It's showtime for firms hoping to design St.Petersburg's new pier

ST. PETERSBURG Seven design teams are gearing up to make their pitches for a chance to fashion the city's next Pier, the seventh since 1889.

Each group of architects and assorted professionals two with strong hometown connections will make their presentations this week to a mayoral committee that will select the top three for the $46 million project.

In addition to determining what the city's latest incarnation of the Pier will look like, each group is being judged on how its vision will sustain the interest of residents and tourists alike, complement the city's waterfront plan, navigate a formidable permitting process and free taxpayers from subsidies.

As the teams have responded to concerns in a technical report and from the project's construction manager, they've brought their concepts in line with the $33 million construction budget, city architect Raul Quintana said.

Looking toward the next round, two concepts Prospect Pier and Destination St. Pete Pier both with local ties and plans to save the inverted pyramid, are sentimental favorites. But a Tampa firm planning to demolish the 1973 structure and erect a condolike tower could win support for its Alma concept from fans of the controversial avant-garde design once proposed to replace the pyramid.

Other teams, seemingly hedging their bets with a fractious public, vary in plans for the pyramid. One will strip it of its "cladding and additions" to accentuate its iconic form for a concept called rePier. Another would reuse only the massive caissons and elevator shafts for Pier Park. A New York team will save only the caissons for its Blue Pier concept, while an Orlando firm will top the iconic structure with a diamond-shaped sculpture for its Discover Bay Life concept.

The options

Here's what each team's chances look like:

W Architecture and Landscape Architecture's Blue Pier got the best rating concerning subsidies. The New York firm, though, will have to explain its idea for 3.5 acres of lagoons and address concerns about permitting. It plans to replace the inverted pyramid with a 30-foot-high sloped lawn and is one of the few concepts to offer transient docks within its budget, an amenity residents have said they want. But the team's proposals for dining, another must-have, were questioned by the city's report, which said the group included no shell spaces for them in its budget. The team has since added a building on the uplands for a burger shack and cafe, but says other facilities are proposed for future or concurrent development based on public-private investment. The concept is ranked lowest for revenue potential.

Discover Bay Life from VOA of Orlando ranked low for revenue. The team will keep the inverted pyramid, removing nonstructural stucco exterior walls. The technical report raised concerns about birds nesting in the structure. The firm says it will install "bird rejection apparatus." Responding to fear that the "multiple moving components" of the diamond could deteriorate because of exposure to salt spray, the firm noted that Milwaukee has operated a similar structure for nine years, "in a similar environment with higher temperature variances."

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It's showtime for firms hoping to design St.Petersburg's new pier