Safety Harbor Pier rebuild moving forward. Here's the timeline for construction

Rebuilding the Safety Harbor Pier

The Fire Marshal Dick Brock Memorial Pier in Safety Harbor is moving closer to undergoing a rebuild in the aftermath of the devastating 2024 hurricanes. FOX 13’s Jennifer Kveglis reports.

SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. - Plans to rebuild the Safety Harbor Pier are moving forward, with the city narrowing down its list of potential contractors for the project.

The backstory:

The Fire Marshal Dick Brock Memorial Pier was heavily damaged by Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton last year.

The Fire Marshal Dick Brock Memorial Pier was heavily damaged by Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton in 2024.

Mayor Joe Ayoub said the pier was due for a facelift before the last hurricane season even began. As the city awaited permits to renovate it, Debby hit.

"Debby caused significant structural damage to the pier. It was still visibly there," he said.

The city closed it down, then Helene and Milton hit.

Safety Harbor officials say work to rebuild the Fire Marshal Dick Brock Memorial Pier will soon begin.

"The pier got totally washed away, so obviously we moved up our plans to get it replaced," Ayoub said.

The city-owned marina nearby was also wrecked by the storms.

"Bids were coming back at crazy prices. Post-storm, the contractors were in high demand, quoting us upwards of $4 million. Just to rebuild the pier," he explained.

READ: Tourists set records in St. Pete, Clearwater as area rebounds after back-to-back hurricanes

Florida Division of Emergency Management crews have since cleaned debris out of the water, but it wasn't until Monday that the city nailed down the top three contractors to get the job done. Mayor Ayoub said there's a reason the city waited this long.

"We're getting quotes back, just under $2 million to right around $4 million for both [the pier and marina]," Ayoub said.

Safety Harbor officials say work to rebuild the Fire Marshal Dick Brock Memorial Pier will soon begin.

What's next:

The winning contractor will be put up for a vote in the next City Commission meeting on May 19.

"The new pier is essentially going to be the same. It's going to be a little wider. The materials are going to be improved, but it's going to look and feel pretty much the same to residents," Ayoub said.

Construction should begin in the coming months and take less than 18 months.

"Everyone has missed it a lot. Everything from fishing, seeing the animals, watching the manatees come up. It's just beautiful. Everyone would bring their visitors," visitor Pam Lacey said.

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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis.

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