Mayor Kenneth T. Welch Announces 173 Million Additional Allocation for Sunrise St. Pete Program on Hurricane Milton Anniversary

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (Oct. 9, 2026) - Mayor Kenneth T. Welch was joined by City Council Vice Chair Richie Floyd and Representative Anna Paulina Luna to announce that the City of St. Petersburg is receiving an additional $173 million allocation through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. This funding supports the city's disaster recovery program, Sunrise St. Pete, and will be available to St. Pete residents impacted by Hurricane Milton.

"I'm proud to announce that because of the diligence and perseverance of our City staff, the City of St. Petersburg received an additional $173 million in funds for Milton recovery and mitigation efforts," said Mayor Kenneth T. Welch. "These funds will be used strategically and intentionally to make sure our residents can recover from recent storms and that our infrastructure is prepared for future disasters. Thank you to our federal partners and the county for their efforts in helping us secure this additional funding. And a huge thank you to our City staff - their skill and commitment over the past two years has fueled our recovery efforts while also setting the standard for public service."

$126 million of the newly awarded funding will be used to directly support housing recovery for St. Pete residents. The remaining $47.6 million will be used in partnership with Pinellas County to support infrastructure and mitigation projects.

Background
Following the 2024 hurricanes, the City of St. Petersburg was awarded $159.8 million in federal funding to help residents and communities rebuild after Hurricanes Helene and Idalia through HUD's CDBG-DR program. These federal funds were awarded to the City directly by HUD and became the Sunrise St. Pete program. HUD determines the total award amount the City receives, the qualifying disasters the City receives funding for, and the household income levels eligible for support.

Under the initial allocation, the City did not receive funding for Hurricane Milton impacts and could not use the funding to assist residents solely impacted by Hurricane Milton. Understanding the significant impact Hurricane Milton had on our residents, City staff raised this issue at the beginning of the award process with HUD and continued to work in partnership with the City's delegation members to address this issue.

Following these conversations, HUD reviewed the allocation formula and identified a geocoding error that inadvertently directed funds away from the City to residents of Pinellas County who do not reside within the city limits.

Next Steps
The City is finalizing agreements with HUD and the County. Once agreements are finalized, the City's initial focus will be serving residents who were previously denied for Sunrise St. Pete and have a Milton impact. The City will review the list of applications who applied to a single-family Sunrise St. Pete program and determine eligibility under this additional allocation.

Residents who have previously applied for a single-family Sunrise St. Pete program do not need to apply again. Applications will be reviewed and applicants may be contacted by a case manager for next steps.

More information about the Sunrise St. Pete program is available at SunriseStPete.org .

A recording of the press conference is available here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19YWfXfGm5/

About Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)
The Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) is used by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide grants to states, cities, and counties in a variety of forms. The CDBG-Disaster Recovery (DR) and CDBG-Mitigation (MIT) are one-time appropriations made after natural disasters to assist communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment and expanding economic opportunities, primarily for low and moderate-income persons. Learn more about CDBG-DR and other funded projects here: https://www.stpete.org/government/transparency/community_development_block_grants.php