Hurricane Recovery Projects 

Overview

After the 2024 Hurricane Season, Safety Harbor's Waterfront Park, Pier, Marina, Living Shoreline, and a portion of the Boardwalk sustained significant damage. Thirty-two of the thirty-five bollard lights along the trail remain inoperable, and the Pier was swept away. In response, the City has worked with our insurance carrier, the State, and federal government agencies to find the most effective solutions to repair and restore Waterfront Park, Fire Marshal Dick Brock Memorial Pier, and the Marina back to safe and operable conditions.

Individual project updates are listed below.

You can view past agendas, backup items, and City Commission discussion on the Hurricane Recovery at Commission Meetings page.

Project Timeline

Construction began on Monday, July 7, 2025, and projects are expected to be complete by the end of December 2026. Some projects are scheduled to be completed before the 18-month period.

Area Impacts

During construction, public access to Veterans Memorial Lane parking, Veterans Memorial Park shelters, the boat ramp, and the marina will be closed. These closures are necessary to provide a safe construction zone.

The restrooms at Waterfront Park will remain open to the public. Waterfront Park will be accessible from the north entry located near Jefferson Street.

The City is working with special event organizers to relocate any previously scheduled events at Waterfront Park or in the Veterans Memorial Park area during the construction time. Special event updates will be posted on SafetyHarborEvents.com in the event's listing.

View Marina Livestream

You can watch livestream video of the Marina at any time by visiting Weatherstem Live Stream: Safety Harbor Marina and logging in. If you do not have a login, you can create a free Weatherstem account.

Pier & Marina Reconstruction

The City’s approved 2024 Capital Improvement Program included pier and marina docks replacement. The pier and marina replacement design began in August 2022 with permits received in June 2024. Construction was previously scheduled for fiscal year 2024. The timeline was delayed by storm impacts.

The 2024 Hurricane season caused extensive damage to the pier and marina. Damage occurred during Hurricane Debby in August, and the pier was fully destroyed during Hurricane Helene in September.

  • The City submitted for State Appropriation Funding in December 2024.
  • Construction Bid Documents were posted on the City’s website on March 28, 2025.  The City received bids for the pier and marina reconstruction on May 2, 2025. 
  • On May 19, 2025, the City Commission approved a contract with Shoreline Foundation, Inc., for reconstruction of the pier and marina.

Weekly Updates:

February 2, 2026
Pier

  • Electricians are installing conduit on both sides of the pier. Conduit rough-in along the walkway is approximately 95% complete, and installation at the pierhead is approximately 50% complete.
  • The carpentry crew is addressing various finish and corrective tasks including trimming deck boards, coating exposed end pieces, tightening bolts, inspecting and securing fasteners, and completing general quality-control related carpentry tasks.

Marina

  • Marina pile installation was completed on January 28, 2026! The barge demobilized and departed the site on January 29, 2026.
  • This week, top caps installation and final elevations establishment will begin at the marina. Electrical crews will continue conduit installation and related work at the pier. Ongoing corrective and finish carpentry tasks will continue throughout the pier as needed.

February 9, 2026
Pier

  • Last week, electrical work continued . Conduit rough-in along the walkway is approximately 95% complete, while pierhead conduit installation is about 90% complete.

Marina

  • Marina framing started last week. Top caps are currently being hung on the piles with bolting yet to begin.
  • The main walkway and Fingers 1 and 2 along the seawall have had their top caps hung.

This week:

  • Top caps at marina continue.
  • Electricians continue to work at the pier.
  • The contractor will continue punch-out items at pier.

February 13, 2026
Pier

  • The electrical team has reached substantial completion on the conduit rough in on the Pier and has now begun pulling wire through the installed conduit.

Marina

  • At the Marina, installation of the pile top caps is ongoing, with most of the effort concentrated on the middle and south docks over the past several days.

What's ahead...

