On a previous blogs, we talked about building permit trends in Hillsborough County.  In this blog, we report on trends in the demolition permits issued by the four jurisdictions within Hillsborough County.  We will show that most of the demolition permits are issued by Tampa. Moreover, these peaked back in 2021 and are considerably down.

On Demolition Permits

Building and demolition permits are issued by the four jurisdictions.  Plan Hillsborough processes, standardizes, summarizes, and (if needed) geocodes these disparate records. We publish the data here for the benefit of policymakers and the public.  As with any dataset, there are many challenges. For example, in the case of residential demolitions, the number of residential units being demolished may or may not be explicitly stated in the electronic record of the permit. More specifically, a demolition permit may say that four residential buildings were to be demolished.  That could be 4, 8, or more apartments or townhouses.  So, the residential demolition permits may not include all the demolished homes. In the case of nonresidential demolitions, some details (e.g., indoor area in square feet, number of businesses affected) may not be available in the electronic record.

Jurisdictions

Yearly Residential Demolitions

Tampa is the oldest and most densely populated municipality in Hillsborough County. As such, typically, older existing structures are demolished to make room for new structures. As seen in Table 1a, for the years 2015 through 2020, Tampa issued between 78% and 87% and averaged 83% of the demolition permits in Hillsborough County.  Since demolition permits for Unincorporated Hillsborough County have not been available since March 2021, Tampa’s share of demolition permits appears to be significantly larger in the years 2021 through 2023. Yearly, Tampa’s demolition permits ranged from 334 (in 2015) to 697 (in 2021) and averaged 524 demolition permits. Unincorporated Hillsborough County is the second largest issuer of demolition permits. In the period 2015-2020, it issued from 55 (in 2015) to 101 (in 2017) and averaged 74 demolition permits. Plant City has issued from 12 (in 2020) to 34 (in 2023) and averaged 21 demolitions permits per year. Temple Terrace issues about 2 or less demolition permits per year. See Figures 1a through 1c for permitted residential demolitions by jurisdictions. See Figures 1d and 1e for ZIP Code-level 2019-2023 average residential  demolition permits issued and trend. 

Table 1a. Residential Demolitions by Jurisdictions by Year

Jurisdiction	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	January-June 2024	Average 2015-2023	Average 2019-2023
Plant City	18	17	14	13	24	12	30	28	34	12	21	26
Tampa	334	440	426	551	553	597	697	567	551	288	524	593
Temple Terrace	4	0	3	1	5	3	0	2	0	0	2	2
Unincorporated Hillsborough County	55	70	101	69	92	77	57	N/A	N/A	N/A	74	67
Countywide	411	527	544	634	674	689	784	597	585	300	605	666

Note:  Data on demolitions in Unincorporated Hillsborough County have not been available since March 2021. Averages are based on available data.

Figure 1a. Countywide – Residential Demolitions by Year

Figure 1b. Plant City and Temple Terrace – Residential Demolitions by Year

Figure 1c. Tampa and Unincorporated Hillsborough County – Residential Demolitions by Year

Figure 1d. 2019-2023 Average Permitted Residential Demolitions by ZIP Code

Figure 1e. 2019-2023 Percent Change in Permitted Residential Demolitions by ZIP Code

Yearly Residential Demolitions vs. Yearly Newly Built Homes

In the four jurisdictions, the number of newly built homes dwarves the number of permitted residential demolitions. For Plant City and Tampa, residential demolitions represent 12% and 17% of the newly built homes built every year, respectively. Countywide, residential demolitions represent around 6% of the newly built homes.  See Table 2a and Figures 2a through 2e.

Table 2a. Residential Demolitions vs. Newly Built Homes by Jurisdictions by Year

Jurisdiction	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	Average 2015-2023	Average 2019-2023
Plant City – Residential Demolitions	18	17	14	13	24	12	30	28	34	20	26
Plant City – Newly Built Homes	289	121	117	175	62	61	114	338	117	160	138
Tampa – Residential Demolitions	334	440	426	551	553	597	697	567	551	521	593
Tampa – Newly Built Homes	2,118	2,253	3,859	2,045	3,220	2,341	4,373	4,203	1,828	3,052	3,193
Temple Terrace – Residential Demolitions	4	0	3	1	5	3	0	2	0	2	2
Temple Terrace – Newly Built Homes	7	264	7	18	11	42	60	359	50	96	104
Unincorporated Hillsborough County – Residential Demolitions	55	70	101	69	92	77	57	0	0	65	45
Unincorporated Hillsborough County – Newly Built Homes	5,199	5,852	6,156	8,397	8,898	8,803	7,158	8,560	5,411	7,378	7,766
Countywide – Residential Demolitions	411	527	544	634	674	689	784	597	585	608	666
Countywide – Newly Built Homes	7,613	8,490	10,139	10,635	12,191	11,247	11,705	13,460	7,406	10,685	11,202

