The New St. Petersburg Pier

BLUE PIER brings the bay and pier closer to downtown, uniting the Bay with the City along a sustainable axis of recreational, ecological and economic activity; a landscape for learning, enjoyment and public health. The entire BLUE PIER is a marine discovery center and a world-class icon. A vibrant program close to Beach Drive offers an attractive place for investment. The pedestrian scale design provides a safe and enjoyable environment for families, residents and visitors.


Blue Pier: weaving together the city and bay

Dating back to the early 20th century, the City of St Petersburg has a proud and unique history of preserving green space for recreation on the waterfront. This tradition and legacy of civic good and sustainability is at the center of the BLUE PIER design. Our vision is simply to bring the bay and pier closer to downtown, uniting the Bay with the City along a new axis of recreational and economic activity. BLUE PIER provides a landscape for learning, enjoyment and increased public health. The entire BLUE PIER is a marine discovery center at your feet and a world-class icon to rival any grand civic space around the world.

The vibrant, diverse program and sustainable civic space close to Beach Drive offers an attractive place for proposed and future public/private investment that can offset longterm operations and maintenance costs, further reducing the City subsidy at the pier. BLUE PIER is conceived of lagoons on land and a pier (on pilings) over the bay. The lagoons offer a new way to experience the water, bringing the Tampa Bay and its unique ecosystem of the estuary into the waterfront park system; a celebration of the Pinellas County native landscape. An enlarged Spa Beach and dune landscape further diversifies the experience. A burger shack and cafe exist at the intersection of land and water - close enough to Beach Drive to grab a quick lunch during the week. The lagoons are proposed on existing land making them permitable and sustainable as they restore the native condition. The south lagoon promenade provides vehicular access and both lagoons are universally accessible for pedestrians.

The pier over the bay is entirely pedestrian (with service vehicle acc, providing tons of shade with reef viewing, splash pads for families, shade canopies, transient boat slips, remnants of the exiting pile field and a dramatic ending with a sloped lawn and Marine Screen canopy; all of which honors the legacy of The Pier and St. Pete waterfront park system. This is a public place designed primarily at the human scale of St. Pete; a safe environment for families, residents and visitors.

”We are excited with the potential to work with the St. Pete community to refine the BLUE PIER concept; together making BLUE PIER the most sustainable and iconic landmark we can build - weaving together the City and Bay,” says Barbara Wilks of W Architecture.

BLUE PIER highlights:

. Ranked #1 by the Pier Selection Committee and independent consultants relative to lowest subsidy and lowest capital cost required.
. BLUE PIER provides over 5 acres of lagoons and 1200’ feet of pier (over water) within the project budget. The entire project is considered a marine discovery center.
. BLUE PIER provides between $450,000-$650,000 restaurant rental revenue potential between the burger shack and BLUE PIER Cafe and special events revenue.
. Transient boat slips are provided in the BLUE PIER scheme.
. Over 4,000 square feet of dedicated fishing pier with a fish cleaning station.
. Marine Screen and Sloped Lawn provide observation deck, 30’ above the pier deck.
. Lagoons expected to improve water quality and stormwater runoff into the bay