St. Pete taps Bay Area artist for major pier project

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - Construction starts in days on the new St. Petersburg Pier and the city is considering a major addition to the plan.

 An effort is underway to bring in a world renowned artist to design a signature sculpture for the pier.

Janet Echelman grew up in the Bay Area, her mom still lives in St. Pete, and she’s been tapped by Mayor Rick Kriseman and the Arts Committee to design one of her magnificent rope hanging sculptures for St. Pete’s new pier.

City leaders haven't said 'yes' to Echelman’s work just yet. They are spending $75,000 for engineers to determine if her detailed art would ‘work’ on the pier.

$1.3 million is in the budget for pier art. Echelman’s work starts at $1 million and the price tag for a custom piece suited for the pier is expected to go much higher.

The city says it hopes private donors will help pay for the sculpture, but at this poi, t city engineers are focusing on determining if Echelman’s work would be feasible for the structure.