South Pointe Pier Slated For Renovation (VIDEO)

City officials in Miami Beach have finally awarded a contract to renovate and extend the South Pointe Pier, a move that will restore the fading South Beach fishing location.

The current pier adjoining the jetty at South Pointe Park was built and opened in the 1970s, but was closed to the public by the city in 2004 due to structural concerns and then lingered in crumbling purgatory.

Miami Beach selected interstate construction firm The Weitz Company to shore up the aging landmark as a part of an initiative to provide greater amenities at the picturesque location. Weitz will begin work on the pier, which adjoins the South Pointe jetty, in January 2013, according to Local 10, with construction slated to last at least through 2014.

The revitalization effort for the pier is one of many projects that have contributed to dramatic improvements to Miami Beach's southern end over the last few years.

Architects at The Hargreaves Associates of New York City completed a public-private capital improvement project to the adjacent South Pointe Park in 2009. The 30-year-old public common acquired a new, 20-foot wide stone promenade and extensive, eco-friendly landscaping which sought to both beautify the neighborhood and encourage environmental sustainability. Hargreaves is now consulting for the city on the pier project.

Fishing piers have been in use at the southern end of the beach for nearly a century. The first pier at the location was constructed in the 1920s and used continually until its demolition in 1984. Check out this 1965 image of the original pier from the State Archives of Florida: