Safety Harbor Pier Reopens After Two-Year Hurricane Rebuild, Ribbon-Cutting Set for Sept. 12

The pier in Safety Harbor is open again, nearly two years after Hurricane Debby tore into it in August 2024 and Hurricanes Helene and Milton finished the job that fall. The city has completed a rebuild that leaves the waterfront landmark wider, sturdier and built to take a harder hit next time a storm comes through.

The city will mark the reopening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 10 a.m. Marina repairs nearby are still underway, but the pier itself is back in use for anyone who wants to walk out over the water, fish, or watch the sun come up.

Combined repairs to the pier and the adjacent marina came to just over $3 million, paid for with a mix of state funding, FEMA assistance and insurance money, according to local officials. Crews also rebuilt sections of the boardwalk and replaced lighting along the walking path that the storms knocked out.

Three storms, one closure

The pier's troubles started while the city was still waiting on permits for planned renovations. Hurricane Debby hit in August 2024 and caused the initial damage. Helene and Milton followed within weeks that fall, and the back-to-back storms made the structural problems worse, pushing what might have been a routine facelift into a full rebuild.

Safety Harbor Mayor Joe Ayoub said the pier has long been one of the city's central gathering spots for families, and that it had needed an upgrade even before the 2024 storm season hit. He said he used to bring his two older daughters to the pier to watch the sunrise, and that his youngest daughter, now one year old, has never had the chance. With the pier reopened, he said, she will finally get to.

What comes next is finishing the marina, which took its own beating from the same 2024 storms and is still under repair. The city has not said when that work will wrap up. For now, the pier stands as the first piece of Safety Harbor's waterfront to fully come back, and residents will get their first organized chance to walk it together on Sept. 12.

Want to keep up with Safety Harbor and the rest of Pinellas County? Visit Pinellas County Community Website for ongoing coverage, follow us on Facebook, and join the conversation in our Community Forum. For more stories like this one, check out our community news and local events coverage.