St. Pete Pier among top 10 urban design projects in the Americas

ST. PETERSBURG — The St. Pete Pier is one of the 10 best new urban designs in North and South America, according to the Urban Land Institute.

The pier in May was named one of 21 finalists for the real estate-focused award. An 11-member jury composed of development, finance, planning, urban design, architecture and landscape architecture chose 10 winners after speaking with the teams behind these projects and visiting all of them.

The St. Pete Pier was the only design in the Southeastern U.S. to be awarded. It was recognized in the Urban Open Space category.

“This is an incredible, meaningful accomplishment for our city and our iconic waterfront,” Mayor Ken Welch said in a statement. “The ULI Awards for Excellence win puts the St. Pete Pier on the map as a world class destination for residents and visitors alike. Now we will compete on the global stage, providing further opportunity to showcase our great city and this amazing attraction.”

Other top projects include the EPIC in Hollywood, California, Essex Crossing in New York and the Indigenous Peoples Experience in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada.

Those projects and the St. Pete Pier are now finalists for the 2022 ULI Global Awards for Excellence and will compete against projects from Europe and Asia. Those winners will be announced in October.

According to a release, ULI began the Awards for Excellence program in 1979 to recognize superior development efforts in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. Winning projects represent the highest standards of achievement in the land-use profession.