What's next for the St. Pete Pier?

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - The disappearance of downtown St. Petersburg's well-known inverted pyramid perplexes people not up to speed on local developments.

"There's a lot of people that just stand up there and just stare," daily downtown jogger Andrea Wagner told FOX 13 News. "They will pull up and they just are amazed at the fact that it's not here anymore."

Since the 1970's, the inverted pyramid was the structure at the end of the St. Petersburg Pier.  Its demolition started in August and is wrapping up this week. 

The pier's long bridge is the next fodder for concrete and steel chompers, then for about a year there will be no pier at all.  Construction of a new St. Pete Pier will not begin until early 2017, assuming Army Corps of Engineers permits are issued as expected.

Right now, the design of the new pier is literally being price-checked.  The design is all but finalized, and the project manager is verifying the envisioned product can be delivered for less than $45 million. 

"We do plan to have a significant public outreach to let people know these are the final designs -- this is it," the city's pier outreach coordinator Kristen Brett explained. 

She added there are also plans for a "coming soon" sign with an image of the new pier, but not until the City Council gives final approval to build it. 

Those who know the website exists can follow the process at www.newstpetepier.com.