Pile driving to last until end of year on downtown St. Pete apartments

ST. PETERSBURG One of the two pile drivers at a downtown construction site will continue to clang away through the holidays, further aggravating some nearby residents.

DPR Construction of Tampa, which is building the 19-story apartment tower and adjacent 596-space parking garage at 330 Third St. S, has announced that the pile driving on the portion of the 3-acre site nearest Publix will continue through the end of the year.

Originally, the pounding was to end by Oct. 15, city officials said.

Residents at the nearby Madison condos were urged by their board of directors last week to email city officials and demand immediate noise mitigation and reduced hours for the loud hammering, which started in late April.

"I'd like every single person who works in City Hall to put a desk in the parking lot (next to the work site) and try to work," said Leslie Scanlon, 57, a Madison condo owner.

Next month, the city will organize a meeting with downtown residents and developers to discuss possible solutions and keep everyone informed, top building official Rick Dunn said.

Dunn said he can't tell DPR what kind of construction equipment to use.

"The building code doesn't give me that authority," Dunn said.

St. Petersburg City Council member Karl Nurse wants to look at changing that, or at least finding a solution to calm residents' nerves. Nurse thinks moving the start time for pile driving from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on weekdays would help, something he plans to raise at the Nov. 6 City Council meeting.

Nurse would also like to explore ways to muffle the noise.

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Pile driving to last until end of year on downtown St. Pete apartments