Renovated St. Clair Shores Blossom Heath Pier receives rave reviews
ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – A project in St. Clair Shores years in the making officially opens Saturday.
City leaders call the renovated Blossom Heath Pier a feature attraction, saying this is now the longest pier on Lake St. Clair.
It doesn't take long to see how much Alondra Johns loves fishing.
The Blossom Heath Pier has been her go-to spot for a while.
"It was just kind of starting to get old, you know, little beaten up, little old," Johns said.
About four years ago, St. Clair Shores decided to do something about it, spending over $8 million for the renovations.
Besides spectacular views of the water, there are brand-new amenities throughout the pier.
"Love all the new trees and all the new lights. It's going to bring a lot of fishflies this season," Johns said.
An asphalt overlay done at the pier in the 1980s has been replaced with pavers.
"I like how they did the pavers all the way out. Sometimes when you use wood, it kind of warps over the years. I think the pavers are going to make this last a lot longer and really look nice and maintenance-free," Victor Calleja, a St. Clair Shores resident, said.
Although Blossom Heath Park is only open to those within the city limits, the pier will be open to everyone.
"In the past, the fishing pier that was here was basically really just known to the locals. But to basically have this go out into the lake, we're extending 390 feet out into Lake St. Clair; nowhere else in the water can you get this type of view where you can see all the way down to the Detroit River or look up to the Sinclair flats up to the north," St. Clair Shores Councilmember John Caron told CBS News Detroit.
The city is hosting a grand opening ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday to welcome visitors officially.
"It's just a great spot to look at nature and look at the ships, and it's just really nice," Jimmy Seacrist, a St. Clair Shores resident, said.
