Members of the Tiverton Harbor Commission, representatives from the state Department of Environmental Management and other town officials will tour the old Chase Marina at 169 Riverside Drive, which has been tagged for redevelopment by the state, this coming Tuesday at 8 a.m. The tour is expected to last about an hour.

It comes after the state DEM earlier this month proposed redeveloping the vacant marina in a joint public/private partnership, and is giving interested parties until Friday, Sept. 9 to submit non-binding proposals for the property's re-use. As the property is state-owned, DEM would continue to oversee and manage the redeveloped site, though "tenants may be responsible for certain capital improvements, as well as maintenance and management activities and functions," according to DEM literature.

The commission discussed the state's move at their meeting last week, and vice chairman David Stewart said this coming Tuesday's tour will give town officials and residents a close-up view of the property and will hopefully produce ideas that will benefit Tiverton.

"It's a unique property," said Stewart, who ran a kayak shop at the marina before the property was taken by the state during the construction of the new Sakonnet River Bridge. Following the bridge's completion, the marina has lain vacant, but Stewart said it's a gem and could play a huge role in the waterfront and economic life of Tiverton, if developed properly.

"My personal feeling is, I'd like to see the commercial (fishermen) in there, and some type of market would be nice," he said. He also said the marina building would be perfect for other commercial activities, and "it would be nice if the harbormaster had an office there."

Stewart said all who are interested are welcome to attend.