The Merry Pier bait shop has been empty at the foot of 801 Pass-a-Grille Way for most of the time since Hurricanes Helene and Milton. When will someone be selling shrimp and renting bikes there again? Until last week, the answer was a shrug. On October 13, St. Pete Beach commissioners approved a design-build contract to rebuild the bait shack and put a penalty on finishing late. That makes the building the most predictable piece of Merry Pier. What the city has not yet said publicly is who will run the shop and the pier once construction is done. The building now has a deadline. The pier's operator does not.
Eighty thousand dollars and a $500-a-day clock
The contract went to Intellisite, Inc. for no more than $80,137.94. The city's October 13 commission agenda authorized the City Manager to sign the services agreement. According to The Gabber's recap of that meeting, earlier bids had reportedly come in between $170,000 and $180,000. The approved price is less than half of that.
The schedule is the part people will notice from the pier. The Gabber reports the whole project should take about six months, about 90 days of it actual construction. The contract charges $500 a day if the work runs late. The city's bid packet sets the same terms: completion within 90 calendar days of the project start, with that daily penalty. Six months from a mid-October approval lands in spring 2027, if work moves on the expected pace. The city has not announced a construction start date. Design and permitting come first in a design-build job, so the 90-day count only begins after that stage.
The cost has come down from where it started. When Bay News 9 reported the original rebuild vote on January 2, the city had set aside more than $144,000 and the final cost was still being worked out. Commissioners voted unanimously then to restore the 123-year-old building instead of tearing it down, calling it important to tourism and to the community. The contract they approved in October comes in well under that January set-aside.
Why the building moved faster than the lease
While the city settled the rebuild, it was also working out who controls the pier. The two tracks ran at the same time all year, and they line up like this:
| Date in 2026 | What happened |
|---|---|
| January 2 | Commission votes unanimously to restore the bait shop |
| February | Private operator's lease on the pier expires and is not renewed |
| April 10 | City staff say they are preparing an RFP to find a new lessee |
| July 8 | City posts the rebuild solicitation; it closes August 5 |
| July | Commission approves a settlement on the lease dispute, which the city later withdraws |
| August 19 | Commission votes 5-0 to set a vacate deadline of 11:59 p.m. September 30 |
| October 13 | Commission approves the $80,138 Intellisite rebuild contract |
According to The Gabber's August report, City Attorney Ralf Brooks told commissioners the lease ran out in February 2026 and the city chose not to renew it. Resolution 2026-25 authorized the city to ask for the property back by the end of September. If that did not happen, the next step was a request for possession through circuit court. Earlier, in July, a settlement meant to end the dispute had been approved. The city withdrew it because the agreement was never completed.
This is why the rebuild has moved faster than the question of who runs the shop. A city can pick a builder for a small structure on land it owns in one meeting. Choosing someone to run that structure means an RFP, applications, and a lease that meets the charter. The charter rule is what the city cited when it disputed the earlier lease. The April staff report mentioned the RFP. As of this week, the city has not publicly named a new lessee, said it will run the shop itself, or announced any other arrangement.
What the empty shop costs the rest of the pier
Merry Pier is more than one building. In July, signs at the pier entrance advertised fishing charters, an island shuttle, fresh seafood and sunset cruises. The bait shop tied them together. Colleen Bouchard runs Shell Key Shuttle next to the vacant building. She told Bay News 9 that the empty building had noticeably reduced foot traffic along the pier. She also described what used to be inside: "They sold lots of cool stuff in there. They rented bicycles, sold bait, and it used to be a fish store where you could buy fish to cook at home."
Without the bait, the bikes and the fish counter, a walk out on the pier is just a walk. The businesses that depend on people stopping there feel that.
If you plan to head out from the pier this fall, here is what has been posted:
- Shell Key Shuttle lists Merry Pier, 801 Pass-a-Grille Way, as its address on its contact page. Its posted schedule has Shell Key departures at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. and noon on weekends and holidays. Fares are $30 plus tax for adults and $15 plus tax for children 12 and under. The schedule is subject to change. The Shell Key Shuttle homepage also shows a "Business for Sale" notice and asks riders to call ahead.
- Miss Pass-A-Grille, a fishing charter, also lists Merry Pier at 801 Pass-a-Grille Way. Its listed number is 727-367-9833.
- Hubbard's Marina runs its own Shell Key ferry. Its posted fall schedule has 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. departures on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Fares are $35 for adults and $20 for ages 3 to 11. Its Egmont Key trips leave from Fort De Soto.
None of these schedule pages shows a date. The September 30 deadline has also passed without a public update on how things look at the pier now. Calling the operator before you load up the cooler is the safest plan.
The shortest clock among Pass-a-Grille's storm repairs
Compared with the other public buildings in Pass-a-Grille still being repaired, the bait shack is on the shortest timeline. The October 13 meeting that approved its contract also gave updates on several other projects. The Gulf Beaches Historical Museum is on a separate county track. Here is where each one stands:
| Landmark | Status as of mid-October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Don Vista Suntan Art Center | Repairs about 95% complete |
| Warren Webster building | Repairs about 90% complete |
| Recreation Complex | About 70% complete, expected to finish in December |
| Merry Pier bait shack | Contract approved October 13, about six months to finish |
| Gulf Beaches Historical Museum | Closed, with reopening projected for 2029 |
The bait shack is the newest item on the city's list, but it is also the smallest. Most of the other city projects are nearly done. The museum is a different situation. FOX 13 reported that Helene pushed about 4.5 feet of water into the building, which dates to 1917. It started as a church, later became a private home, and was eventually given to Pinellas County. About 70% of its contents were saved. County officials told FOX 13 the design process would begin soon and take about a year before construction starts, mostly funded by FEMA grants. Board Vice President Jerry Sarubbe gave 2029 as a realistic reopening year.
Even with the museum closed, the Pass-a-Grille Beach Sunset Bell has kept ringing. FOX 13 reports it has rung every day for 25 years except four days during the COVID-19 pandemic. A volunteer kept it going during Helene, and the bell's logbooks were among the items saved.
Federal money explains part of why the projects move at different speeds. Public Services Director Camden Mills told commissioners that the city expects about $8.5 million from FEMA for hurricane damage. So far it has received $6.6 million, and FEMA has approved another $1.9 million that has not been paid. Of the 70 projects the city submitted, FEMA has approved 54 and is still reviewing 16. The city is appealing FEMA's decisions on Gulf Way and Pass-a-Grille Way, and it is also seeking federal highway emergency relief for those roads. Mills said the full FEMA process will likely take several years. A bait shack with a fixed-price contract and a late penalty does not have that kind of long wait.
What to watch from the pier this winter
The next St. Pete Beach City Commission meeting is Tuesday, October 27, at 6 p.m. Over the coming months, three things will show how the pier's next chapter is shaping up:
- A public construction start date for Intellisite's work. That starts the 90-day count.
- An update on the pier lease after the September 30 deadline. This includes any RFP for a new lessee like the one staff described in April.
- Word on who will run the restored bait shop. Bait, bike rentals and a fish counter are what brought people out onto the pier before.
Gulf Way is busy in the meantime. The Suntan Art Center's Art on the Patio runs at Paradise Grille, 900 Gulf Way, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays year-round, weather permitting. It is on the Pass-a-Grille events calendar for this Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25.
The Chenault Group follows Pass-a-Grille's waterfront, including landmarks like Merry Pier, closely because those places shape what it means to own a home nearby. If you live near the pier or are thinking about this stretch of Pass-a-Grille Way, Request a Private Market Consultation and we will share what we are seeing along the water as the rebuild moves forward.
