{"id":146223,"date":"2026-02-06T16:44:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T16:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/146223\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T16:44:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T16:44:12","slug":"ballast-point-pier-rebuild-could-take-3-to-4-years-officials-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/146223\/","title":{"rendered":"Ballast Point Pier rebuild could take 3 to 4 years, officials say"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Tampa officials said the Ballast Point Pier rebuild could take three to four years as the project moves through design, bidding and federal review. <\/p>\n<p>The estimate surfaced during a Feb. 5 <a href=\"https:\/\/tbbwmag.com\/2026\/01\/28\/tampa-south-howard-flood-relief-project\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">City Council meeting<\/a>, which also included debate over how to spend leftover fiscal year 2025 funds.<\/p>\n<p>Ballast Point has been a waterfront landmark for generations. <\/p>\n<p>The area has served as a gathering place for more than a century, drawing picnickers, anglers and families to the southern end of the Interbay Peninsula.<\/p>\n<p>Council member Bill Carlson pressed city staff to publicly lay out the pier\u2019s schedule, saying residents keep asking when the landmark will reopen.<\/p>\n<p>Council presses for a public timeline<\/p>\n<p>Carlson said the project\u2019s title creates the impression the rebuild is imminent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe title is \u2018Project to Restore the Ballast Point Pier,\u2019 and it gives the impression it is coming in the near future,\u201d Carlson said.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Perry, the city\u2019s deputy chief financial officer, said the schedule depends on multiple steps, including FEMA oversight.<\/p>\n<p>READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/tbbwmag.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TAMPA BAY BUSINESS NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe process is slow,\u201d Perry said. \u201cIt will take three to four years, if I were to guess. Don\u2019t hold that to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFEMA is going to want to see every step of that,\u201d Perry said.<\/p>\n<p>Perry estimated design work could take 12 to 18 months, followed by construction that could take up to two years.<\/p>\n<p>Carlson said residents deserve a clearer public explanation of what that timeline means.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we need is, as a city, to put out a message and say, \u2018This is where we are at,\u2019\u201d Carlson said. \u201cSo everybody knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Surplus discussion turns to parks and neighborhood priorities<\/p>\n<p>The pier discussion came as council members turned to fiscal year 2025 surplus spending, including park repairs and youth programs.<\/p>\n<p>Carlson said South Tampa parks have deteriorated and framed the request as basic maintenance.<\/p>\n<p>READ: <a href=\"https:\/\/tbbwmag.com\/tampa-bay-real-estate-news\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TAMPA BAY REAL ESTATE NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe regular swings have mold all over them,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cThey\u2019re falling apart. They\u2019re rusted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe disability swings and accessibility not working at all,\u201d Carlson said.<\/p>\n<p>Council votes to bring back a detailed surplus list March 26<\/p>\n<p>Council members raised concerns about approving a priorities list without clear details and pushed for a more specific breakdown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would be uncomfortable approving this without having an exact list,\u201d Carlson said.<\/p>\n<p>Carlson made a motion for the city\u2019s budget analyst, Hagar Kopesky, to work with council offices and staff to return with a more detailed list. Council approved the motion and set the item to return March 26.<\/p>\n<p>Council also asks staff to find another $500,000<\/p>\n<p>Carlson also made a motion directing the city\u2019s chief of staff, working with the chief financial officer, to identify an additional $500,000 to cover an overage in the proposed priorities list. Council approved that motion.<\/p>\n<p>What happens next<\/p>\n<p>Council is expected to revisit fiscal year 2025 surplus priorities March 26.<\/p>\n<p>Stay Informed<\/p>\n<p>\t\tPost navigation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tampa officials said the Ballast Point Pier rebuild could take three to four years as the project moves&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1127,7143,276,3741,585,135,52537,137,136,11901],"class_list":["post-146223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-construction","tag-economic-development","tag-hillsborough-county","tag-infrastructure","tag-south-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-business-news-and-top-stories","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-transit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}