St. Pete city officials broke ground on the new St. Pete pier Wednesday. After years in the works, construction will start on the new pier and residents will start to see some changes very soon.
- Groundbreaking for new St. Pete pier held today
- Construction to now start on new pier
- Pier to feature restaurants, shops, water sports, family activities
- Pier to open in early 2019
The new design will provide interactive experiences throughout the site.
“I’m ready for the new pier,” Jim Jines, St. Pete resident, said.
Jines has lived downtown for about three and a half years, and in his time here he has never seen a functioning pier.
“When I first moved here they closed the old one, so all you could do was walk out on it,” Jines said.
The new pier will have restaurants, shops, water sports, and activities for the whole family, which will hopefully bring people to St. Pete.
However, some visitors say they hope it doesn’t mean that St. Pete will lose its charm.
“That won’t draw my attention because it’ll get too crowded. I like this, I come here to St. Pete because it’s less crowded and it’s more people friendly,” Rohini Brahmbhatt said.
Mayor Rick Kriseman said it will only add to what makes St. Pete, St. Pete—and the new pier will be well worth the wait.
“It’s been a long process, a ton of community input. I couldn’t be more excited and when this is all done, I believe we’re going to have an incredible project that the community can be really proud of, and it’s going to be built in budget—can’t make it any better than that,” Kriseman said.
The pilings will start going in today and they will be the groundwork for the over-water features. The construction crews will then work their way back towards land.
The pier is expected to be completed by late next year with the official ribbon cutting in early 2019.