A five-year lease signed in Drew Park this fall will run through a full year of public road construction. Federal and state money for widening Tampa Bay Boulevard and Air Cargo Road was approved on Oct. 14. The city's districtwide mobility project is set to begin construction in the 2027 fiscal year. The Lois Avenue and Grady Avenue streetscape contract is already behind its August target. The stadium that much of this work is meant to serve still has open approvals, and nobody has broken ground.
For an owner-occupier, a tenant or a small investor pricing space near Lois Avenue or Tampa Bay Boulevard, the construction calendar is the most predictable variable in the deal. The ballpark is the least predictable.
The stadium still has open approvals
The headline approvals are done. Tampa City Council approved its stadium agreement 4-3 on Aug. 27, and Hillsborough County commissioners approved the county agreements 5-2 the next day. WUSF reported in September that the Rays had signed a 99-year ground lease with Hillsborough College, which takes effect once construction begins.
Several steps remain:
- Bond validation. In mid-October, council voted to seek court validation for up to $80 million in bonds toward the city's contribution. WUSF noted that the vote authorizes a court proceeding, not the issuance of bonds.
- The county's Community Investment Tax list. A public hearing to add the stadium to the list of eligible projects is scheduled for Nov. 10, as Tampa Bay Beacons reported on Oct. 19.
- More county agreements. The county's Aug. 28 announcement listed three agreements still awaiting commission approval: the Ballpark License and Use Agreement, the Community Benefits Agreement and the Construction Funds Trust Agreement.
Tampa Bay Beacons also reported that Mayor Jane Castor called a groundbreaking "imminent" in October, that construction had not started as of Oct. 19, and that the Rays are still aiming for 2029.
The stadium site sits inside Drew Park. The city's legal description puts the redevelopment area's southern edge on the centerline of Tampa Bay Boulevard, and the 2004 Drew Park CRA plan counts the Hillsborough Community College campus holdings within its boundaries.
The road money has a 2027 date and an open question
On Oct. 14, the Hillsborough TPO amended FDOT project FPID 458147-1, "Air Cargo Rd & Tampa Bay Blvd Operational and Safety Improvements," raising its programmed amount from $3,407,714 to $10,283,642, all in fiscal year 2027. According to the TPO's amendment page, the scope widens Tampa Bay Boulevard from two lanes to four between Lois Avenue and a point west of Dale Mabry Highway, and widens Air Cargo Road to four lanes from Tampa Bay Boulevard to West Ohio Avenue, all "within existing right of way." It also adds new signals at the Tampa Bay Boulevard/Air Cargo Road intersection, which has none today, and at the proposed stadium entrance. WUSF reported that construction is expected to start in 2027.
At the meeting, as WFTS reported, board member Joshua Wostal asked whether the transportation money would stay available if a lawsuit or another unresolved issue stopped the stadium. Staff did not give a definitive answer and said they would need to follow up with another official.
So the stadium is the stated reason for the larger scope, and the record does not say what happens to that scope without it. The project itself did not start with the stadium. It was already in the TIP at $3.4 million. Of the roughly $7 million increase, the TPO's slides attribute part to a redesign of the Lois Avenue roundabout and part to "increased capacity to drainage system along Tampa Bay Blvd." Staff described both roads as having known flooding problems.
Lois Avenue is where three schedules overlap
Here is how the public projects that touch Drew Park stand as of late October 2026:
| Project | Where | Budget | Schedule signal | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDOT FPID 458147-1 | Tampa Bay Blvd, Air Cargo Rd, Lois Ave roundabout | $10,283,642 | Construction 2027 | Funded Oct. 14 |
| CRA Mobility-Connectivity-Safety | Districtwide | $7M to $10M estimated | Planned 12/14/2026 to 12/01/2027 | Design |
| Lois/Grady streetscape, Contract 25-C-00019 | Lois and Grady, W. Crest Ave to W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd | $2,366,641 plus proposed $250,000 | August target 9/15/26; change order adds 90 days | Construction |
| New neighborhood park | 4106, 4108, 4110 Hubert Ave and 4115 N. Manhattan Ave | $2,678,000 | Not yet scheduled | Design |
| Gateway signage | District entries | $150,000 | Not yet scheduled | On hold |
Lois Avenue appears in three of these. FDOT plans to expand the roundabout at South Lois Avenue and Tampa Bay Boulevard from one lane to two. The city's mobility project lists Lois Avenue mid-block crossings in its scope, along with sidewalk gaps, intersection safety, alleyways and places where on-street parking could be built. The streetscape contract runs along Lois and Grady between Crest Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The Oct. 15 council agenda carried Change Order 1 to that contract with Cathcart Construction, adding $250,000 and 90 calendar days. The CRA's August tracker had given Sept. 15 as the end date, so the streetscape crews may still be on Lois Avenue when the mobility work begins.
