The town of Coamo, Puerto Rico, is moving forward with 14 simultaneous construction, reconstruction and infrastructure projects totaling $18.315 million, Mayor Juan Carlos García Padilla announced Wednesday. The work covers sports facilities, housing developments, commercial spaces, public buildings and community infrastructure, and is funded through municipal resources, the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as part of recovery after hurricanes María, Fiona and Ernesto.
The largest investments are $8.3 million for the Edwin "Puruco" Nolasco Coliseum and $6 million for the Pedro Miguel Caratini Stadium. Other projects include housing in downtown Coamo, the Pisos de Coamo development, work at the Hotel Posada San Blas, roof sealing at the municipal museum and the Las Flores Multipurpose Center, and upgrades to roads, low-water crossings, basketball courts, parks and parking.
The town is also removing asbestos- and lead-containing materials from the former Diagnostic and Treatment Center (CDT) to convert it into municipal offices. As of June 30, 2026, Coamo had completed 280 of 328 FEMA-funded projects after Hurricane María, with 22 in progress, or 302 completed or underway (92.1%). Twelve were awaiting commencement, six were in bidding and eight in design.
Some pending bridge projects need U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval, and others involve erosion issues for which no design proposals have been received. García Padilla said Coamo manages about 400 recovery initiatives through municipal staff, and that FEMA chose it as a reference town. Federal officials are expected to visit next week.