Some storm victims in St. Petersburg will begin receiving funding in March. However, the program is no longer accepting applications. Photo: City of St. Petersburg.
St. Petersburg has stopped accepting applications for $61 million in residential storm recovery funding two months after the portal opened due to an influx of applications.
The long-awaited federal funding stems from the $160 million Sunrise St. Pete program. The first awardees will receive checks in March.
Administrators paused the intake process at 11:59 a.m. Sunday, according to the Sunrise St. Pete website. The Feb. 12 update notes that “the program is approaching the number of applications we expect to be able to serve.”
“Pausing intake allows time to review current applications and see if we can serve more people,” states the website. “Intake may reopen only if funds remain. Please note that reopening is not guaranteed.”
What could become a permanent pause only affects new applications. Staff will continue to process existing requests and accept any required documents.
City council members approved the $61 million residential recovery program in early October 2025, a year after Hurricanes Helene and Milton decimated the area. A historically long government shutdown negated plans to open applications in November.
St. Petersburg began accepting funding requests Dec. 15, despite additional government delays. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) told administrators in January that it was amending a grant agreement received in October.
“I made the decision that it made sense to get resources to our community sooner rather than later, knowing we had funding coming,” said Amy Foster, housing and neighborhood services administrator, at a Jan. 15 meeting.
“We kept working diligently and opened the program, even without a grant agreement.”
A few days later, HUD issued a new agreement that incorporated executive orders related to gender ideology, discrimination, abortion, and immigration. The city council approved it on Jan. 22.
As of Feb. 11, St. Petersburg had received 678 requests for up to $375,000 in rehabilitation, reconstruction, and elevation funding. Officials initially expected to award 98 households.
They also planned to provide up to $50,000 to 288 households that had previously completed storm repairs. Residents submitted 271 of those applications.
The city forecasted that 784 people would apply for up to $15,000 in relief payments (reimbursement for rent, mortgage, and utility costs). However, staff received over 1,400 of those applications in less than two months.
“I just wanted to underscore how many people we have that are hurting,” Foster said in January. “This assistance coming urgently is important.”
A heat map highlighting the locations of residents who have applied to the Sunrise St. Pete program. Image: City documents.
The city, according to HUD guidelines, prioritizes low- to moderate-income families earning up to 80% of the area median income. Some assistance is available for those earning up to 120%.
Assistance is “not first-come, first-served,” states the website, and tenants receive priority for relief reimbursements. The lowest-earning households, particularly those with age-dependent or disabled members, are first in line for rehabilitation and reconstruction funding.
Pinellas County, which avoided federal delays and received $813 million for its disaster relief initiative, began sending checks to residents who live outside of St. Petersburg on Dec. 22.
Sunrise St. Pete’s website states that “given the timing” of HUD’s final approval, the city anticipates disbursing relief payments in March, and that wards for repairs, reconstruction, and elevation will “follow later in the spring, after damage assessments are complete.”
“We understand the impact this has on residents awaiting assistance and are moving as quickly as possible to ensure funds are released promptly.”
In August 2025, city council members approved an $11.7 million agreement with consultancy firm Horne to help manage and administer Sunrise St. Pete. They will now vote on increasing the total amount to $59.7 million, which, according to Thursday’s agenda, includes “direct lease and beneficiary costs associated with construction and reimbursement activities.”
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