Figure 2a. Plant City – Residential Demolitions vs. Newly Built Homes by Year

Figure 2b. Tampa – Residential Demolitions vs. Newly Built Homes by Year

Figure 2c. Temple Terrace – Residential Demolitions vs. Newly Built Homes by Year

Figure 2d. Unincorporated Hillsborough County – Residential Demolitions vs. Newly Built Homes by Year

Figure 2e. Countywide – Residential Demolitions vs. Newly Built Homes by Year

Yearly Nonresidential Demolitions

Tampa also issues the most nonresidential demolition permits. As seen in Table 3a and Figures 3a and 3b, for the years 2015 through 2020, Tampa issued between 86% and 59% and averaged 69% of the nonresidential demolition permits in Hillsborough County.  Again, nonresidential demolition permits for Unincorporated Hillsborough County have not been available since March 2021.  Thus, Tampa’s share of nonresidential demolition permits appears to be significantly larger in the years 2021 through 2023. Yearly, Tampa’s nonresidential demolition permits ranged from 45 (in 2020) to 112 (in 2023) and averaged 73 nonresidential demolition permits. Unincorporated Hillsborough County is the second largest issuer of nonresidential demolition permits. In the period 2015-2020, it issued from 10 (in 2016) to 27 (in 2018) and averaged 18 nonresidential demolition permits. Plant City has not issued any nonresidential demolition permits since 2020.  In the period 2015-2020, it issued from 2 (in 2016) to 11 (in 2019) and averaged 6 demolitions permits per year. Temple Terrace issued nonresidential demolition permits averages less than 1 nonresidential demolition permit per year. See Figures 3c and 3d for ZIP Code-level 2019-2023 average nonresidential demolition permits issued and growth trend.

Table 3a. Nonresidential Demolitions by Jurisdictions by Year

Jurisdiction	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	January-June 2024	Average 2015-2023	Average 2019-2023
Plant City	4	2	4	5	11	9	0	0	0	0	4	4
Tampa	69	73	53	58	54	45	103	86	112	41	73	80
Temple Terrace	0	0	2	4	2	2	0	0	3	0	1	1
Unincorporated Hillsborough County	14	10	23	27	18	20	13	N/A	N/A	N/A	18	17
Countywide	87	85	82	94	85	76	116	86	115	41	92	96

Note:  Data on demolitions in Unincorporated Hillsborough County have not been available since March 2021. Averages are based on available data.

Figure 3a. Plant City and Temple Terrace – Nonresidential Demolitions by Jurisdictions by Year

Figure 3b. Tampa and Unincorporated Hillsborough County – Nonresidential Demolitions by Jurisdictions by Year

Figure 3c. 2019-2023 Average Permitted Nonresidential Demolitions by ZIP Code

Figure 3d. 2019-2023 Percent Change in Permitted Nonresidential Demolitions by ZIP Code

Tampa Planning Districts

Yearly Residential Demolitions

As seen above, Tampa issues the lion’s share of residential and commercial demolition permits.  In this section, we look closer at permitted demolitions within the five individual planning districts: Central Tampa, New Tampa, South Tampa, USF Institutional, and Westshore TIA. Amongst these 5 planning districts, most of the residential demolition permits are for properties in Central Tampa and South Tampa Planning Districts. They have been issued around 88% of the residential demolition permits within Tampa.  Both planning districts issued over 200 residential demolition permits per year.  For the USF Institutional Planning District, residential demolition permits range from 26(in 2015) to 66 (in 2022) and averaged 46 residential demolition permits per year. In least dense New Tampa Planning District, no residential demolition permits have been issued in most years. See Table 4a and Figures 4a and 4b.

