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Panel suggests management change at Pier
By BRYAN GILMER
© St. Petersburg Times, ST. PETERSBURG -- The city should negotiate with the two large, national firms that want to run The Pier tourist attraction for the next five years, then take the best offer, a committee of city staffers recommended Monday. Divaris Real Estate, which manages ParkSide Mall, and Urban Retail Properties Co., which runs Citrus Park Town Center and Brandon Town Center, beat out two local firms, including current operator WHG Management Inc., in the committee's rankings. The committee liked the fresh ideas that Divaris and Urban presented in elaborate proposals, such as bringing in nationally known tenants, updating the look of The Pier and tidying up the look of storefronts. Both firms manage millions of square feet of retail space in several states. The committee members' written comments show that many of them saw WHG as a continuation of the status quo. Sole owner Bill Griffith managed The Pier as an employee of the Bay Plaza Cos. before forming his own company for the job in 1994. Griffith was able to fill empty storefronts that once abounded at The Pier with mom-and-pop tenants. The city asked for competing proposals because it wanted to reduce the city's $1.3-million annual subsidy and explore how The Pier could be improved. "Known quantity, but may be less willing to change," city economic development director Ronald Barton wrote in his comments about WHG's proposal. "I guess my thoughts were that there is still more potential at The Pier and that we do have to make sure we continually update," said First Deputy Mayor Tish Elston. She particularly liked new ideas such as "having an entrance further west on Second Avenue (N) that signalled the beginning of The Pier so there was more continuity, so The Pier wasn't just viewed as that structure out on the end." Other committee members wrote that Divaris has "good depth of corporate resources," "strong retail experience." Members thought Urban has "national and regional retailer relationships" and offered a "fresh approach to retail strategy." The committee ranked St. Petersburg Pier Partners LLC last. Snell Arcade owner Peter C. Fischbach and business partners formed the corporation to bid for the job, but committee members cited a lack of retail management experience. Some current Pier tenants were upset to hear Monday that WHG likely will not run The Pier next year because Urban and Divaris both have said they would "improve the tenant mix" and bring in more national tenants. "Every tenant at The Pier is very concerned and worried, not just for themselves, but for the future of The Pier and the community," Candies & Cones owner Janice Perry wrote in a letter to the St. Petersburg Times. She has also been lobbying the City Council to keep WHG in charge. "We just think that The Pier is going to lose its commitment to the community," Perry explained later Monday, adding that a small local operator is more likely to hold community events than is a national corporation. "Their agenda is looking through dollar signs." Elston said the city will ensure that The Pier's next manager makes the current tenants "a part of the process and treats them fairly."
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