  • Looking ahead to next week, the crew will continue installing top caps at the Marina, with bolting to follow once each cap is set. Electricians will proceed with wiring activities along the Pier, and punch out tasks at the pier will continue as well.

You can view previous weekly updates on the Hurricane Recovery - Past Updates page.

Site Plans:

Pier Replacement Plans (PDF)
Marina Replacement Plans (PDF)

Waterfront Park Boardwalk Repairs

December 22, 2025

Hurricane Helene (Sep. 2024) caused significant damage to the pedestrian bridge section of the boardwalk. Although visitors to Waterfront Park may not see active work, we are making progress on restoring the boardwalk over Mullet Creek. Please continue to avoid the closed area – parts of the boardwalk remain open south of Mullet Creek.

What’s Happened So Far:

  • City insurance inspection completed in October 2024. Boardwalk was closed following this inspection.
  • FEMA site inspection completed in March 2025.
  • Following City Commission approval of an engineering task order, an evaluation by the City’s engineering consultant began in August 2025.
  • City staff have been in contact with USACE and SWFWMD regarding any required permitting for repairs.
  • To ensure the engineering consultant has accounted for all Boardwalk damages, pile integrity testing was performed on ten boardwalk piles over Mullet Creek on December 11, 2025.  

Next Steps: Engineers will analyze test results and prepare construction documents for repairs. While waiting on the final engineering report, City staff are simultaneously procuring contractor pricing for a possible repair scope.

Living Shoreline

Waterfront Park Living Shoreline was installed in 2019. Since installation, it has withstood six storm events, three of which were major events in 2024. Hurricane Helene caused failure to the shoreline. Living shorelines provide many benefits including erosion reduction, plant and animal habitat, improved water quality, and enhance coastal resilience. The City Commission awarded a contract for repair on June 16, 2025.

In late August, Petrotech finished the Living Shoreline project. AquaTech installed larger oyster bags and meticulously placed them in rows and stacks along the shoreline. A total of 1,200 oyster bags were installed.

Overall, this was a successful project – bringing the Living Shoreline back to life. That will continue to reduce erosion from wave action during storms, provide improvement to water quality, promote sea grass growth, and provide ecosystem benefits through habitat creation. Some of the older oyster bags found (those that survived the storms) were well established and they noted marine habitat.

You can view previous weekly updates on the Hurricane Recovery - Past Updates page.

Bollard Replacement

As a result of Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, and Helene, thirty-two of thirty-five bollard lights along the Waterfront Park trail no longer work. City staff will present replacement options to the City Commission in August 2025, and replacement will likely happen during the construction timeline for the pier and marina.

Safety Harbor Resort & Spa Private Parking Lot

The Safety Harbor Resort & Spa is expected to begin construction on their new, private parking lot located to the north of Veterans Memorial Lane. The sidewalk located on the north side of Veterans Memorial Lane will remain open until that construction begins. Once construction begins, pedestrians will be re-routed  to the north near Jefferson Street by pedestrian detour in order to access Waterfront Park.

August 29, 2025
The City is conducting a pre-construction meeting on September 4, 2025, with Olympia Development regarding the Safety Harbor Spa Parking Lot construction.

September 5, 2025
Shoreline Foundation, Inc., attended a pre-construction meeting for the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa parking lot on September 4, 2025.

October 1, 2025
Access to Waterfront Park from Veteran’s Memorial lane will be closed temporarily beginning on October 2, 2025, for the start of construction of the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa’s new parking lot. Waterfront Park will remain open and available for use. Visitors will need to use the north park entrance near Jefferson Street.

The new parking lot will provide 63 new parking spaces for resort guests and will be accessible from Veteran’s Memorial Lane. The construction will also include a new retention pond and 66 new trees on the Spa’s property.

October 3, 2025
The Safety Harbor Resort & Spa’s contractor completed security fencing adjacent to the pier/marina contractor’s construction fencing.

Visitors to Waterfront Park should use parking and pedestrian access on Jefferson Street. The park and park bathrooms remain open during construction.