City Council approves new St. Pete Pier design | News

UPDATE: In a 7-1 vote, the St. Petersburg City Council on Thursday approved "The Lens," the proposed redesign of the St. Pete Pier.

The city will now begin negotiations with the contractor who designed The Lens concept.

10 News will have more information as it develops.

Earlier Story:

St. Petersburg, Florida --  The St. Petersburg City Council is considering whether to approve the re-design of the St. Pete Pier called, "The Lens."

The goal was to find a design that is as much of an iconic landmark as the inverted pyramid is today, something that will attract local and international visitors.

Photo Gallery: St. Pete Pier finalists' design proposals

Not everybody is happy about it.  Council members are being met with some strong opposition Thursday morning.

A group of Occupy St. Pete protestors gathered outside City Hall just prior to this morning's meeting, holding signs stating "Let Voters Decide" and "Fear the Pier."

Protestor Greg Stemm tells 10 News he's upset about multiple things, including $50 million price tag. 

"It's a money pit," he said. "The design they chose is absolutely dreadful."

He added, "Put it to the voters of St. Petersburg and possibly to a wider group and let them decide whether the pier should be renovated or should be torn down.  Just giving people public input at a council meeting isn't enough."

The Lens, featuring a tiara shaped network of bridges and pathways designs beat out two other finalists last month.  It was not only the unanimous favorite of the jury appointed to study and select a final pier design, but well liked by the public.  68% of those asked to select their favorite design, picked 'The Lens, according to the city.

Click:  Read the Jury's Report

The re-design has a $50 million budget, to be paid for by tax increment financing, or TIF, which is a tax designated for community improvement projects.

TIF funds from the Intown Redevelopment Area where the Pier is located have also gone toward the Mahaffey Theater, Salvador Dali Museum, parks and streetscape improvemnts.

Some of the protestors like Stemm expressed concern that $50 million is only a part of the what the end price will be, however, Chris Ballestra with the city tells 10 News the entire project from permits to demolition to the finished project will not exceed the $50 million budget.

Two things are happening today.  First, the council will consider whether to acknowledge the jury's decision and second, will decide whether to authorize city staff to negotiate a contract with the winning design firm, Michael Maltzan Architecture.

See Also: "The Lens" wins new St. Pete Pier design competition

If the council does not approve... it will be back to the drawing board.

The inverted pyramid structure we see today has been in place since 1973, but despite some people's efforts to keep the current design, the city determined it would be too expensive to maintain in its current condition.

Some parts of the pier date back to the 1926 Million Dollar Pier, according to the city. 

If the council approves The Lens, don't expect the Pier to close right away.  It's going to remain open for at least the next two years.  This is going to be a long process that will involve you!

You can expect the city to solicit your input to come up with a final blue print during the year long design development stage.

As presented, the current design is 25% over the $50 million budget, but the design is flexible enough where it can be changed with little impact to the appearance of 'The Lens' and still come within the budget.

This can be done simply by shortening the length of the current design proposal and making other unnoticeable changes, according to the city.

If approved, the issue moves on to a workshop on February 23rd, which will include discussion on demolition.

St. Petersburg Pier history:  (according to city documents)

-1889:  Rail  Road Pier built at Demen's Landing

-1906:  Electric Pier built along 2nd Avenue North.  It extends 3,000 feet into the bay

-1913:  First municipal pier.  Voters approved a $40,000 bond next Electric Pier

-1921:  hurricane destroys all piers

-1926:  Million Dollar Pier opens with a Mediterranean revival architecture building on pier

-1967:  Million Dollar Pier building demolished

-1967-1973:  pier closed for renovations

-1973:  Inverted pyramid pier opens

-1988:  19 months of renovations on inverted pyramid at cost of $12.5 million