Aerial of St. Pete Pier looking out onto the bay. Rather than an isolated attraction at the terminus, the team created three buildings and four major landscapes, including a beachfront, spread across the 26-acre public pier. The Pier extends the city’s green necklace of downtown parks and activities over the water out onto the pier and reduces the project’s overall footprint to just 5.2 acres within the bay waters for a net 1-acre reduction.

View of the education center and Pierhead: Located on the over-water walkway approaching the pierhead, the Discovery Center and Wet Classroom integrates ecologically significant components that offer interactive exhibits, video presentations, a touch tank, and guided tours about Tampa Bay’s unique ecosystem.

View of the Tilted Lawn. A popular destination, the grass-planted concrete structure slants slightly upward, forming a viewing platform for the pierhead beyond.

View of the Pierhead from the Coastal Thicket. Visitors are invited to stroll or bike to the Pierhead down an ADA-compliant boardwalk under a shady canopy flush with native Florida vegetation.

Water features at the Welcome Plaza. The Welcome Plaza offers a flexible programmable space to host public events, from art festivals to monthly Food Trucks, to a farmer’s market. A guiding principal of the design is that whether you have 50 cents or 50 bucks, you will be able to enjoy a day at the pier.

Front view of the Pierhead. The 11,000-square-foot Pierhead features a fishing deck a quarter mile out in the bay; a sit-down restaurant; and outdoor spaces for gathering, including a rooftop deck with 360-degree views.

Aerial of St. Pete Pier from the bay looking towards the bayfront. The design reconnects the pier to the daily life of downtown St. Petersburg, tying in transportation and recreation systems such as bike paths, jogging trails, and public transit systems. The experience reaching the end of the pier is heightened through the expansive views back to the city and out over the bay.

View of the Welcome Plaza facing the Tilted Lawn, Education Center, and Pierhead. Visitors enter through the welcome plaza before making their way through a ramble of educational and recreational amenities dispersed along the entirety of the 1,380-foot-long pedestrian pier. With materials like concrete that can survive being submerged and withstand significant waves, the pier design ensures that recovery from 100-year storms and Category 4 hurricanes is possible.