It's not as fancy as the St. Pete Pier, but it will do.
Thanks to a federal grant and a voter-approved tax initiative, Fort De Soto's new and improved pier will finally debut to the public next week.
The popular Pinellas County park will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the new Bay Pier at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28, along with Parks & Conservation Resources Director Paul Cozzie and Board of County Commissioners Chair Janet C. Long.
The original Fort De Soto Park Bay Pier was built back in 1943, but was recently torn down due to deteriorating conditions. Built in the same location, the new and improved pier features concrete pilings, concrete beams and a concrete deck.
The new pier also sports low-level deck lighting, fish cleaning stations and a shaded area for the Egmont Key Ferry, which has been temporarily housed at the nearby Fort De Soto boat ramp.
The pier replacement project began in 2019, and was paid for using $4,764,300 from the Penny for Pinellas infrastructure tax and another $1 million from a Federal Transit Administration grant.
The new pier can be found on the east side of Fort De Soto Park, located at 3500 Pinellas Bayway South in Tierra Verde.
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About The Author
Colin Wolf
Colin Wolf has been working with weekly newspapers since 2007 and has been the Digital Editor for Creative Loafing Tampa since 2019. He is also the Director of Digital Content Strategy for CL's parent company, Chava Communications.
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