St. Pete Pier Wins Global Urban Design Award

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The St. Pete Pier was recognized by the Urban Land Institute as one of the best new designs in the world.

The Sunshine City waterfront destination was named of six winners of the ULI’s 2022 Global Awards for Excellence, according to a city news release. This year's winners include two from North America (both from the United States), two from Europe and two from Asia/Pacific.

In July, the pier was named one of 10 winners of the ULI’s 2022 Americas Award for Excellence, making it a finalist for the institute’s global competition.

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, the city said.

"This is an incredible, meaningful accomplishment for our city and our iconic waterfront,” Mayor Ken Welch said. “The ULI Global Awards for Excellence win puts the St. Pete Pier on the map as a world class destination for residents and visitors alike.”

Former Mayor Rick Kriseman, whose administration oversaw the pier's development, added, "I am incredibly proud of the recognition the pier has received culminating in this award from the highly respected ULI. The pier project was a great example of what happens when a community and dedicated, committed staff come together to create a place that is open and inviting to everyone, residents and visitors alike. The St. Pete Pier is a place where lasting memories are created. Congratulations again to the entire city team."

In 2022, 152 projects and programs were submitted across the three ULI regions. Of those submissions, 26 were named as winners across the regions and were then considered as global finalists. From this field, the jury selected the six winners.

The 2022 ULI Global Awards for Excellence winners are:

• Anken Alley, Shanghai, China. Developer: ANKEN Group. Designer: ANKEN Group.
• Enabling Village, Singapore. Developer: SG Enable Ltd. Designer: WOHA Architects Pte Ltd.
• Essex Crossing, New York City, New York, United States. Developers: BFC Partners; Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group; L+M Development Partners; New York City Economic Development Corporation; New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development; Prusik Group; Taconic Partners. Designers: Beyer Blinder Belle; Cetra Ruddy; Dattner Architects; DXA Studio; Future Green Studio; Gensler; Handel Architects; Kokobo Greenscapes; SHoP Architects; SLCE Architects; West 8.
• MCA, Bordeaux, France. Developer: Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Designers: BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group; FREAKS freearchitects; Lafourcade-Rouquette Architectes.
• Norblin Factory, Warsaw, Poland. Developer: Capital Park Group. Designers: PRC Architekci.
• St. Pete Pier, St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. Developer: City of St. Petersburg, Florida. Designers: Rogers Partners + Urban Designers; ASD | SKY; Ken Smith Workshop; W Architecture and Landscape Architecture; Wannemacher Jensen Architects.

The Global Awards for Excellence are open to projects and programs in the three ULI regions and they must be substantially complete, financially viable and in stabilized operation. The program evaluates submissions on overall excellence, including achievements in marketplace acceptance, design, planning, technology, amenities, economic impact, management, community engagement, innovation and sustainability, among others.

The winners were selected by a multidisciplinary jury of nine ULI members who also served on their respective regional juries. The jurors represent a range of real estate and land use expertise, including development, finance, planning, urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture.