The Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s Office is requesting inclusion in discussions over the Tampa Bay Rays’ proposed stadium development, warning that the project could displace the county’s busiest public service location.
The proposed Rays development at the Drew Park site — part of a plan to build a new ballpark near the Hillsborough Community College campus — would affect the Tax Collector’s Drew Park Service Center. Chief Deputy Tax Collector Jennifer Castro says roughly 900 people visit the office each day to obtain driver’s licenses, ID cards, vehicle registrations, and other services, making it the office’s highest-traffic location. The center served 218,000 customers in fiscal year 2025.
In an April 10 letter to the Tampa City Council, Tax Collector Nancy Millan said she supports the Rays coming to Tampa but cited a constitutional responsibility to protect the interests of the county’s 1.6 million residents. She asked who would bear the cost of relocating the office and what the financial impact on taxpayers would be.
The Drew Park office, built about ten years ago for $4 million, occupies five acres of state-leased land. Officials estimate that constructing a comparable facility today would cost between $15 million and $25 million.
Castro noted that the office’s central location — at the corner of W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and N. Lois Ave. — makes it accessible to residents from multiple neighborhoods and is the only transit-accessible point for tax collector services in the area.
Tampa City Councilman Charlie Miranda raised the issue at a recent council workshop, questioning Rays CEO Ken Babby and Hillsborough Community College President Dr. Ken Atwater about the office’s fate. Miranda said he would prefer the office remain in its current location, calling it a prime site for public use.
Castro said the tax collector’s office would prefer to stay put, and suggested the facility could even benefit the new development by drawing foot traffic. If relocation becomes necessary, she said the office wants to be part of the negotiations and have a clear plan in place before any disruption occurs.
The Rays did not respond to a request for comment, though Babby previously told the Tampa Bay Times that the team is committed to working collaboratively with the tax collector’s office to address concerns.
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