![\"Pier](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/lvdw212aaqzvgsyi.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. – Two years after three hurricanes forced its closure, the Safety Harbor<\/a> pier officially reopened to the public.<\/p>\n Hurricane damage <\/p>\n The backstory:<\/p>\n The waterfront landmark was initially damaged in August 2024 by Hurricane Debby while the city was waiting on permits for planned renovations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shortly after, back-to-back hits from Hurricanes Helene and Milton exacerbated the structural damage.<\/p>\n What we know:<\/p>\n In addition to rebuilding the pier itself, crews restored surrounding parts of the boardwalk and replaced lighting along the adjacent walking path that the storms damaged.<\/p>\n Safety Harbor Mayor Joe Ayoub emphasized the landmark’s importance as a central gathering spot for local residents, noting that a facelift had already been overdue prior to the 2024 hurricane season.<\/p>\n Cost of upgrades <\/p>\n By the numbers:<\/p>\n The combined cost to repair both the pier and the marina totaled slightly over $3 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n The city got help paying for it from the state, FEMA and insurance.<\/p>\n The repairs to both the marina and the pier make them more resistant to storms.<\/p>\n What they’re saying:<\/p>\n “I love it,” Ayoub said. “I used to bring my two little daughters here all the time when they were little, and we’d go watch the sunrise when they wake up too early, and now I have a third daughter, and she’s been deprived of going on the pier. She’s only one. So now I get to bring her out here, let her enjoy the sunrise just like her older sisters. So, for me personally, I’m excited. I love spending time out there, especially with the family, and I know the whole city is excited too.”<\/p>\n Official reopening <\/p>\n What’s next:<\/p>\n The official reopening and ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 12, at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n Work remains underway at the nearby marina, which also sustained severe damage during the 2024 storm season.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Source: This information was gathered by FOX 13 reporter Kailey Tracy who spoke with the Mayor of Safety Harbor about the damaged pier and the upgrades after the storms.<\/p>\n Pinellas County<\/a>Hurricane Milton<\/a>Hurricane Helene<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. – Two years after three hurricanes forced its closure, the Safety Harbor pier officially reopened…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[47,3125,1802,944,115,1157,202,204,203,199,201,200,628,221],"class_list":["post-384853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-fl","tag-hurricane-helene","tag-hurricane-milton","tag-hurricanes","tag-news","tag-pinellas","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-us","tag-weather"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384853","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=384853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/vlcsnap-2026-08-28-19h25m32s816.jpg\")
New pier updates and resilience <\/p>\n Beloved location for families <\/p>\n