ST. GEORGE — A 65-foot tall lighthouse sculpture at the St. George Ferry Terminal will be demolished and replaced with new artwork because of safety concerns.
The Siah Armajani Lighthouse-structure and pedestrian bridge, near the intersection of Bay Street and Richmond Terrace, will be torn down because it is significantly decayed and develops "more rust every day," according to City Hall spokesman Ben Sarle.
The city plans to commission a new artist to create a new piece for the site that connects the ferry terminal's upper-bus ramp to the street level waterfront esplanade.
Conceptual designs for the new piece have already been submitted to the Public Design Commission, Sarle said. The demolition plans were approved by Community Board 1 during its general meeting this month.
The sculpture was built in 1996 by Iranian-born artist Armajani, but has been closed off to the public for several years. The Department of Design and Construction put out a bid in 2013 for a $2.5 million project to reconstruct the tower and rehabilitate the pedestrian bridge, which was expected to finish in 2015.
Sarle and a spokesman for the DDC did not respond to questions on why those plans were scrapped and if any money was ever allocated to it.
The city did not say how much it would cost to demolish and replace the sculpture or when work was expected to start.