The city is already sequencing around this overlap. The August tracker says gateway signage is on hold while staff work "to align with other improvements in district to avoid installation conflicts."
The start dates do not quite agree. The city's project page lists a planned start of Dec. 14, 2026, while Bay News 9 reported in August that road improvements were expected in the first quarter of 2027. Either way, the work starts within a few months of a lease signed this fall.
The district projects started before the stadium plan
The CRA work shows the same pattern as the FDOT project. In the same Bay News 9 report, Drew Park CRA Community Advisory Committee chair Maritza Astorquiza said many of these projects were first discussed in 2022, with first steps taken about a year later. The stadium brought "renewed focus" to work that was already underway. Astorquiza is already looking past this round: "we're already itching to get to our next projects in Drew Park that we need, like covering up our drainage ditches and with piping and so forth."
The stadium has added to this work and put more attention on it. If the ballpark stalls, a buyer is still looking at a district where the city and CRA have committed money to crosswalks, sidewalks, parking and drainage on a set timetable. If the ballpark proceeds, the WFTS coverage indicates there is more to come. TPO board member and City Council Chair Alan Clendenin said after the vote:
"No, that's not it at all. That's just part of the process."
He also mentioned pedestrian bridges over Dale Mabry, which are not part of the $10.3 million amendment. Commissioner Harry Cohen said the board needs a broader view of how the stadium and Tampa International Airport projects overlap, calling them the region's "two largest public investments."
Public comment already reflects the concerns of small businesses near this work. Alfonso Lopez supported moving the amendments forward and asked that improvements also make routine trips more reliable for nearby businesses. He also asked about pedestrian and ADA access, rideshare areas and how construction might affect small businesses.
Five questions to answer before committing to a Drew Park site
The published scope keeps the roadway work inside the existing right-of-way and does not list driveway or median changes, but it does not include parcel-by-parcel access plans. That puts the diligence on the individual site:
- Which segment does the site front? Tampa Bay Boulevard between Lois and Dale Mabry, Air Cargo Road, and Lois between Crest and MLK each fall under a different project, so frontage determines which crew shows up, and when.
- How do trucks and customers get in? For fleet operators and service businesses, a two-lane roundabout at Lois and Tampa Bay and new signals at Air Cargo change approach routes, both during construction and afterward.
- Where does the lease start relative to December 2026? The city's planned window for the mobility project runs to Dec. 1, 2027, so a commencement date this winter puts most of the first year of occupancy inside it.
- Does the site depend on on-street parking? The mobility project identifies places where on-street parking could be built. It does not say which streets, so the current curb is the only parking that can be relied on.
- Is stadium traffic part of the pricing? A seller pricing in 2029 game-day traffic is pricing in an outcome that still depends on the Nov. 10 hearing and the bond validation case.
Quick answers
Will FDOT take land for the widening? The TPO's project description says both roads will be widened within the existing right-of-way and does not list right-of-way acquisition.
Does the $7 million increase take money from other Tampa Bay projects? TPO staff told the board it comes from a statewide FDOT reserve pot and does not reduce funding for other projects in the region.
Will the roads be built if the stadium is not? The Oct. 14 record leaves this open. The drainage and roundabout work addresses existing conditions, but staff did not say which parts would go ahead on their own.
This post is general market information and not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm lease terms and access questions for your specific property with the right professional.
If you are weighing a Drew Park lease or acquisition and want the 2027 construction calendar mapped against your site, your commencement date and your truck routes, Alan J. Kronenberg can walk the corridor with you and underwrite the timing. Start with our tenant representation services or our guide to why Drew Park works for light industrial and flex users. Let's Connect.
