USF St. Pete is still assessing millions in storm damage 

While it is clear that the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus suffered significant damage from an unprecedented hurricane season, details remain murkier than the water that overflowed from Bayboro Harbor. 

In Hurricane Helene’s immediate aftermath, Chancellor Christian Hardigree posted a video of the waterfront campus under three to four feet of water. Hurricane Milton displaced over 350 students from their downtown dormitories days later. 

In February, USF President Rhea Law said the state university subsequently revised plans for a long-awaited Environmental and Oceanographic Sciences (EOS) research and teaching facility to make it more environmentally resilient. A new hurricane season begins in two months, and the school has offered little public insight into previous damage or future preparations. 

“The damage costs to the USF St. Petersburg campus are still being calculated as we work through the recovery process,” said Kevin Sheehy, regional vice chancellor for administration and financial services. 

“Combined storm-related costs to the campus from all three hurricanes (Debby, Helene and Milton) are expected to total more than $5 million.” 

Sailboats dock behind the St. Petersburg campus at 140 7th Ave. S. Photo by Mark Parker.

Sheehy, via email, told the Catalyst that the Knight Oceanographic Research Center, adjacent Marine Science Labs, parking garage, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, Student Life Center and the “Piano Man” building are the first groups of facilities under review. He did not mention Residence Hall One, which shuttered for several weeks following Milton, the last and most devastating of the three consecutive hurricanes. 

Sheehy said USF is eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance. However, the reimbursement process could take up to three years. 

Most of the estimated $5 million in damage – and additional costs for debris removal, water remediation and labor – is “potentially reimbursable.” Sheehy said FEMA typically covers 75% of expenses. 

He noted that USF is also exploring FEMA mitigation funding to repair and storm-harden several impacted “critical campus systems” to mitigate or prevent “repeat flood damage.” 

“What we have known, and the 2024 hurricane season highlighted, is that the immediate threat to the campus is storm surge,” Sheehy added. “We are investigating flood barriers to harden specific locations on campus that house critical systems or are particularly vulnerable to flooding.”

One of those locations houses organizations dedicated to addressing increasingly extreme weather. The College of Marine Science’s Knights Oceanographic Research Center is a relatively new, modern building with blue-tinted glass paneling that starkly contrasts the adjacent Marine Science Labs (MSL).

Both facilities remain under review six months after the storms. However, the 84-year-old MSL building was part of the former U.S. Navy Maritime Training Center during World War II and showed its age long before back-to-back hurricanes ravaged the area.  

USF officials planned for an $80 million, 40,000-square-foot EOS to house those labs, the Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and Innovation – now at the neighboring Maritime and Defense Technology Hub, which did not receive significant flooding – and other marine-focused efforts. 

The Marine Science Laboratories were built under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. Photo by Mark Parker.

Those plans have evolved due to funding and environmental challenges. “We are using our experiences from the recent hurricanes to assess the best way to build any future facilities, including the optimal location,” Sheehy said. 

“We are now exploring an option for the EOS facility that is less prone to flooding and raises the building above potential surge levels.” 

Sheehy said sea-level rise is a consideration for any waterfront property, and USF is no different. The university must incorporate the “possibility” into all future investments on the St. Petersburg campus. 

USF has the distinct benefit of in-house knowledge and modeling capabilities. The St. Petersburg campus is also home to the Florida Institute of Oceanography, and Sheehy said those partnerships propel preparedness and recovery responses. 

While he blamed wind-driven rain for water intrusion, USF is considering deploying flood barriers like an AquaFence. The City of St. Petersburg will utilize the prominent product to protect a downtown lift station near the campus during hurricane season. 

“The storms we experienced last fall highlighted the urgent need to fortify existing buildings and enhance our focus on resiliency,” Hardigree wrote in January. “The evolution here is clear: We are building on our reputation as a leader in this space, setting the standard for environmental stewardship and innovation.”

The College of Marine Science, as seen from the Maritime and Defense Technology Hub. Photo by Mark Parker.