A nearly $15 million federal grant is a potential game-changer for the ongoing community revitalization of North Tampa’s University Area neighborhood.
The nonprofit University Area Community Development Corporation, in collaboration with the University of South Florida and Hillsborough County government, plans to use $14.9 million from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Community Change Grants Program on building and infrastructure projects intended to increase economic opportunity, reduce pollution, protect the public health, and improve the quality of life in the at-risk neighborhood west of the University of South Florida.
In December 2024, the outgoing Biden administration approved a total of 105 environmental and climate justice-related projects, including the UACDC, and a combined $1.6 billion in grant funding. Now, the Trump administration’s funding freeze has put many already-awarded federal grants in limbo as legal challenges play out. Locally, the UACDC continues to move ahead as planned with its grant-funded projects.
“Thankfully, so far, so good,” says UACDC CEO and Executive Director Sarah Combs. “We haven’t had any freezes yet on the funding that we were awarded.”
She says the organization and the EPA executed a legal agreement on the grant in December. The grant officially starts in March and the UACDC has three years to complete related projects, Combs says.
As approved, the federal grant will cover a projected 80 percent of the construction costs for the Economic Development Center planned at the nonprofit’s University Area Cultural Campus. The grant will also extend water service to 50 residences now on well water and switch 25 properties on aging septic systems to central sewer. There will also be upgrades to retention ponds to reduce pollution, help alleviate flooding, and beautify the areas to make them community assets.
Community meetings on the grant funding and projects are scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on February 27th, May 28th, and August 27th at Harvest Hope Park, 13704 N. 20th St.
Game-changing money
“This grant is a game changer for our community,” Combs says. “We qualified for EPA funding through our longstanding commitment to revitalization efforts and environmental sustainability. We also leveraged two previous EPA grants that we were involved in in order to make the case to continue to move forward investing in the community.”
One demonstrated area of need is the environmental remediation and economic redevelopment of several brownfield sites, or blighted, polluted former industrial properties.
“The EPA grant allows us to continue remediating these brownfield sites by cleaning up pollutants, improving soil and water conditions, and making the area safe for residential, commercial, and recreational use,” Combs says. “The University Area has faced environmental challenges, including soil contamination, poor air quality, and water pollution. This funding helps mitigate these risks by improving green infrastructure, addressing stormwater runoff, and incorporating sustainable practices in redevelopment efforts.”
Combs goes on to say, “By restoring the land and improving environmental conditions, we are making the area safer, healthier, and more livable for residents.”
Cleaning up North Tampa, one pond at a time
Aarans Pond, northeast of the intersection of East 131st Avenue and North 15th Street, is one location eyed for clean-up. The fenced-off stormwater pond is owned by Hillsborough County and receives run-off and rainwater from the surrounding area. It’s also home to birds, alligators, and other animals and could become a beautified natural area with some critical attention and improvements.
The pond is ringed by former industrial sites, a storage facility, a strip mall, and apartment complexes. Dumped garbage is routinely found around the pond and heavy metals and microbial contaminants from historic and active pollution points have degraded its water quality.
“The resources provided by our EPA grant allow us to focus on the nutrient pollution, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, which have been building up over the past few years,” explains Christian Wells, an applied environmental anthropologist with USF. “These chemicals come from several sources, such as fertilizers, neighboring homes and businesses, and waste and debris that wash into the pond. The EPA grant is a blessing because it provides the resources we need to study the pollutants and work with the community on ways to clean up the pond.”
Nurturing nature
Wells says the pond contamination will be addressed with “nature-based solutions,” or green infrastructure such as drainage ditches that capture and filter rainfall and water runoff. Innovative features include floating mats on the pond surface that have plants with roots that can absorb polluting nutrients.
“Cleaning up the pond using these natural remedies will help improve the health of the pond as well as the health of the community,” Wells says.
The importance of cleaning up polluted bodies of water like Aarans Pond cannot be overstated. They pose an environmental hazard to residential communities by concentrating pollutants that can leach into the soil and groundwater or, as last year’s hurricanes showed, be spread by flood waters.
“When these ponds flood, like we saw during Hurricane Milton, that pollution can spread far and wide and really make people sick,” Wells says.
At the northwest corner of East 137th Avenue and North 20th Street, UACDC’s Harvest Hope Park is a brownfield redevelopment project and a precedent for the plans to clean Aarans Pond and transform it into a community centerpiece.
“That was a polluted stormwater pond and adjacent property that we helped turn into a community asset,” Wells explains.
The project turned the polluted patch of land into a safe community gathering spot and breathed new life and activity into the neighborhood. Wells says that this kind of environmentally conscious redevelopment can have more widespread benefits in the community.
“Since Harvest Hope Park was redeveloped, there are now new homes in the neighborhood and the UACDC is building out space for economic development, health care, and more,” he says.
Creating economic opportunities
The UACDC is also planning a “green” project of a different kind, the Economic Development Center to educate neighborhood residents on money, innovation, and entrepreneurship and serve as the cornerstone of the UACDC Cultural Campus.
“This grant is a significant boost in helping us advance construction, but additional funding sources will be necessary to fully realize the vision of the Economic Development Center and Cultural Campus,” Combs says. “However, it provides the critical support needed to move forward with key phases, ensuring that these spaces will soon be accessible to the community.”
The project’s timeline hinges on the availability of additional funding, but the UACDC is aiming to button up key phases within the next 36 months. Once complete, the Economic Development Center be a state-of-the-art hub providing job training and career development programs, small business incubation and entrepreneurship support, access to financial and business resources, community engagement spaces, and health and wellness spaces.
The UACDC already works to provide many of these services to community residents but the Economic Development Center will bring them together under one roof and add more resources.
Build it and they will come?
UACDC Chief Community Development Officer Erica Moody, says the Economic Development Center will have a significant role in revitalizing the community.
“As part of the broader infrastructural improvements, it will serve as a hub for workforce development, business incubation, and entrepreneurship support,” she says. “By providing resources, training, and opportunities, the Economic Development Center will empower residents to build sustainable careers and small businesses, fostering long-term economic stability and growth.”
In the long-term, the success of the Economic Development Center will depend on its community impact and the residents its programs help to succeed. To that end, the UACDC will continue to focus on community engagement and launch outreach programs in collaboration with local organizations to spread the word about the resources available at the center.
“Our approach is rooted in community engagement,” Moody says. “We will host informational sessions, listening forums, and collaborative design meetings to ensure the Economic Development Center reflects the needs of the people it serves.”
Gauging the overall success of the various projects in the EPA grant will depend on metrics like the number of individuals who complete workforce training and secure employment, how much capital is invested in local entrepreneurship, the number of residents able to connect to the City of Tampa’s water system, and increases in property values and commercial activity in the area. All these things will take time, but they are worthwhile investments for a community that is looking beyond tomorrow, next week, or next year.
“This project is about more than just a building – it’s about creating a sustainable future for University Area residents,” Moody says. “By providing economic opportunity, education, and business resources, we are investing in people and fostering long-term transformation.”
For more information, go to UACDC
Managing editor Christopher Curry contributed to this story.