Table 4a. Residential Demolitions by Tampa Planning District by Year

Tampa Planning Districts	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	January-June 2024	Average 2015-2023	Average 2019-2023
Central Tampa	128	190	176	245	242	273	308	248	260	139	230	266
New Tampa	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	1	1	1	1	1
South Tampa	171	188	183	250	245	254	333	239	212	117	231	257
USF Institutional	26	38	36	44	44	53	41	66	55	23	45	52
Westshore TIA	9	25	32	12	22	18	14	14	23	8	19	18
Citywide	334	441	427	551	554	598	698	568	551	288	525	594

Figure 4a. New Tampa, USF Institutional and Westshore TIA – Residential Demolitions by Year

Figure 4b. Central Tampa and South Tampa – Residential Demolitions by Year

Yearly Residential Demolitions vs. Yearly Newly Built Homes

In the five planning districts, the number of newly built homes is also much higher than the number of permitted residential demolitions. Permitted residential demolitions as share of newly built homes ranges from 0.19% (in New Tampa) to 61% (in USF Institutional) and averaged 26%.  See Table 5a and Figures 5a through 5e.

Table 5a. Residential Demolitions vs. Newly Built Homes by Jurisdictions by Year

Tampa Planning Districts	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	Average 2015-2023	Average 2020-2023
Central Tampa – Residential Demolitions	128	190	176	245	242	273	308	248	260	139	230
Central Tampa – Newly Built Homes	994	652	2,571	774	1,431	1,077	2,543	2,737	674	1,495	1,692
New Tampa – Residential Demolitions	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	1	1	1	1
New Tampa – Newly Built Homes	272	500	174	526	192	346	503	174	117	312	266
South Tampa – Residential Demolitions	171	188	183	250	245	254	333	239	212	117	231
South Tampa – Newly Built Homes	397	404	644	324	1,443	729	799	1,149	743	737	973
USF Institutional – Residential Demolitions	26	38	36	44	44	53	41	66	55	23	45
USF Institutional – Newly Built Homes	41	35	160	52	89	109	103	92	130	90	105
Westshore TIA – Residential Demolitions	9	25	32	12	22	18	14	14	23	8	19
Westshore TIA – Newly Built Homes	414	663	311	369	65	80	425	53	219	289	168
Citywide – Residential Demolitions	334	441	427	551	554	598	698	568	551	288	525
Citywide – Newly Built Homes	2,118	2,254	3,860	2,045	3,220	2,341	4,373	4,205	1,883	2,922	3,204

Figure 5a. Central Tampa – Residential Demolitions vs. Newly Built Homes by Year

Figure 5b. New Tampa – Residential Demolitions vs. Newly Built Homes by Year

Figure 5c. South Tampa – Residential Demolitions vs. Newly Built Homes by Year

Figure 5d. USF Institutional – Residential Demolitions vs. Newly Built Homes by Year

Figure 5e. Westshore TIA – Residential Demolitions vs. Newly Built Homes by Year

Yearly Nonresidential Demolitions

Tampa also issues the most nonresidential demolition permits.  In the New Tampa Planning District, there were no nonresidential demolitions permitted in the years 2015 through 2023. Alternatively, over 70% of the nonresidential demolitions were permitted in Central Tampa and Westshore TIA.  These two planning districts averaged 41 and 12 residential demolitions per year, respectively. South Tampa and USF Institutional were issued fewer nonresidential demolition permits. They averaged 10 and 11 nonresidential demolition permits, respectively. See Table 6a and Figures 6a and 6b.

Table 6a. New Tampa, USF Institutional and Westshore TIA – Nonresidential Demolitions by Year

Tampa Planning Districts	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	January-June 2024	Average 2015-January-June 2024	Average 2020-January-June 2024
Central Tampa	35	41	31	22	31	30	63	52	60	28	41	47
New Tampa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
South Tampa	9	12	9	5	7	3	13	18	22	8	11	13
USF Institutional	7	8	10	14	8	6	15	9	13	1	10	10
Westshore TIA	18	12	3	19	9	6	13	7	17	4	12	10
Citywide	69	73	53	60	55	45	104	86	112	41	73	80

Figure 6a. New Tampa, USF Institutional and Westshore TIA – Nonresidential Demolitions by Year

Figure 6b. Central Tampa and South Tampa – Residential Demolitions by Year

Conclusion

To conclude, total permitted residential demolitions peaked at 784 in 2021. On average, there are 606 permitted residential demolitions per year. Since permitted demolition data for Unincorporated Hillsborough County has not been available since early 2021, these two figures could be higher. Notwithstanding, Tampa is the largest issuer of demolition permits.  Within Tampa, the Central Tampa, South Tampa, and Westshore TIA planning districts have seen the most demolition activities. From 2015-2021, these demolitions were increasing every year.  Since 2021, demolitions have been trending lower. When compared to newly built homes, permitted demolitions were a fraction of newly built homes (e.g., 6% of countywide newly built homes and 17% of Tampa newly built homes).