Bern's Steak House, South Howard Businesses Sue Tampa to Halt $100 Million Flood Relief Project

Bern's Steak House and five other property owners along South Howard Avenue sued the City of Tampa on Thursday, Oct. 8, in two class-action lawsuits that seek to stop the city's roughly $100 million South Howard flood relief project before crews break ground, according to reports by FOX 13 and the Tampa Bay Times.

The suits, filed less than a month after the Tampa City Council narrowly approved the project, accuse the city of moving stormwater fee money without a required public hearing, of awarding the main construction contract without following proper selection rules, and of lacking the property rights needed to dig a trench beneath private land. The plaintiffs are asking a judge to block construction on South Howard while the disputes are resolved, FOX 13 reported.

The case pits two South Tampa constituencies against each other: homeowners in Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines who have flooded repeatedly, and the restaurants, bars and shops of the SoHo entertainment district that say years of construction could put them out of business.

What the two lawsuits claim

Bern's is the proposed class representative in both cases. The other plaintiffs include companies tied to the Ciccio Restaurant Group and the Epicurean Hotel, a sister property of the steakhouse, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The first suit names the City of Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor and contractor Kimmins Contracting Corp. It alleges the city diverted $13.4 million collected through its stormwater assessment from about a dozen other projects to the South Howard work without holding a required hearing. It also alleges the city awarded Kimmins the $92.7 million construction contract without following proper selection guidelines. That case seeks to represent stormwater fee payers and South Howard property owners.

The second suit centers on land. It argues Tampa holds an easement for the surface of the street but does not own the property rights it needs to dig beneath private land. It also accuses Kimmins and engineering firm AtkinsRéalis USA Inc. of violating Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, according to the Times. That case seeks to represent landowners and businesses along the avenue.

Attorney Edward de la Parte Jr., who represents the property owners, said in a statement reported by the Times that his clients "are not opposed to flood relief." He said they are asking the court to hold the city to the laws that govern how it spends assessment and bond money and what it must own before it digs through private land.

How the city and contractor responded

The city declined to discuss the cases. A city spokesperson told the Times that Tampa does not comment on pending litigation, and a city public affairs manager gave FOX 13 the same answer. A Kimmins vice president did not immediately respond to the Times' request for comment.

Castor, who is named as a defendant in the first suit, has not publicly addressed the lawsuits. She has been the project's leading champion. After the council's September vote, she wrote on X that the decision "moves us closer to a long-term solution" that would protect neighborhoods for generations, according to the Times.

Before that vote, Tampa Mobility Director Brandon Campbell told FOX 13 the city had no fallback design. "We don't have a plan B," he said in August, adding that if the council rejected the project, it would stop.

A project years in the making

The project would install about 6,000 feet of box culverts beneath South Howard Avenue from Bayshore Boulevard north to West Swann Avenue, then west to a pond in Palma Ceia Pines near the HCA Florida South Tampa Hospital parking deck, according to Bay News 9 and city presentations. The goal is to drain water out of Parkland Estates, Palma Ceia Pines and surrounding neighborhoods, which city engineers describe as a bowl served by small, aging pipes. The work would also replace water mains and sewer lines, some more than a century old.

The flooding problem became a political priority after the 2024 hurricane season, when Helene and Milton damaged or destroyed about 300 homes in Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines, according to FOX 13. Many of those homes sit in Zone X, a federal designation for low flood risk where flood insurance is not required, the Times has reported. Residents told council members this summer that their streets flooded several times during ordinary storms.

The price has climbed sharply. A 2022 preliminary estimate put the project at $64.5 million, and the city still cited about $65 million when the council approved an initial $7.7 million design-build contract with Kimmins in November 2024. By August 2026 the estimate had passed $100 million. The system is designed to handle up to 5 inches of rain over eight hours, not a storm on the scale of Milton, according to the Times.

The city identified these funding sources in August, according to FOX 13:

In January, the council voted 4-3 to seek a one-year extension on the state grant tied to the project.

A divided council and a records fight

On Sept. 17, the council voted 4-3 to approve a guaranteed maximum price of $92.7 million, on top of the $7.7 million already approved for design. Council members Bill Carlson, Naya Young and Guido Maniscalco voted no, and Chair Alan Clendenin was described by the Times as the swing vote. Carlson warned that the project could crowd out other flood relief work over the next five years; the city said money remains for projects already approved.

The new suits are the second legal front. In June, the SoHo Business Alliance, a coalition of South Howard businesses, sued the city in Hillsborough County Circuit Court under Florida's Public Records Act, alleging the city delayed producing alternatives analyses, engineering reports, hydraulic models, contract drafts and grant materials while collecting thousands of dollars in fees, FOX 13 reported. That case remains pending.

De la Parte, who also represents the alliance, told Bay News 9 before the final vote that the project had "a lot of flaws" and was becoming unaffordable. Business owners have pressed the city to consider other routes. City presentations from 2024 show engineers weighed more than 20 alternatives, including several pump station and force main designs, and rated pumps the least resilient choice because of backup power needs and operating costs.

What construction would mean for SoHo

The city plans to build in sections rather than close the whole corridor at once, an approach Campbell called "restore-as-you-go." Even so, an individual driveway could be inaccessible for about five to seven weeks, according to FOX 13. The city has proposed temporary driveways and walkways, off-site parking, security, golf cart shuttles, delivery help and a marketing campaign to keep customers coming.

Business owners say that is not enough. Opponents told the council the project could affect more than 1,000 jobs, and the owner of AVA, an Italian restaurant on the street, said more than 30 locally owned businesses were at risk. A longtime fitness studio owner told FOX 13 her business could go under.

What's next

The city has said construction would begin after Gasparilla, in spring 2027, with box culvert work on South Howard scheduled to start around May 2027 and the project mostly complete by September 2030. FOX 13 reported that the timeline could change if a judge orders the city to put the project on hold.

No court response from the city and no hearing date on the request to block construction had been reported as of Saturday. For South Tampa homeowners still waiting on relief, and for SoHo businesses bracing for three years of torn-up streets, the next decision now rests with a Hillsborough County judge.