Gateway Expressway: What Pinellas County Owners Should Know Before the State’s Offer

The Gateway Expressway reshaped how traffic moves across Pinellas County, and it did so by acquiring private land along the way. If a road, drainage, utility, or interchange project connected to the Gateway Expressway corridor puts your property in the state’s path, the offer you receive is a starting point for negotiation, not a final number. Florida law gives owners strong rights, including the right to full compensation and, in most cases, the right to have the government pay your attorney’s fees. Knowing those rights before you sign anything is the single best way to protect what your property is worth. When the state comes calling, Jimerson Birr stands with Florida owners as the firm that treats eminent domain as a core practice, not a sideline.

What Is the Gateway Expressway, and Why Does It Matter to Pinellas County Owners?

The Gateway Expressway is a $622 million tolled roadway system that the Florida Department of Transportation built to connect US 19, Interstate 275, and the Bayside Bridge across central Pinellas County. According to the FDOT project fact sheet, construction began in August 2017, the express lanes opened to drivers in April 2024, and all construction activities were completed by June 30, 2025. The project built two new expressways, SR 690 and SR 686A, largely within the medians of 118th Avenue North and Roosevelt Boulevard, and it added an interchange at Ulmerton Road while passing through the former Sunshine Speedway property.

Projects of this scale do not happen without land. To build elevated ramps, widen approaches, relocate utilities, and manage stormwater, FDOT and its local partners acquire right-of-way from private owners in Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park, St. Petersburg, and the surrounding region. Even now that the mainline is open, related roadway, ramp, and drainage work along the corridor can trigger new acquisitions. If you own commercial, industrial, or residential property near this corridor, the lessons from the Gateway Expressway apply directly to any future taking you may face.

How Does Eminent Domain Work in Florida?

Eminent domain is the government’s power to take private property for a public use, so long as the owner receives full compensation. In Florida, that power and its limits come from Article X, Section 6 of the Florida Constitution and from Chapter 73 of the Florida Statutes. The process almost always begins the same way: the condemning authority has your property appraised, then sends a written offer and asks you to agree to a price.

That first written offer is where owners gain or lose the most, and it is exactly the moment to involve counsel. To understand the full sequence from the state’s first contact through a jury trial on value, review our overview of the eminent domain process for Florida commercial property owners. If you are unsure whether what you received even qualifies as a taking, our explanation of eminent domain versus condemnation clears up the terminology.

What Is the “Quick-Take” Process?

Quick-take lets the government take title and possession of your property before the final compensation amount is decided. Most Florida road projects, including corridors like the Gateway Expressway, proceed under the quick-take procedure in Chapter 74 of the Florida Statutes. Under quick-take, the condemning authority deposits its estimate of value with the court, obtains an order of taking, and can begin construction while you continue to fight for the true value of what was taken.

Quick-take does not mean you lose your right to full compensation. It means the clock moves faster, deadlines matter more, and getting experienced counsel involved early is critical. Jimerson Birr regularly guides owners through order-of-taking hearings so that a fast timeline does not become a cheap outcome.

What Does “Full Compensation” Mean in Florida?

Full compensation means being put in the same financial position you would have occupied if the taking had never happened, which is a broader standard than the federal “just compensation” requirement. Florida is one of the more owner-friendly states in the country on this point, and the difference can be substantial. Our article on what just compensation means for Florida homeowners breaks the standard down in plain terms.

Full compensation can include far more than the raw market value of the dirt taken. Depending on the facts, it may include the following elements.

Severance Damages and Cost to Cure

When the state takes only part of your parcel, the remainder often loses value, and severance damages compensate you for that loss. If a taking eliminates parking, restricts access, or leaves an oddly shaped remnant, the drop in value to what is left can dwarf the value of the strip actually acquired. Related access and layout problems frequently overlap with complex real property improvement issues that require a careful appraisal and engineering review.

Business Damages: Florida’s Rare Protection

Florida is one of only a handful of states that lets business owners recover business damages when a partial taking harms an ongoing business on the property. If a road project cuts off the visibility or access your business depends on, those losses may be recoverable on top of the land value. We explain how this works in our guide to Florida eminent domain business damages, and it is one of the most overlooked sources of value for commercial owners along corridors like the Gateway Expressway.

What Should You Do Before You Accept the State’s Offer?

Do not accept the first offer, and do not sign anything, until an eminent domain attorney has reviewed it. The initial appraisal is prepared for the condemning authority, and it will rarely account for severance damages, business damages, or the highest and best use of your land. Before you respond, take these steps: preserve every document the state sends you, note all deadlines, avoid recorded statements about value, and get an independent assessment of what you are truly owed.

You should also understand the leverage you hold. Florida law provides owners with real tools to push back, as we outline in legal strategies Florida homeowners can use to fight eminent domain. The Legislature has also expanded state condemnation authority in recent years, and our summary of Florida’s newer eminent domain rules explains what changed and why it matters. For a sense of how these principles play out in another Florida market, see how we approach eminent domain issues for Orlando commercial property owners.

The bottom line is simple: the state expects most owners to accept the first number. Jimerson Birr exists to make sure you are not one of them.

Who Pays for Your Attorney in a Florida Eminent Domain Case?

In most Florida eminent domain cases, the condemning authority pays your reasonable attorney’s fees, not you. Under Section 73.092 of the Florida Statutes, fees are generally awarded based on the “benefits achieved,” meaning the difference between the government’s last written offer before you hired counsel and the final judgment or settlement. The statutory schedule awards 33 percent of any benefit up to $250,000, 25 percent of any benefit between $250,000 and $1 million, and 20 percent of any benefit above $1 million.

This fee-shifting structure is the reason hiring experienced counsel usually costs an owner little or nothing out of pocket. If your attorney recovers more than the state first offered, the government generally pays the fee on that increase. There is little financial reason to face the state alone, and every reason to have Jimerson Birr negotiating for the difference.

What Mistakes Do Pinellas County Owners Make Most Often?

The most common and costly mistake is treating the state’s offer as final. Others include missing the short deadlines that follow an order of taking, overlooking business damages, failing to document access and visibility before construction changes the site, and accepting an appraisal that ignores the highest and best use of the property. Owners also sometimes confuse an outright taking with related title, access, and encumbrance problems, such as easements and restrictive covenants, boundary line disputes, and quiet title issues, each of which can affect what your property is worth when the state comes calling.

Owners considering whether the project itself is a lawful public use may also want to read our discussion of eminent domain for private infrastructure projects, a debate that is increasingly relevant to Florida’s growth corridors.

How Does Jimerson Birr Help Florida Property Owners Facing Condemnation?

Jimerson Birr represents Florida property owners from the state’s first written offer through settlement or trial, and we treat eminent domain as a core part of our real estate practice. Our attorneys handle valuation disputes, severance and business damage claims, order-of-taking hearings, and fee recovery, and we bring the same depth to owners across the Tampa Bay region that we bring statewide. You can learn more about our focused work on eminent domain and condemnation issues and about the broader industry experience we offer to clients in real estate development and construction.

If a Gateway Expressway related project, or any other Florida road, utility, or infrastructure taking, has put your property in the state’s path, do not respond to the offer alone. Contact Jimerson Birr for a review of your rights, and browse our full library of guidance in the Florida Eminent Domain Law blog. When the state wants your land, make sure Florida’s premier eminent domain advocates want to help you keep its full value.