Jacksonville Beach Pier reconstruction could take another 2+ years

It could take another two years or more before the Jacksonville Beach Pier is rebuilt and fully re-opened.

On Friday, the city of Jacksonville received new design plans for the pier.

Those plans include raising the end of the pier an additional 8 feet.

Hurricane Matthew sent strong waves crashing into the pier in 2016, destroying part of the attraction.

“Sometimes I come fishing with the family and just whenever friends visit, this is one of the places we bring them over,” said Jacksonville Beach father Ricardo Fajardo.

But for now, they can only walk halfway.

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An email from city of Jacksonville Building Inspection Chief Thomas Goldsbury said the city hopes the reconstruction will go out to bid by the end of April; then the re-build will take at least 18 months after the contract is awarded.

“The city cannot commit to a completion date,” said city of Jacksonville Assistant General Counsel Craig Feiser.

Jacksonville Beach Mayor Charlie Latham said it’s longer than he hoped.

In the meantime, Jax Beach is working on a downtown action plan that includes giving the pier a makeover.

“Some kind of iconic stand-alone type of design for the pier entrance, so that it looks less like an entrance to a jail and more like an entrance to a fun place to be,” said Latham.

Fajardo said he’d like to see a restaurant there.

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“I don’t know if anybody’s familiar with the pier, like, around Cocoa Beach. Some of those piers actually have a restaurant in the middle. And there’s more attractions to it,” said Fajardo.

For now, his family will enjoy the 620-feet of the pier that they can.

Action News Jax asked the city of Jacksonville for a copy of its new reconstruction design plans, but the city turned us down, saying they’re not public record.

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