The crowds at last weekend's 45th John's Pass Seafood Festival walked across a boardwalk the city rates as satisfactory on top. Underneath, the same structure is rated fair. That gap between the deck and what sits under it is the most accurate picture of John's Pass this fall.
Madeira Beach Public Works Director Megan Wepfer told Bay News 9 that nearly half of the 192 pilings holding up the boardwalk need repairs. She also said there are no safety issues. Across John's Pass, the part you can see is open and busy. The permanent fixes, under the deck, on the vacant lots along Gulf Boulevard and on the hotel site, all run on calendars that stretch past 2028.
What sits under a boardwalk built in the 1970s
The boardwalk dates to the 1970s. Wepfer's breakdown, as reported by Bay News 9, comes down to three numbers. Between 30 and 35 pilings have no protective wrap at all. Another 55 got structural jackets in the early 2000s, but those jackets were set below the mean high-water line, which lets saltwater get in. Each new wrap costs $5,000, and the city can pay for six to eight a year.
At six to eight wraps a year, just covering the 30 to 35 bare pilings would take four to six budget cycles. That's before anyone touches the 55 with jackets set too low. Wepfer said the deck "moved a lot" in Hurricane Helene's surge in 2024, and debris hit pilings during the storm.
At an early-October town hall, she showed photos of piling separation, jackets installed too low and barnacles on the bare wood. Barnacles burrow in and wear a piling into an hourglass shape. Stephanie Berry, owner of Woody's Watersports, told the station she wrapped two bare pilings near her business in carpet herself to keep the barnacles off. The carpet is a fair symbol of the whole season, a business owner's stopgap holding while the permanent fix waits for money.
The grant that would speed things up, and its timeline
The city's September 29 notice laid out the proposed work. It covers wrapping exposed pilings, repairing or replacing cross-bracing and hardware, adding resilient solar lighting and fixing handrails that have separated. The public town hall was held October 5. The money would come from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program. The city's meeting packet says FRDAP requests top out at $200,000, projects over $150,000 need a 50 percent match, and funded work has to be finished within three years.
The city applied in mid-October. A full award plus the city's match comes to $400,000. Wepfer puts the total cost of all needed repairs at more than $1 million, so even a successful application covers well under half. She told Bay News 9 the city will either work in phases or go after more grants. A grant would let crews wrap all 30 to 35 bare pilings at once instead of a handful a year.
The timeline comes straight from Wepfer. The city should learn in January whether it's still in the running. Awards usually come around July, and then there are three years to finish. On that schedule, a summer 2027 award would carry a completion window into 2030.
Bill Karns of Karns Enterprises says he owns about half the commercial real estate along the boardwalk. He gave Bay News 9 the clearest case for the spending:
"I think the boardwalk's the heartbeat of John's Pass. Because most of your waterfront activities, or all of them, are done right here."
The empty lots along Gulf Boulevard get their own stopgap
The same pattern shows up a few steps from the boardwalk. Lots left empty by the 2024 hurricanes are still empty, and the city's answer is temporary by design.
On October 14, commissioners voted 4-0 to advance Ordinance 2026-16 on first reading, according to The Gabber. It would let some property owners run temporary parking lots while they work toward redevelopment. As described on first reading, it would:
- Apply only to qualifying properties directly on Gulf Boulevard or inside the John's Pass Village Activity Center
- Cover vacant land, or sites with an empty building that could be repaired
- Allow parking from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with no overnight parking
- Require operators to meet accessibility rules and other city codes, with approvals that can be revoked for violations
- End every approval on Dec. 31, 2029
City staff say owners of about three to five properties have shown interest. In the August workshop packet, the city attorney advised that the ordinance can't regulate parking prices, and staff tentatively set the second reading for Nov. 18. Until that final vote, nothing is in effect. The sunset date has already moved once, from the end of 2028 in the August draft to the end of 2029.
The October 14 agenda also advanced Ordinance 2026-10, aimed at homeowners still rebuilding. Today, vegetation has to cover at least 25 percent of a residential lot, and City Planner Joseph Petraglia said that rule often causes landscape inspections to fail, which can hold up a certificate of occupancy. The proposal would let artificial turf, shell and gravel count toward the general landscaping rules. Turf would have to drain at least 10 inches of water per hour, and required buffers would still need real plants. Like the parking ordinance, it still needs a final vote. This is general information about pending city rules, not legal advice, so owners weighing either option should check the adopted text with the city and their own advisors.
The biggest permanent project is still a surface parking lot
The one large piece of permanent construction approved for John's Pass is also on a long clock. Commissioners gave final approval on July 8 to the John's Pass Village Hotel, an 87-room project from JPV Hotel Property LLC. St. Pete Rising names the developers as Karns and partner Marcus Winters, owner of Caddy's. The site is a 1.5-acre surface parking lot at the southeast corner of 129th Avenue East and Pelican Lane. The development agreement gives the developer up to three years to apply for a building permit. Karns has said he hopes to start construction later in 2026 and finish by 2028. The plans also include retail and restaurant space, a rooftop venue and a public park. Tampa Bay Beacons reported that neighbors raised concerns about traffic, safety and parking.
Karns is also still rebuilding Sculley's Seafood Restaurant, which Helene destroyed.
Lined up together, each piece has a stopgap now and a permanent fix later:
| Piece of John's Pass | What's holding it now | The permanent fix | Earliest milestone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boardwalk pilings | Six to eight city wraps a year, plus a merchant's carpet | Grant-funded wrapping, bracing, lighting and handrails | Word on the grant in January; awards around July |
| Storm-vacant lots on Gulf Boulevard | Empty | Redevelopment by owners | Temporary parking vote Nov. 18; approvals end Dec. 31, 2029 |
| Hotel site at 129th Ave. E and Pelican Lane | Surface parking | 87-room hotel with retail and a public park | Developer's target is 2028 |
| Sculley's Seafood Restaurant | Rebuilding | Reopening | Still being rebuilt |
What's running on the deck this week
The surface tells a steadier story. Friendly Fisherman, owned and operated by Hubbard's Marina, lists daily service starting at 11 a.m. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and Hooters at John's Pass both list current hours and online ordering. Mad Beach Craft Brewing has its food and drink menu up. On the water, Woody's Watersports is booking jet ski rentals. Hubbard's Marina lists fishing trips, dolphin cruises and charters, and Dolphin Quest has dolphin cruises on its booking calendar. The Discover John's Pass directory added a listing in August for Clawtopia Johns Pass, an arcade with more than 50 claw machines. The listing doesn't give an opening date, so check before you go.
The dates between now and the January grant decision
- Nov. 6 and 7: The Redington Shores Fall Community Yard Sale starts at 8 a.m. both days. No permit is needed that weekend, and the town won't provide dumpsters.
- Nov. 10, 10 a.m.: A Veterans Day Ceremony and Rededication at Veterans Park, 17720 Gulf Blvd., in Redington Shores.
- Nov. 18: The tentative second reading and final vote on Madeira Beach's temporary parking ordinance.
- Nov. 20, 6 to 9 p.m.: The "Night of Giving" Village Friday food and toy drive at John's Pass Village & Boardwalk. It's free and open to the public.
- Dec. 4: The last Village Friday of 2026, with the usual 6 to 9 p.m. mix of live music and restaurant and bar specials.
- January 2027: Madeira Beach expects to learn whether its boardwalk grant application is still in contention.
If you own on the North Gulf Beaches and want to know how a vacant lot, a pending hotel or a boardwalk on a multi-year repair schedule affects your property's value, Orns Solution will walk through the numbers with you street by street. Contact Us.
