The City has begun plans on what will be the "next Phase of the Pier" for residents, business owners and visitors to St. Petersburg and Pinellas County.
- The Pier was originally built in 1925 and the inverted pyramid opened its doors in 1973. The Pier serves as a focal point for tourism in the area and is open 365 days year, rain or shine. It welcomes over 1.2 million visitors a year and its attractions include restaurants, retail shops, an aquarium, community meeting space and other similar facilities.
- The City and County have identified $50million in funding for future renovation/redevelopment of the Pier. Although funding for construction will not be available until 2012, the City is now embarking on a visioning process to develop concepts intended to serve as a guide for these renovations. This is the preliminary phase of the project to renovate The Pier and extend the structural life of this signature waterfront landmark.
- The first step of the visioning process was to solicit community input as to the future of the Pier, including validation of support for the future renovation or replacement of the Pier.
- The Pier Visioning Planning Team, along with Collaborative Labs at St. Petersburg College, conducted four Community visioning sessions from August through October 2008, to gather input for the future renovation or replacement of the Pier. In addition, an on-line survey was created to obtain input from citizens, business representatives and visitors not able to attend these forums.
Current Status of the Project
- Following City Council action in 2010, the City's consultant for the Pier is developing master planning alternatives for Council and community review. The focus at this time is on the Pier approach and upland areas, with the Pier head pending to allow for a design competition. Establishing a master plan and program will assist with the next phase, a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process this summer where selected firms can develop the landmark element at the Pier head in a competitive environment, along with potential themes for the master planned site. Below are links to recent activity, with more historical information and processes in the links above. Please try to attend our public Community Forum, with more to be held in the future as the vision develops.
A City Council workshop was held in December 2008 where the Pier Visioning Planning Team presented the results of the four Pier Visioning community sessions and the on-line survey. (A copy of the workshop presentation is available on this web page.) The next step is to create a "Stakeholder Committee" to take the common ground heard at the community meetings and create several alternatives for the replacement or renovation of the Pier for consideration by the community. 
The committee will be comprised of local business leaders or representatives from entities that are impacted by this project such as the CVB, Pinellas County, Homeowners Associations, Hotels, Restaurants, Chambers of Commerce, etc. This group will develop action plans as well as more detailed concepts, including visuals and estimated costs for further consideration. It is our intention to present these ideas in community forums and to City Council.
A City Council Workshop is scheduled for February 26, 2009 to provide an update on the selection of the Stakeholder Committee and status of the Pier Visioning Project.