Drivers heading to downtown Clearwater shops and restaurants will need to find new routes starting Thursday, July 16, when flagging operations begin on Pierce Street west of Osceola Avenue. It's the first in a series of closures tied to a building boom that will reshape traffic patterns through at least October.

Pierce Street to close for two months

The biggest disruption comes when Pierce Street between Osceola and Fort Harrison avenues closes entirely from Saturday, Aug. 1, through Thursday, Oct. 1, according to the city's road closures page. Crews will use the two-month window to complete utility connections and structural work. The city's page does not name the associated project, but the 397-space Osceola Parking Garage is under construction at that intersection.

Flagging operations on Pierce Street run Thursday through Saturday, July 16-18, daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In September, an overlapping lane shift on Osceola Avenue from Pierce Street south to Cleveland Street takes effect Thursday, Sept. 10, through Oct. 1. Osceola Avenue is already down to one lane in each direction near the Ballad Hotel construction site, and that restriction will remain until the hotel is finished.

Three projects driving the closures

All three projects are clustered along South Osceola Avenue:

The Osceola Parking Garage will add 397 public parking spaces and 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, along with a new Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority transit center. No opening date has been announced.

The Ballad Hotel, a 158-room hotel rising on the former Harborview Center site, will include a rooftop bar, a restaurant and street-level retail, according to Axios Tampa Bay reporting from May 19. No completion date has been confirmed.

The Bluffs, a 28-story, 400-unit apartment tower with 10,000 square feet of retail, is under construction on the former City Hall site at 150 S. Osceola Ave.

City Council member Lina Teixeira told Axios Tampa Bay she is "very excited about these abandoned buildings being renovated and occupied," but added that she is waiting for "activation, long-term leases that bring high traffic and commerce to downtown."

Causeway drilling adds to the squeeze

Separately, drilling operations along Memorial Causeway began Monday, July 6, as part of the city's Reclaimed Water System Improvement project. The work is moving west along the causeway, and the city estimates it will take four to six weeks. Intermittent lane closures occur Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Where to park downtown

Two surface lots are already gone. The former City Hall lot at 112 S. Osceola Ave. and the lot at 301 Pierce St. are closed for construction staging.

The city lists several alternatives: Station Square Parking Garage, Pinellas County Parking Garage, Court Street and Fort Harrison Parking Lot, Fort Harrison Avenue Parking Lot, Oak Avenue Parking Lot, the Large Courthouse Parking Lot, and Coachman Park and Harbor Marina Parking. Downtown garage rates are 75 cents an hour, and on-street meters run $1 an hour. Clearwater residents qualify for a 50% discount with a parking permit.

The Pierce Street closure lifts Oct. 1. The city has not said when the Ballad Hotel lane restriction on Osceola Avenue will end.