Construction progresses on new St. Pete Pier

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (FOX 13) - Design renderings of what St. Pete's new pier will look like have been public for nearly two years. But with construction underway, the structure of the pier is starting to come to life.

Ben Kirby, the communications director for Mayor Rick Kriseman's office, said construction is set to be complete in 10 months.

“You can see it from all angles, structures are starting to come out of the ground,” Kirby said. 

FOX 13 got a tour of the pier’s progress Thursday.  

Windows are nearly finished being installed on the Tampa Bay Watch Education Center.  The area is dedicated to educating children and adults about the marine wildlife in Tampa Bay and how they have an impact on the ecosystem.

On the pier’s head, scaffolding will be taken down following a last concrete pour on the roof of the pier’s signature building. 

“When you see it from afar it’s really hard to really understand how big the structure really is,” Kirby said. 

So far, the pier’s controversial budget has not exceeded the final number of $86 million for construction costs since work began.

When ground was broken in 2017, the completion date was targeted for early 2019. That’s now been moved to December.

You can follow the pier’s progress at newstpetepier.com.