The three finalists for the new St. Petersburg Pier are making their final presentations today to a panel during a public meeting at the Coliseum, 535 4th Ave. N. 

This is the last time the design teams publicly make their case. Which one has the best design for the city?

The finalists are:

1. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), lead designer Bjarke Ingels of New York;
2. Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc., lead designer Michael Maltzan of Los Angeles;
3. West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture, lead designer Adriaan Geuze of New York.

Mayor Bill Foster and the city gave the design teams a $50 million budget for the new pier. All teams' "phase 1" come under budget, but many of the promoted amenities are multi-million dollar extras. 

The jury evaluating the proposals is comprised of: Stanley Saitowitz, a South African architect and an architecture professor from University of California, Berkeley; James Moore, PhD, a Tampa-based urban designer and former architecture and design professor at USF; Susan Fainstein, PhD, a Harvard University urban design professor; City Council Member Leslie Curran and Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch.

Schedule for Friday's Presentation: 

The public will still have an opportunity to review and comment on the final three designs through Dec. 30.

The designs are part of the "Look, Think, Share" program at the St. Petersburg Museum of History. There is not admission fee to see the display, and the jury, which will select the winner, wants the public's feedback.

At the Museum of History, there are miniature models that show the depth and range of the designs, as well as design boards that line the room.

For each design, there is a questionnaire for the public to fill out. The results will be used by the jury when it makes its final recommendation/ranking for the Pier, which is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2012.