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Pier's inverted pyramid could inspire another referendum battle

 
Published March 29, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG — The man who launched the first volley against a decision to demolish the city's unique inverted-pyramid pier almost five years ago is preparing another salvo.

This time, Tom Lambdon, who lives in Safety Harbor, has set his sights on the St. Petersburg municipal charter. His aim, he says, is to further protect the city's cherished downtown waterfront by requiring a public vote on demolition — including the inverted pyramid and Al Lang Stadium — and development on the uplands.

"There's a large contingent of our group that does not support large development without voter approval on the uplands," said Lambdon, 62, founder of the grass roots Vote on the Pier group.

Lambdon's latest move comes on the heels of the stalled attempt to pick a new pier plan. As the selection meeting ended in disarray over a week ago, his favorite, Destination St. Pete Pier, which would keep the inverted pyramid, appeared to be facing imminent rejection.

Meanwhile, all three finalists for the $46 million pier project — Destination St. Pete Pier, Alma and Pier Park — propose some form of uplands development. Lambdon approves of Destination St. Pete Pier's plans.

"Do voters really want a two-story, 7,500-square-foot restaurant on their waterfront?" the Northeast High School graduate asked, questioning Alma's plan for a waterside establishment at the Pelican Parking Lot.

Bob Churuti, a prominent St. Petersburg businessman, said he understands Lambdon's point.

"I'm not in favor of any development on the uplands. The residents of the city have voted that they don't want that. That's their parkland," said Churuti, who with John Hamilton Jr. is co-director of more than 60,000 square feet of their family-owned Beach Drive retail property, which leases to several restaurants.

"How many people in St. Petersburg can afford to go to a destination restaurant?" he said. "But they can all go to the open waterfront any time."

Churuti, part of the Pier Advisory Task Force that produced a key report in 2010, supports Destination St. Pete Pier's proposed restaurant at the inverted pyramid.

The uplands, which includes Spa Beach and parking lots on either side of the pier approach, add up to about 21 acres, said Chris Ballestra, the city's managing director of development coordination. The pier head and pier approach make up about five acres.

The city's charter allows two types of leases — without a public vote — in the two areas. The City Council, though, must approve all lease renewals, Ballestra said.

At the pier head, a maximum 10-year lease is available. It's where the family-owned Columbia Restaurant opened in 1988 and remained until the inverted pyramid was shuttered almost two years ago.

The Pelican Parking Lot property on the south side of the pier approach also is designated for 10-year leases. It's there that Alfonso Architects, creators of the Alma concept, would plan to put a two-story waterfront restaurant with rooftop dining and a bar.

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Destination St. Pete Pier, which would refurbish the inverted pyramid, would include 3,500 square feet of air-conditioned, casual dining space at its top level, with additional flexible, shaded observation deck seating. The plan by the St. Pete Design Group also includes an outdoor cafe and an ice cream shop with shaded seating.

Alma, which would replace the inverted pyramid with a tower, plans a 2,400-square-foot casual restaurant there.

Pier Park would reuse only the inverted pyramid's caissons and elevator shafts, and would include a 7,600-square-foot bar and grill at the pier head. The casual restaurant also would cater events at what Pier Park's designers, ASD of Tampa and its partners, call the Pier Overlook.

In the Dolphin Parking Lot area, north of the pier approach, and near Spa Beach, leases are for five years.

Besides its restaurant at the Pelican Lot, Alma's uplands plans include an entrance plaza, a cafe and bathrooms off Spa Beach, an amphitheater, and formal gardens.

For Pier Park, upland development would feature a welcome-center plaza with a tram stop, a splash pad, a tilted lawn, gardens, and expansion and renovation of Spa Beach, where there would also be a new changing facility.

The Destination St. Pete Pier plan offers a 3,500-square-foot grill with bathrooms and shaded outdoor seating at Spa Beach. It also is proposing a 5,000-square-foot observation area on the grill's grass roof, "kayak condos" over a renovated Spa Beach, a climbing wall, and a paddleboard and kayak rental area.

Ballestra said he doesn't think the city's lease restrictions will discourage businesses.

"There's a likelihood there would be a lot of interested parties, even with the lease limits. The two prime factors are location and demand, and those are the two things we have in St. Petersburg," he said.

Although Lambdon objects to Pier Park's and Alma's "substantial development" on the uplands, a market assessment study commissioned by St. Petersburg found that successful long piers "invariably tied the upland to the pier."

The Lambert Advisory report also suggested that pier concepts that "encourage a mix of dining on the uplands and destination dining and banquet (space) at the pier head are likely to be stronger draws than those which concentrate dining in one area alone."

From his base in Safety Harbor, Lambdon is marshalling forces for his next pier offensive. The first began a contentious saga of lawsuits, petitions and a referendum that ended with voters rejecting the Lens, the proposed replacement to the inverted pyramid.

"I'm committed, and I'm in this to the end," he said as he sought to drum up donations, refine databases for a direct mail campaign and update his website.

Contact Waveney Ann Moore at wmoore@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2283. Follow @wmooretimes.