Common / Edge spoke with St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman about the city’s approach to reopening, recovery, and the investment in the St. Pete Pier project in this article, A Conversation with Mayor Rick Kriseman: Reopening the City. The mayor discussed the history and impact of the ‘generational’ project, which was scheduled to open on 5/30 before any lockdowns began.

Mayor Kriseman noted that when designing the project, “Instead of focusing our efforts on something that was iconic, (we) worked with the community on a design that included something for everyone. Our community has embraced it because they already feel like it belongs to them. It isn’t just a pier; it’s an entire district of 26 acres. There are three restaurants at different price points, there is a great lawn, there is a beach, there are teaching landscapes, there are performance spaces, but there are also places where you can just sit back and watch people or the water.”

W Architecture & Landscape Architecture designed the pier approach and collaborated with Wannemacher Jensen Architects, ASD Architects, Rogers Partners Architects & Urban Designers, and Ken Smith Landscape Architects on the project. The pier will also feature a Janet Echelman sculpture.