Tampa Says It Has Passed Castor's 10,000-Unit Affordable Housing Goal, but Fewer Than Half the Homes Are Built or Under Construction

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor announced Wednesday that the city has surpassed her signature goal of 10,000 affordable housing units, a benchmark she has promoted since her first campaign. The city now counts 10,770 affordable units that are planned, underway or completed, according to a City of Tampa release.

The milestone comes with a significant caveat that Castor herself acknowledged: most of those homes are not yet finished. Almost half of the 10,770 units are under construction or completed, the city said, and the rest are still in the pipeline.

"It's not 10,000 units that are completely built and people are moving into them," Castor said at the announcement, according to the Tampa Bay Times. "Those are homes that have been built. Those are homes that have been rehabilitated ... And that's also homes that are in the planning phase."

How the city counts the 10,770 units

Abbye Feeley, Tampa's administrator for development and economic opportunity, said more than 4,700 affordable units are complete or under construction, with more than 5,000 others in progress, the Times reported. The city's count combines new construction, homes repaired through city programs and developments still in planning.

That counting method matters for anyone trying to compare the number with the city's housing shortage. In May, when the city said it was approaching the goal, it reported that about 4,100 affordable units had been completed and another 4,000 were in active development stages, for a total of more than 8,300. The progress toward 10,000 "includes both completed housing units and developments currently in the planning and construction pipeline," the city said at the time.

Here is how the city's reported progress has moved over time.

The May and October figures are not measured identically: the May release counted roughly 4,100 completed units, while the October figure of more than 4,700 covers units that are either completed or under construction.

A goal Castor once said she would miss

The announcement marks a turnaround in tone. In May, Castor told reporters the city had reached 8,300 and said, "We're not going to be able to hit that 10,000 goal by next year," according to Bay News 9. She added that she believed in setting the bar as high as possible.

The Times noted that the 10,000 figure is one Castor had long touted in speeches, at meetings and on the campaign trail. FOX 13 reported in 2021 that she had set a goal of 10,000 new affordable housing units by 2027.

Castor said Wednesday that Tampa's next mayor can take credit for completing the remaining units, "like I took credit for some of the ones that were completed during my time in office," according to the Times. "I'm not sure there's any other administration that has put as much into affordable housing as we have," she said.

In the city's release, Castor said the goal "was ambitious, and at times, it seemed out of reach," and that the city "didn't just meet that goal; we surpassed it."

Where the units are coming from

Since 2019, the city says it has invested more than $100 million in affordable housing initiatives and housing assistance programs. It credits a mix of new construction, rehabilitation of existing homes, homeownership assistance and partnerships with private developers and nonprofits.

Large redevelopment projects account for a significant share of the pipeline. The city points to Rome Yards in West Tampa, West River and Marquee Square, and to the Army/Navy redevelopment site in North Downtown, where more than 1,100 units are planned and more than 700 are designated for income-eligible households. Bay News 9 reported in May that both Rome Yards and the Army/Navy site are planned with 70% of their units committed to affordable and workforce housing.

The city also counts preservation work. Through the Housing Rehabilitation and Renovation Program, income-qualified homeowners get help with critical repairs. In May, the city highlighted an East Tampa homeowner whose house received more than $147,000 in renovations, including a new roof, hurricane-impact windows and doors, and air conditioning.

Record year for down payment help

The announcement coincided with a record for the city's Dare to Own the Dream Homeownership Program, which provides down payment and closing cost assistance to first-time buyers purchasing within city limits. Qualified buyers can receive up to $50,000 depending on household income.

The program recorded 71 closings in fiscal year 2026, topping the previous record of 70 in fiscal year 2025, the city said. Those closings involved $5.31 million in total assistance, including East Tampa Community Redevelopment Area funding. Since 2019, the program has assisted with 426 closings and awarded nearly $20 million in down payment assistance, according to the city.

One of this year's buyers, Oscar Beasley, a truck driver and first-time homebuyer, thanked Castor outside his new home on Wednesday. Without the program, he said, "I would never have had the chance to get this house," the Times reported.

Castor acknowledged how hard buying has become. "It's difficult now, in these times, for individuals to purchase houses," she said, adding that she had to help her own son with a down payment, according to the Times.

What the number does and does not mean

For Tampa renters and would-be buyers, the practical measure is how many of the 10,770 units become homes people can move into, and when. More than 5,000 of the counted units are still in progress, and large mixed-income projects can take years to deliver. Feeley said in May that development is not immediate and depends on partnerships and redevelopment opportunities.

For scale, the city says more than 23,000 residential units of all kinds have been added citywide since 2019. City leaders said in May that the effort began against a housing deficit of about 20,000 units, according to Bay News 9.

What's next

Castor's second and final term ends in 2027, so delivering most of the pipeline will fall to her successor. The city said it remains committed to advancing affordable housing initiatives, supporting responsible development and preserving existing housing.

Applications for the Dare to Own the Dream program are open, according to the city, and the Housing Rehabilitation and Renovation Program accepts applications from income-qualified Tampa homeowners through the city's online portal.