Washington is seeking bids to build the Peoples Pier as part of the redevelopment plan for the city’s Harbor District.

Bids on the pier will be received until 4 p.m. Oct. 1, according to a city document. In addition to submitting bids on building the pier, contractors are also being asked to submit bids on an alternative project associated with the pier — a gazebo-like structure. Bids will be opened in the Council Chambers at the Municipal Building after the 4 p.m. deadline for submitting bids passes.

Plans for the pier show it extending from south of Harding Square and into the Pamlico River. The walkway is about 32 feet long and 8 feet wide. The pier’s platform will be about 40 feet by 36 feet. The proposed gazebo-like structure will be in the shape of a polygon, according to city documents. That structure will be about 20 feet by 20 feet. Its purpose is to provide shade during summer months.

The city has 30 pilings (each 50 feet in length) that must be used for the project, according to the city document containing project specifications.

When the City Council, during a meeting in January, talked about seeking a grant to help pay for the pier, not everyone at that meeting favored building the pier.

Council members Bobby Roberson, Richard Brooks, William Pitt and Larry Beeman voted to seek the grant funding. Councilman Doug Mercer voted against seeking the funding. Mercer said he is not necessarily opposed to building the pier. The vote did not commit the city to building the pier.

Several people, during a public hearing on the matter, voiced opposition to the pier. They said it would intrude into the river’s navigable channel and mar the city’s beautiful waterfront.

Chris Furlough, president of the Washington Harbor District Alliance, said at the January meeting the pier would not intruded into the navigable channel. He said the pier would enhance visitors’ experiences with the city’s waterfront.

“This was part of the reinvestment strategy (adopted by the city) back in 2009,” Furlough said.

That strategy has brought about Festival Park, public restrooms at Festival Park and the dockmaster’s station (with public restrooms) at the west end of Stewart Parkway, Furlough said. The strategy also calls for a pier as part of the waterfront experience, he noted.

“The goal here is not to inhibit our waterfront, but our goal here is to provide access to our beautiful resource, which is the river,” Furlough said.