The seventh transformation of the 136-year-old Naples Pier, which was destroyed by Hurricane Ian, has taken another step forward.
Naples City Council on Dec. 11 approved an amendment to the construction, engineering and inspection contract with Naples-based Turrell, Hall & Associates Inc. that reduced its design and engineering services costs from $1.719 million to $1.38 million and extended the contract completion to Nov. 15, 2026, with another 60 days for an administrative project close-out that starts the next day.
Completion is expected within 18 months of when construction begins, which depends on federal approvals.
“With that approval today, … we will have completed everything that we need to do at the local level to position us to begin construction once we get the final approvals from the federal agency,” City Manager Jay Boodheshwar told Council before the vote, referring to the Army Corps of Engineers. “We’re moving, but we’re moving at the federal government’s pace.”
Costs for the stronger, higher, more resilient pier will be funded by federal funds, including about $14 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement funds, state grants, county tourist development taxes, the city’s beach fund, $11 million in bonds and public donations, including from the Community Foundation.
More than 1 million visitors visit the iconic landmark yearly to watch sunsets, fish, socialize, exercise, eat and watch wildlife. The pier, built in 1888 for people traveling by boat to Naples, has been rebuilt six times after hurricanes, most recently after Hurricane Irma in 2017.
In October, Council approved a $23.4 million contract with Shoreline Foundation Inc., a Broward County-based marine contractor, and added $1.17 million for contingency fees. Also on the project team are MHK Architecture of Naples, City Engineer Dan Ohrenstein and Project Manager Bruce Selfon, a former federal government employee the city hired to assist with regulatory and permitting processes for the pier, located at the west end of 12th Avenue South.
Only 100 feet of the popular pier was left standing after the Sept. 28, 2022, hurricane caused catastrophic damage, and that section reopened in November 2022. Ian caused significant damage to 460 feet, including 140 feet containing more than 30 pilings and a shelter at the end that collapsed and sank into the Gulf of Mexico. At the midpoint, waves completely gutted Cosmos on the Pier’s concession area, shelter and storage structures and the waves’ energy lifted framing and decking for public showers.
The new design will enhance the pier’s resilience through mitigation measures that include increasing overall height and hardening the sub-structure to make it more resilient to storms and hurricanes, while maintaining its unique, historic aesthetic.
Shoreline Foundation will demolish the pier and rebuild it in the same location, with a supporting structure of new concrete pilings, concrete bents and beams designed to remain even if a future storm removes the decking and superstructure. Bents provide substructural support at intermediate points.
The walking surface will still be hardwood, which is resistant to rot and lasts at least 75 years, and it still will be 1,000-feet long and 12-feet wide. However, there will be “bump outs” to accommodate benches with unobstructed views. The superstructure will have two structures —midway and at the end — with the iconic Polynesian roof lines that differentiate the pier from others statewide.
Boodheshwar said preliminary work is underway on-site and at various offices and the city is coordinating with the county to secure construction staging locations in Naples Bay.
“One of the challenges is getting a lot of building materials and equipment out to this location,” he said, adding that it must be done in a way that’s the “least impactful” to residents. But nothing, including demolition, can move forward until the FEMA reimbursement phase is completed.
“We’ve got up to $14 million on the line here and it’s extremely important that we dot the i’s and cross the t’s and basically do what FEMA tells us to do,” Boodheshwar said. “Sometimes we do push back on certain things, and we have been successful, but there are other things that we just have to provide to … [FEMA]. This has been the most time-consuming thing, but we’ve had a couple more milestones.”
Naples submitted the final damage description and dimensions document this week and will be submitting the engineer’s opinion of probable costs, which is needed before FEMA allows work to move forward. In the future, Boodheshwar said, the city plans to seek more FEMA funding for mitigation elements that make the pier more resilient and sustainable in future storms, and the city is working closely with Sen. Rick Scott’s office to expedite the process.
“The big hold up, it seems to be with the National Marine Fisheries,” he said, adding that the agency is reviewing many piers nationwide. “We’re still moving and we’re hopeful for some big, big important answers here in the coming weeks and months.”