Harbormaster Visiting Boater Facility
Rendering of view from the north
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Project Status:
The new facility at the eastern edge of Newburyport’s central waterfront on the municipal fish pier will provide showers, laundry machines and toilets for visiting boaters, restrooms for the general public, and customer service, administrative, and storage space. The visiting boater component of the facility is funded by a $448,059 Boating Infrastructure Grant. The balance of the $1.4 million project is funded by a $1.08 million bond supported by boaters’ fees and revenue from the Harbor Enterprise Fund.
The City received bids on 2/19/16 and awarded the contract to Castagna Construction Corp. at $1,477,000. See www.projectdog.com (project #810178) for the list of plan-holders, plans, specifications, and addenda. Construction should begin in early spring of 2016 and be completed by fall of 2016.
Project Need:
Newburyport has an attractive 1400-foot central waterfront located along the Merrimack River with 850 feet of floating docks available for recreational boaters to tie up. In the past fifteen years, the City has rebuilt and extended the boardwalk, installed new pathways connecting to the downtown, acquired new floats, installed shore power and water, and repaired and replaced bulkheads and pilings. The Harbormaster and staff have served thousands of people out of a 450 square foot shack at the eastern end of the central waterfront. However, there have been no toilets – members of the public have had to be directed to restaurants and other facilities hundreds of yards away – as well as no showers or on-site laundry services for visiting boaters. There has been very limited customer service space, very limited office space, and no space available for staff lockers or storage space for safety equipment, tools, etc. (a large and unsightly storage box has occupied a nearby lawn). In addition, the low one-story profile of the existing facility has made it difficult for boaters to see it from the Merrimack River. Construction of the new facility will specifically address all these deficits and significantly improve services for the visiting boaters and the general public.
Site
Existing restricted facility
Contact:
For more information, please contact Geordie Vining, Senior Project Manager, at (978) 465-4400 or gvining@cityofnewburyport.com or Paul Hogg, Harbormaster, at (978) 462-3746 or phogg@cityofnewburyport.com.