Anna Maria City Pier set for comeback after $2 million county approval

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Manatee County commissioners have approved a grant of up to $2 million to help rebuild the Anna Maria City Pier. In total, it’s a $7 to $8 million project.

Anna Maria City Mayor Mark Short said right now, the city is paying for the work, but will soon receive money from FEMA, the state and the county.

Members of the community can’t contain their anticipation for when the rebuilt pier will be complete.

Kitchen Manager Michael Rain has been working at The Waterfront Restaurant in Anna Maria for 17 years.

“I love it,” he said. “Love the people I get to meet that work here. They’re fun.”

What wasn’t fun, he said, was dealing with the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. Right across the street from his restaurant, the iconic Anna Maria City Pier was significantly damaged.

But now it’s being rebuilt, with help from the Manatee County commissioners’ grant.

The pier is special to many people in the community, including Rain.

“I grew up coming out here visiting my cousin, fishing on the pier. So that’ll be exciting,” he said.

He says a rebuilt pier will also be good for business.

“I believe so, especially locals from in town,” he said. “You get to come out and it gives them just one more thing to do while out here.”

Short said they’re not just rebuilding the pier, but it is coming back stronger than ever.

Short said the walkway this time around is being built with solid cement pilings. The prior walkway, built after Hurricane Irma, was constructed with precast pilings that had a hole in the middle. In addition, they will all be connected by cement bents and stringers.

He said they’re focused on making this new pier more resilient than the last.

“Now, there’s never a guarantee,” Short said, adding the rebuilt pier is on track to be completed by the end of the year. “We do believe that this walkway will survive a significant storm.”