A committee convened to short-list proposals for a $20 million project on the Pier Uplands has narrowed the field down to five teams. One team, OT9 Design, was eliminated.
The teams are bidding for the chance to provide design and construction administrative services for proposed improvements on the Pier Uplands set to coincide with the new Pier opening.
The final teams vying for the chance to oversee the project geared to complement Pier Park and connect it to downtown includes the design group chosen to build a new Pier, ASD Architects, and the team behind St. Pete’s newly established Downtown Waterfront Master Plan, AECOM.
Also bidding for the job is Alfonso Architects, the team who designed the Alma Pier design that was rejected by the Pier Selection Committee, the Blue Pier masterminds, W-Architecture and Prospect Pier designers Mesh Architecture and Civitas. Mesh was also behind one of the three short-listed designs that went up against the Lens. That design was known as “The Wave.”
AECOM cites its intimate knowledge of the Downtown Waterfront Master Plan as a key reason they should be the team to complete the Uplands project.
“No other consultant better understands the process by which these principles were derived, or the opportunities they present from a design standpoint,” the team wrote in its proposal. “Such opportunities carry with them the call for excellence from the standpoints of artful PLACEMAKING, landscape PERFORMANCE, and project DELIVERY.”
The team is proposing a design that includes public art, experience and shared spaces with focus on sustainability and resiliency, green infrastructure and cost recovery.
The team has solicited artist Brad Goldberg to “assess opportunities for art integration on all aspects of the design.”
The firm has also partnered with Lake|Flato and Aquatic Design and Engineering to activate the space.
The team behind Pier Park is obviously touting itself as an obvious pick to seamlessly create a new Pier and its connection to downtown.
“We understand the mechanics of the Pier District and our vision incorporates all of the goals and elements of the master plan. It is this head start that will allow us, like no other team, to fulfill the City’s goal of designing, permitting, and constructing The Pier Park and Pier Approach for one ribbon cutting,” the team wrote in its letter of intent.
Its design emphasizes a seamless transition, celebration of the waterfront, access and programming and “one team, one project.”
They call the current Pier approach a “hodgepodge of underutilized landscapes and parking lots” and propose leveraging existing iconic landscapes and framing views. They also address vehicle circulation and convertible spaces.
ASD addresses dock and market options as well as an art walk and event opportunities.
The other bidders emphasize the project as one that is independent of Pier Park.
“This project will connect downtown and Beach Drive to the Pier Park, but is an equally important destination itself,” architects for Civitas and Mesh wrote in their letter of intent. “The right design and programming of the Entry Plaza and Art Promenade will introduce people to the Pier Park with a sequence of attractive, comfortable, and activated spaces.”
Alfonso Architects, in its application, promised to strictly follow the Pier District section of the Downtown Waterfront Master Plan and to hold a series of public meetings to engage residents in design options.
W-Architecture called the project the city’s “extraordinary centerpiece.”
“The spirit of the waterfront is one of inclusion, and we are committed to honoring this idea in the design process as well as in the final form. We will build upon both the Waterfront Master Plan and the Pier Park Plan and will empower the broadest constituency to be clients and supporters for this project.“
A selection committee will meet October 16 at City Hall to hear individual presentations from each of the five remaining bidders. Following presentations, the committee will deliberate and vote on a winning team.
While the Consultants Competitive Negotiation Act binds the process the same way the Pier selection process was, the city is not required to hear public input. That means the city is required to collect qualifications from multiple firms and convene a committee to choose the most qualified; they don’t have to make it an extensive process of public engagement.
Though the project is a costly one — $20 million – and it is aimed at complementing the new Pier, this selection process is not anticipated to be nearly as contentious as the Pier process.
As part of the city’s Downtown Waterfront Master Plan, the Uplands project would create a grand entryway to Pier Park, space for open-air markets and a pedestrian promenade and art walk. The goal is to connect Bayshore and Beach Drives to Pier Park with a seamless transition that engages users every step of the way and encourages downtown visitors to go to Pier Park and vice-versa.
Requests for Proposals are expected to go out for two Pier Uplands restaurants sometime in January or February.
