$92 million reconstruction of St. Petersburg Municipal Pier completes
By David Malone, Associate Editor
The $92 million reconstruction of the St. Petersburg Municipal Pier has completed. Dubbed the Pier District, the 26-acre project includes a park, a 1,400-foot pier, a beach, restaurants, shops, artwork, interactive experiences, and entertainment and education areas.
Other project components include a custom-built, million-dollar playground; an interactive splash pad; a tilted lawn; the Spa Beach Pavilion; the Marketplace with its Solar Shade Structures and Market Stalls; the 35,000-sf pier plaza; the five-story Pierhead building; and the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center.
Five of the pier’s previous caissons were preserved and are now being used to support the fishing deck of the new pier. New 24”x24” precast concrete pile foundations were driven an average depth of 75 feet below the mudline and are made of FDOT class five concrete, including admixtures for extreme marine environments and weather conditions, and have a lifetime of at least 75 years. The new pier has also been elevated to consider projected sea level rise through the year 2100.
Admission is free to the public and visitors can arrive via boat and dock at one of the courtesy boat slips or drive and park in a lot fit-out with solar photovoltaic canopies. Eco-friendly trams continuously run and connect the entire property.
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Skanska provided reconstruction and construction management services for the project.
