, unveiling housing programs that Mayor Bob Buckhorn predicts will “set the table” for additional public and private investment. The mayor will need to keep up the work for any recovery to have a chance.
Buckhorn announced the city would spend $1.4 million to build 12 new single-family homes in Sulphur Springs, about 5 miles north of downtown. The homes will be built on lots the city cleared last year as it bulldozed dozens of abandoned properties that had become nuisances. The money, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will act as seed for new investment. As the first homes are sold, the city will use the proceeds to build the next round of properties. It has already lined up the contractors and has 25 buildable lots.