A funny thing happened along with the way of Miami engineering consultant Bermello Ajamil & Partners presentation on what should happen with the St. Pete Pier, scheduled to go before the St. Pete City Council and then the public next week - they got preempted by a local developer on Tuesday.
Darryl LeClair, the president of Echelon, a local developer that helped build Carillon, made, according to Michael Van Sickler in the St. Pete Times, a "splashy presentation that lasted more than 2 hours and drew raves from some of the 120 people who attended the event."
LeClair's work came on his own - unlike the officially, city sanctioned (to the tune of $418,000) review which will come from the Miami based group.
Amongst those in the crowd to hear the presentation included Mayor Bill Foster and four members of the City Council - Karl Nurse, Bill Dudley, Jeff Danner and Jim Kennedy.
The Tampa Tribune's Jose Patino Girona and Neil Johnson lay out the the 3 options:
The base plan would cost $50 million and would have a pavilion for modest shows and gatherings and a 30,000-square-foot building at The Pier's head. The building's design hasn't been finalized, Eastman said.
It would also have a beach and no vehicles would be allowed on The Pier's approach or head. The Pier's approach would be adorned with green space and some retail.
The second plan would mimic the base plan, but would have a 40-foot-tall bridge from Vinoy Park to The Pier. The project would cost $60 million.
The final option, which would cost $69 million, would have two possibilities.
