Well-known Tampa Bay area architects want to renovate St. Petersburg's Pier

ST. PETERSBURG The competition is promising to be stiff among design teams vying to give St. Petersburg a new or renovated Pier.

Design teams interested in the $46 million project must submit their qualifications by Friday, but interested groups already are emerging.

A powerhouse of well-known Tampa Bay area architects announced plans Wednesday to renovate the 1973 inverted pyramid. The group includes Salvador Dal Museum architect Yann Weymouth; Harvard Jolly, designers of the iconic and controversial upside-down pyramid Pier; and Wannemacher Jensen, a local group that worked with the Los Angeles team that designed the Lens, the pyramid's rejected replacement.

They'll combine their talents under the name St. Pete Design Group. Though the group plans to keep the inverted pyramid, it won't look the same, Weymouth said.

"Obviously, we need to reimagine how we approach it, but the concept is simple," he said. "We want to respect our past and honor it, but bring it into the 21st century and much farther into the future. And our team is structured precisely in order to do that."

Mesh Architecture, which months ago floated an idea for a smaller inverted pyramid, with tall ceilings for a signature restaurant and family dining spots on the rooftop, also is among the hopefuls.

Tim Clemmons, a principal of the St. Petersburg firm, declined to discuss the design team's plans Wednesday.

"It's just too soon to commit one way or the other as to what approach we will be taking," he said. "We will be putting together a really strong team and we're hoping we get on the short list, because we think this is an exciting project."

Mesh had partnered with BIG, an architectural firm based in Denmark and New York, in the Pier design competition won by the Lens. BIG's concept, which resembled an enormous wheel, was a finalist.

Weymouth said his group envisions a phased development given the $46 million ($33 million for construction) budgeted for the project.

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Well-known Tampa Bay area architects want to renovate St. Petersburg's Pier