A NEW
VISION comes together
A downtown playground. A new place to dine on the waterfront.
A splash pad for children. A place to learn about the ecology of
-
tas to look out at the water. When the St. Pete Pier™ reopens, it
The History
A pier has been a part of St. Petersburg’s
developed. Called the Railroad Pier, it
was designed to transport goods into
the city from Tampa Bay. The new pier
will be the 8th one in the city’s history.
It is designed to be a 21st century landmark
for the city and to last at least
another 75 years.
Creating the Vision
Mayor Rick Kriseman formed a “Pier
Working Group” composed of citizens
with a wide variety of backgrounds and
interests. This group was tasked with
coming up with a list of key elements
for the new pier—those attributes and
assets that would drive the decisionmaking
process throughout the design
and development process.
Selecting a Design
A selection committee was formed in
pier design. Rogers Partners Architects
+ Urban Designers in New York, in partnership
with Tampa’s ASD/SKY and Ken
Smith Landscape Architects, submitted
the winning design that would incorporate
all of the key elements, emphasize
function over form, and establish an
interactive, family-oriented community
space.
Initially funds were only allocated to
design and build a new pier, but after
additional funding became available,
New York-based W Architecture and
Landscape Architecture, in partnership
with St. Petersburg’s Wannemacher
Jensen Architects, won the bid to
design a new approach to the Pier.
The Pier Approach is envisioned as a
pedestrian-oriented public space and
promenade that will offer a better sense
of connection between the Pier and the
downtown business core, as well as the
overall waterfront park system in St.
Petersburg.
Moving Forward
was fully under construction with
Skanska USA selected as the construc-
from the Pier Approach all the way to
the Pier Head. Skanska has decades of
experience building public and private
sector projects across Florida. In the
Tampa and St. Petersburg area, Skanska
recently completed a major renovation
and expansion of the new Research
and Education Building on the Johns
Hopkins All Children’s Hospital campus
and the 23-acre Julian B. Lane
Riverfront Park in Tampa.
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