Bristol Maritime Center open for boaters

Officials cut the ribbon Friday on the nearly $2 million facility aimed at attracting visitors to Bristol

By Patrick Luce
Posted 7/22/16

Touting it as an "investment," an "economic engine" and an "anchor of activity along the waterfront," local, state and federal officials cut the ribbon on Bristol's long-awaited Maritime …

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Bristol Maritime Center open for boaters

Officials cut the ribbon Friday on the nearly $2 million facility aimed at attracting visitors to Bristol

Posted

Touting it as an "investment," an "economic engine" and an "anchor of activity along the waterfront," local, state and federal officials cut the ribbon on Bristol's long-awaited Maritime Center.

The center is designed as a stopover for boaters sailing through the bay. It is designed to house men’s, women’s and family bathroom facilities, an open lounge area, laundry with washers and dryers and vending machines, along with the Bristol Harbormaster’s office — everything necessary to support people visiting Bristol by boat. Having a place for boaters to stop and have a rest or use the facilities will draw more people into the town, according to Town Administrator Tony Teixeira. In fact, those people are already waiting, he said.

"Build it and they will come? No, this is built it and they're already here," Mr. Teixeira said during the Friday afternoon ceremony on the dock on Thames Street. "This center will be an anchor of activity along the waterfront."

In addition to the Maritime Center, built in the site of the old armory, the town is planning improvements to the Prudence Island Ferry dock, looking at building of a new marina and hoping to add 110 boat slips near the Robin Rug building next door. That would help eliminate the waiting list of 90 Bristol residents waiting for a morring, Teixeira said.

The project is intended as an exonomic engine not just for the town but for the state as a whole, according to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who joine Sen. Jack Reed in welcoming the Maritime Center to Bristol. It's one of several projects, partly paid for through state and federal grants, that have helped revitalize the waterfront aroun d the state, Sen. Whitehouse said. Others include a larger container port at Quonset, the off-shore wind turbine project and improvements to Fort Adams in Newport that have helped attract the Volvo Ocean Race and an America's Cup trial run.

"You put these investments in and good things happen," Sen. Whitehouse said. "It's an attraction for people from far away to come and spend their far-away money."

Town Council members Tim Sweeney, Mary Parella and Edward Stuart, DEM Director Janet Coit and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representative Sadie Stevens joined in the ceremony, along with members of the Maritime Center capital campaign.

The $1.75 million price tag for the Maritime Center was mostly funded by Bristol, minus $839,297 in state and federal grants. The project was delayed by structural issues and has been scrutinized for its nearly $2 million price tag. With bond interest to pay Bristol's share, the cost will run well over $3 million.

Bristol Maritime Center, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator Jack Reed, DEM, Bristol Harbormaster

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