After nearly two years of bureaucratic detective work, St. Petersburg has reclaimed $173 million in hurricane relief funding that federal officials accidentally mailed to the wrong address.
Mayor Ken Welch made the surprise announcement Friday on the second anniversary of Hurricane Milton’s landfall. The massive storm brought 102 mph gusts, 18 inches of rain and widespread damage to St. Petersburg.
The city subsequently received $160 million in disaster recovery funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Administrators, however, wondered why the money was restricted to covering costs incurred from Hurricanes Debby and Helene.
Excluding residents solely impacted by Milton left them with “limited options and added more stress to an already arduous recovery process,” Welch said. Staff, in partnership with Congresswomen Anna Paulina Luna and Kathy Castor, brought the issue to HUD, which realized a geocoding error inadvertently directed money earmarked for St. Petersburg to Pinellas County.
“I’m proud to announce that because of that diligence and the tenacity of our city staff, we received an additional $173 million in funds for Milton recovery and mitigation,” Welch said. “This money will be used strategically and intentionally to make sure residents can recover from recent storms, and that our infrastructure is prepared for future disasters.”
The city will dedicate $126 million to residential recovery programs. Another $47.6 million will support infrastructure upgrades and storm mitigation projects.
Welch called the unexpected windfall “incredible news for our residents.” The additional funding will “benefit the city for generations,” he said.
St. Petersburg was one of two cities to receive CDBG-DR funding, which launched the Sunrise St. Pete initiative, following a devastating hurricane season in 2024. HUD awarded Pinellas County $814 million.
Milton made landfall about 35 miles south of St. Petersburg. The storm caused a tower crane to crush a neighboring downtown building and blew the roof off Tropicana Field, “a jarring and haunting physical representation of the scope of the challenge facing our community, and the uncertainty of the path forward,” Welch said.
Approximately 15,000 homes in St. Petersburg suffered storm damage. Amy Foster, housing and neighborhood services administrator, said it “didn’t make sense” that the county, but not the city, received funding for Milton.
“The reason it’s taken us almost two years is because HUD has never had this experience before, and they didn’t have the legislative tools they needed to correct this issue,” Foster explained.
Disaster preparation starts with a safe and secure place to call home, Welch said. The city awarded $40.85 million in previously allocated Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding to six affordable housing projects last week.
Once the city signs new grant agreements with HUD, officials will prioritize Sunrise St. Pete applications previously denied because of Milton restrictions. The funding supports home repairs, rehabilitations, reconstructions, elevations, and disaster-relief payments to renters.
St. Petersburg stopped accepting residential recovery applications in February, two months after the portal opened, due to an influx of requests. “There are still a ton of homeowners out there who have not made the repairs that they need,” Foster said.
County and city officials will work together to identify and award mutually beneficial infrastructure projects. “Stormwater does not know boundaries,” said Public Works Administrator Claude Tankersley.
“The great news is that we have over $340 million in federal support to help our community become more resilient,” Welch added. “Our stormwater master plan is $2.7 billion, so we are chipping away at that, but we need partnerships at every level.”
Luna credited the city’s resiliency efforts. She also pledged her support.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner and Luna will meet next week. She said the new funding agreement ranks among her top discussion topics.
“Whatever they (HUD) need, we’ll get,” Luna emphasized. “We have a great relationship … I don’t see them giving us an excuse for why they can’t make it ASAP.”
Councilmember Richie Floyd said Milton exposed “a lot of vulnerabilities” within inland neighborhoods. Federal disaster relief was critical for many residents, including his family, who otherwise “would not have been able to get back on our feet.”
Residential recovery funding is helping replace naturally occurring affordable housing lost during Helene and Milton, Floyd said. He also noted it has been a “long two years” for storm victims.
“But I’m proud to say that we have learned a lot of lessons,” Floyd concluded. “So, I hope everyone takes the opportunity to make sure they’re well prepared.”
For more information on Sunrise St. Pete, visit the website here.
To view the city’s interactive Prepare, St. Pete map, visit the website here.
