Posted on September 21, 2017
By Mary O?Leary, New Haven Register
Patriot Marine of Boston wants to buy a small piece of riverfront land from the city to bring its dredging and marine construction company here.
The proposal is to purchase a 15,500-square-foot strip at 90 River St. along the Qunnipiac River for $80,000 from the city.
The company needs the riverfront piece to have water access before it can purchase the rest of 90 River St. for its construction business.
Once both have been secured, it will install an estimated $1 million steel bulkhead along the river for its use.
City officials are excited that unlike the headquarters move of Alexion to Boston, as well as the headquarters of General Electric transferring its operations to Boston, this company is moving here from Boston.
The land at 90 River St. was sold by the city to Suraci Metal Finishing in 2005, but the firm went bankrupt and the land was purchased by Maverick Partners some 18 months ago.
The property is not useful to Patriot Marine without waterfront access, Helen Rosenberg of the Economic Development Department said.
She said the $80,000 sale price is based on recent appraisals at 46 RIver St. and 56 River St.
The city has hung onto the 50-foot strip along the river for a pedestrian and bicycle access walkway that is part of the original River Street Development Plan, adopted in 2002.
Rosenberg said she had discussions with City Planner Karen Gilvarg about the issue and Rosenberg said an easement through Patriot Marine’s property has been worked out to allow public access to the walkway.
The sale of the riverfront strip was recently approved by the Development Commission and it will now go to the Board of Alders.
Rosenberg said much of the adjacent 55,000 square feet of land at 90 River St. would either be leased out to another company or Patriot could use it to expand its business.
She said the company will employ 50 people in its high season. There will be 15 permanent jobs year-round, but it could be more if they expand.
Rosenberg said the jobs include metal fabrication, equipment maintenance, welding, crane repairs, dock construction and material loading, There will also be office and maintenance jobs.
She said the most important aspect of the sale is the construction of the bulkhead that the city has wanted to do for 15 years, but it hasn’t had the funds.
“That is a big investment in securing this waterfront,” Rosenberg said.
The current buildings at 90 River St. would also be renovated and brought up to code.
Ginny Kozlowski, executive director of the Economic Development Commission, said the bulkhead installation “adds significant value to this community. We really don’t have those capital funds and it is very hard to get federal funds now.”
Rosenberg said they would like to get this deal done as quickly as possible, possibly within a month.
Attorney Stan Dombroski, who is representing Patriol Marine, said they will have cranes and gangways that act as barges, but they can be moved and nothing would permanently obstruct the walkway area.
Rosenberg was excited that the business is water-dependent, which makes it the best use of that property.
“And they are going to make a major investment in property in New Haven without asking for tens of millions of dollars,” she said.
Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson said this waterfront is one of our competitive advantages, which is a rarity.
Dombroski said the company does a lot of dredging along Long Island and the Connecticut coast so it makes sense to open its business here.
The high season lasts around eight months, while the slow season is the summer.
Dombroski said the expansion could possibly include having space for high-end boat storage and for boat maintenance.
He said the company also has facilities in Florida and other places along the East Coast.
Source: New Haven Register
