What's New on South Howard This Fall, and the Construction Timeline Behind It

Less than two weeks after Tampa City Council approved the South Howard flood project, a used bookshop on West Azeele announced a grand opening for October 17. Other businesses had already committed to the street before the vote. One restaurant group has an oyster house planned on the strip for fall 2027, and a juice bar chain is aiming for 2027 on the old Fresh Kitchen lot.

On September 17, 2026, council voted 4-3 to approve the $100.4 million South Howard Flood Relief and Streetscape Project. The SoHo openings and the stormwater vote usually get covered as two separate stories. On South Howard they share one calendar. Construction runs in sections about 400 to 600 feet long, starting at the Bayshore end and moving north. Meanwhile the newest tenants are opening, or have committed to open, on dates that run straight into that work.

The timeline, as the city has published it

The project sends stormwater from flood-prone Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines down South Howard Avenue through box culverts and out into Hillsborough Bay. Kimmins Contracting Corp. is the contractor. The city presented this schedule in its September 3, 2026 council deck:

A few things about this schedule matter more than the headline number. November is utility relocation, which is prep work. The culvert itself isn't scheduled to reach South Howard until May 2027. City staff told reporters after the vote that construction would likely start after Gasparilla.

The city's own project page gives slightly different dates, with planned construction from April 1, 2027 through August 31, 2030. The preliminary phasing exhibit splits the route into 24 numbered phases totaling 957 working days, or about 1,408 calendar days. Each phase is estimated at 10 to 130 workdays, and the whole exhibit is marked subject to change.

The project starts at the existing Bayshore Boulevard outfall and works upstream along South Howard toward Swann, then out to the neighborhood branches. Under the city's design criteria, each phase is supposed to be finished and reopened to local traffic before the next one starts. In practice that means one work zone moving up the street. The whole corridor won't be torn up at once.

What opened on the strip in 2026

The street looks different now than it did in spring, before any of the work begins.

1. Howard & Platt opened July 23 at 301 S. Howard Ave., in the former T.C. Choy's space. It comes from Disser Hospitality, the group behind Sunset Rodeo next door. The menu ranges from sushi and crispy rice to smashburgers, snapper and crab-and-shrimp fritters. At brunch there's Boston Cream French Toast and donuts fried in-house.
2. Meeting House reopened at 901 S. Howard Ave. by late August. The longtime Daily Eats space closed June 15 for a refresh and came back as a new concept serving lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.
3. Good Luck Chuck's took over the SoHo Saloon space at 410 S. Howard Ave. Its opening was reported for May.
4. Thee Hen House, a used bookshop with light coffee at 3603 W. Azeele St., has a grand-opening party scheduled for October 17.

A few blocks away, SoDough Square was open in soft-opening mode at 138 S. Dale Mabry Hwy. by early July. Fresh Kitchen announced a flagship at 1719 W. Kennedy Blvd., bringing the brand back to South Tampa after the 2024 fire at its original Howard Avenue location. The announced opening date was June 9.

One longtime spot closed. Haven served its last dinner on May 21.

The pipeline runs into the construction years

The tenants still to come on South Howard aren't waiting for the work to finish.

Bern's group plans to open Peddler + Potter Oyster House in the former Haven space in fall 2027. That's after box culvert work on South Howard is scheduled to begin. Joe & The Juice announced a planned 2027 opening at 1350 S. Howard Ave., the former Fresh Kitchen site. That location still needs rezoning.

Those plans don't mean businesses on the corridor are relaxed about the work. Before the vote, Bern's Steak House owner David Laxer told council, as Tampa Bay Business & Wealth reported, that nearly 300 of his employees are tied to the corridor. He estimated that tipped and hourly staff could lose 25% to 50% of their income during construction, which he made clear was his own estimate and not the city's. The SoHo Business Alliance has said it plans to pursue legal action. Even so, operators who know this street well are still signing leases and setting opening dates inside the construction window.

Hyde Park Village is adding retail on the same schedule. LoveShackFancy opened there on July 10. Hill House Home is aiming for a fall debut but hasn't announced a date. A hiring notice for Rifle Paper Co. says its new Tampa store is planned for fall 2026. Farther south on S. MacDill, Graze is building a third location at 5232 S. MacDill Ave. in Ballast Point, with an opening expected late in 2026.

What a work zone on South Howard is supposed to look like

The rules for each 400-to-600-foot section shape the next few years of dinners, brunches and errands on the street. Here's what the city and Kimmins have published in their business assistance plan and project FAQ:

• Sidewalks. At the August open house, the city's Mobility Director said at least one side of the sidewalk would stay open and business access would be maintained.
• Driveways. A single driveway could be blocked for five to seven weeks. The FAQ promises alternate access through temporary driveways or walkways, plus a secure, staffed off-site parking area with golf-cart shuttles.
• Bayshore Boulevard. During the outfall work, both southbound lanes are expected to close for 8 to 10 weeks. One northbound lane will be switched to southbound so there's still one lane each way.
• Notices. Lane closures, traffic shifts and detours will be posted on the project's Alerts page, with signs and flaggers on site.
• Merchant support. The plan calls for a four-person business coordination team, help scheduling deliveries, wayfinding signs, vibration monitoring and documentation of each building before work starts. It also includes a "SohOPEN" marketing campaign to bring customers to corridor businesses.

The published assistance is operational and promotional. The plan doesn't describe a direct grant or compensation program for businesses.

The finished street is designed differently from today's. The project's official site lists 10-foot sidewalks, better crossings and lighting, traffic calming, upgraded landscaping and permeable pavers.

What's still unsettled

Some pieces of the schedule aren't final. The current price assumes a trenchless crossing under the CSX railroad. As of the September 17 vote, CSX had listed four requirements and indicated it would approve the design if they were met, but final approval was still pending. The phasing exhibit doesn't include a block-by-block closure calendar. The project's Alerts page is where specific dates will appear once they're set.

For the season ahead, here's what's on the record. Utility prep is scheduled to start next month. Thee Hen House holds its grand opening on October 17. The city's schedule puts culvert work on South Howard in May 2027, starting from the Bayshore end, with the Morrison intersection not scheduled until February 2029.

If you own a home or business near South Howard and want to understand how a moving work zone could affect your access, your timing or a future sale, Julia Wright and the team can walk through the city's published schedule with you, street by street. Schedule a Consultation.