Refurbish or Build New St. Pete Pier? — Report Outlines Options

A report from a mayor-appointed task force on the St. Pete Pier outlines the two major options for its future: refurbishing vs. rebuilding.  

The 828 Alliance task force handed in the 11-page report to Mayor Bill Foster Wednesday night containing guidelines and recommendations for deciding what's next for the pier. 

The first major option includes refurbishing the existing pier, according to the Tampa Bay Times. 

Although, not all alliance members agreed with that option.

Member Shirley O'Sullivan stressed that demolition is the right option. 

"Financially, [refurbishing] is not an option. That's a conflicting view to me because the mayor has said that it is going to be demolished," she told the Tampa Bay Times.

Will Michaels sat on a subcommittee that recommended refurbishing the pier and said the reasoning was to allow potential designs that could have the option "to do this if they can do it within the existing budget," the Times reports.

The second major option includes general guidelines for recruiting new designs for a new pier, according to the Tampa Tribune. 

Alliance co-chair Fred Whaley said this time the process will be much more open. 

"We hope to get about 30 designs. We hope to boil that down to 10," according to TBO.

Recommendations within the report include extensive public input and education through media campaigns, public meetings and detailed proposals, TBO reports.

While alliance members did not agree on everything, Whaley said the report was "a good start," according to the Times.

Foster told the group Wednesday night that "no pier is not an option," reports the TBT. "We are going to have something that everyone can get behind," he said.

Members of the 828 Alliance: David Punzack (President of St. Pete Chamber), Shirley O'Sullivan ("Lens" advocate), Bud Riser (Stop the Lens), Fred Whaley (Stop the Lens), Rob Kapusta (President of the Downtown Partnership), Susan Jezek (Urban Land Institute), Ed Montanari (Pier Task Force Chairman), Bob Churuti (Beach Drive Merchants), James Jackson Jr. (City of Tampa's Architect), Phil Graham (Landscape Architect) and Dr. Bill Hogarth (Former Dean of Marine Sciences of USF and former chancellor of USF St. Pete).