Long-awaited plans to revitalize St. Petersburg’s Municipal Marina have turned a new page as the mayoral administration is searching for the $148 million-budgeted project’s contractor.
The city recently issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) from firms with experience designing and building coastal facilities, floating docks, accessory buildings, fuel stations, seawalls, bridges, roads and other infrastructure. Development Administrator James Corbett subsequently said construction will start in late 2026.
St. Petersburg will oversee the redevelopment and retain control of the marina, a key change from previous attempts to breathe new life into the downtown waterfront facility. Proposals are due Dec. 2, and administrators will ensure the city receives a “quality” and “sustainable” product.
“We have a vested interest to make sure it’s done right,” Corbett told the Catalyst. “We’re not cutting corners to save money.”
Plans for a private company to repair, reimagine and operate the marina hit a snag in April after Blackstone, a trillion-dollar investment firm, acquired Safe Harbor Marinas. The city ended those negotiations in June and decided to pivot away from leasing the facility.
Corbett said the city is now “essentially the developer.” He noted that private companies could prioritize profits -money the city will now keep – over ensuring the facility can withstand a harsh saltwater environment for approximately 75 years.
The previously proposed $48 million project’s scope has increased exponentially. Corbett said Safe Harbor would have kept some of the existing concrete and repaired things the city prefers to replace.
“We’re going to implement a 100% floating dock system, which is more expensive,” he added. “But again, in the case of a storm, the docks will be able to rise up and not be damaged.”
Project delays and prioritizing environmental resiliency have increased costs. However, the city is also completing previously separate infrastructure improvement projects.
Documents state that the selected applicant will replace utilities and implement stormwater improvements throughout the central, south and, potentially, north marina basins. The company will analyze and rebuild degraded roads around Demens Landing.
Administrators are also replacing the Demens Landing bridge and surrounding seawalls, which exponentially increases the total project cost. The selected firm will conduct a wave action study and design and construct facilities using current sea-level rise projections.
A sample contract does not include a guaranteed maximum price for the work, which Corbett said would “be determined through a progressive design phase.” The contractor will provide new estimates, including for inspection and permitting costs, “at each phase.”
“It’s better to do it that way, because this is a long process,” Corbett explained. “The permitting process for a marina is like 18 months.”
However, RFQ documents state that applicants should “develop a design consistent with the city construction budget of $148,000,000.”
Self-funding the project was always a concern, despite many stakeholders and officials preferring that the city control the public amenity and 100% of its revenues. In June, before the administration included multiple infrastructure and resiliency initiatives, Council Chair Copley Gerdes said marina redevelopment is an “$85 million, $100 million or $110 million project.”
Corbett said the selected firm must ensure “all designs, materials, phasing and guaranteed maximum price packages,” which the city could divide into stages or funding cycles, stay within the $148 million budget. The figure “sets a financial boundary” to guide decisions and project sequencing.
A master plan called for modernization efforts and improvements to docks that reached “the end of their service lives” in 2017. Time and a devastating hurricane season have exacerbated those issues.
The antiquated 640-slip marina is home to roughly 100 residents and several businesses. Once the project is complete, the facility will boast a new ship store and offices, two covered bath buildings, two dock houses, a maintenance facility and an administrative building totaling at least 14,700 square feet.
“The previous proposals and what we’re looking to do are not necessarily apples to apples,” Corbett said.
The city’s third attempt in six years – former Mayor Rick Kriseman was behind the first – to redevelop the marina does not include Fresco’s Waterfront Bistro, which sits at the southeast corner of 2nd Avenue Northeast and Bayshore Drive. Officials will issue a separate solicitation for the city-owned property.
“They’ll have to be disrupted,” Corbett said of the restaurant. “Whoever is there will have to relocate or close down, because we have to remove the structure. Essentially, that’s a large dock over water.”
Officials cannot replace the seawall without demolishing the building. They also want to ensure “whoever operates in that space builds it out and designs it in a way that makes sense for their business,” Corbett said.
“And obviously, Fresco’s is encouraged to apply, when the time comes, for that restaurant space.”
Documents state that the selected applicant should develop a project sequence that minimizes disruptions to marina operations and accommodates phased reopenings. The city expects substantial completion within 60 months of issuing a notice to proceed.
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com
