by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
For years, ardent advocates have rallied behind plans to convert the old Fuller Warren Bridge into a public pier. But now that a recently released proposal for The Shipyards makes similar provisions for riverfront access, the City may be questioning if refurbishing the crumbling structure should still be a priority.
As part of LandMar Group’s pending multi-million dollar development deal with the City to develop the massive Shipyards project, the
680-foot pier off the Northbank
Riverwalk will be renovated. The developers and project architect Rink Designs Partnership say the public structure would come complete with parking and an option for a new garage if necessary.
City Council president Elaine Brown said that while she was not opposed to reviewing the future of the old bridge, a pier on the Northbank would likely come first.
“We made a commitment to addressing linear public access on the river,” Brown said. “Public dollars have already been invested in the Shipyards and we owe it to the taxpayers to focus on that before we look at other options.”
But Brown and Michael Munz, a Shipyards spokesperson, agreed the two projects may have merit all their own.
“I think it’s important to note that no one is saying we couldn’t have both,” Munz said. “They’re designed for different uses and really can’t be compared. They’re different animals. The bridge is being talked about as a place for fishing. The Shipyards pier isn’t designed for that.”
The old Fuller Warren initially found few allies at City Hall and, at one time, Mayor John Peyton even went as far as to say he wanted its remnants gone before the Super Bowl. Most of the City Council was fine with that.
But by January, Peyton and the Council seemed less insistent about those plans after both offices agreed to give the prospect of a Fuller Warren pier another look.
A public hearing at the Waterways Commission took place earlier this month and the Council has requested the Commission further study the need for a downtown pier.
Commission member Jim Bailey said the proposed Shipyards pier would be taken into account before any recommendation is made.
Mayor’s office spokesperson Kristin Key said a concurrent pier study was being undertaken by the administration to determine “the various scenarios and different downtown segments being considered.”
Whatever the outcome of those studies City Council member Suzanne Jenkins said she’s looking forward to more river access.
“The more (access) we have, the better,” Jenkins said. “The two piers are on opposite sides of the river and on opposite sides of downtown. I don’t see why we can’t have both.”
Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Transportation, which would oversee bridge demolition efforts, is awaiting a directive from the City.
For months, FDOT spokesperson Mike Goldman has been on record saying if the City wants to build a pier out of the what’s left of the old bridge, it will be on their dime.
“Our position has not changed from the beginning. We want to take (the old bridge) down,” Goldman said. “If the City wants to do something with it, they’re are going to have to pay for it, maintain it and assume all liability.”
Any money set aside to cover the razing of the bridge could not be used to revamp it into a pier, he said.