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They want ideas - marina - of course.
January 3, 2007
Can P'town pier pay off?
By ERIC WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
PROVINCETOWN - Let's say you owned a spectacular but expensive pier, jutting gamely over one of the great natural harbors of the world. Sure, it's nice, but there are bills to pay. There must be an artful way to beef up revenues and leverage the grand location - light retail, lovely kiosks, maybe even a yacht club.
Those are the kinds of suggestions that the Provincetown Pier Corp. is seeking for town-owned MacMillan Pier.
''We want to know what the community would like to see out here,'' said Rex McKinsey, the town's harbor master/pier manager. ''We'd like something unique and totally appropriate for Provincetown.''
The pier sees considerable foot traffic during the warmer months, but the audience doesn't linger, McKinsey said.
''People walk down here, they walk to the end of the pier, look around and walk back downtown. They could have a richer experience if we had other things going on that they could participate in.''
That experience could enrich the town, if rent-paying businesses set up shop along the wooden boardwalk that runs along the quarter-mile pier, or at the 22,000-square-foot ''T'' top at its end.
The pier was rebuilt several years ago, with local taxpayers footing approximately $4 million of the $18 million cost. The remainder came from state and federal grants.
Shortly thereafter, the Pier Corp. signed a 20-year lease to manage it.
''The idea is that at some point in the course of a 20-year lease that the town would be made whole, repaid, once the pier starts making money,'' said Provincetown Town Manager Keith Bergman.
That hasn't happened yet.
''We knew there would be some ramping up,'' said Bergman, who said debt service on the town's contribution to the pier project runs at about $300,000 per year. In the first few years of the lease, the Pier Corp. has paid back significantly less than that. ''We got $10,000 one year,'' recalled Bergman.
MacMillan Pier is connected to the town's sewer system, a big advantage for any possible development. And while state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations control activity on the pier, McKinsey said he met informally with state officials last month about development.
One possibility that seemed within the allowed uses is a yacht club, open to the public, McKinsey said.
There might be room for a small multipurpose structure that could house fish offloading facilities, a yacht club, perhaps even a sushi bar, he said.
But for the upcoming season, McKinsey said it is likely that the Pier Corp. would seek proposals for small kiosk-type businesses along the boardwalk.
Ideas may be sent to: Provincetown Pier Corp., 260 Commercial St., Provincetown, MA 02657, called in 508-487-7030 or e-mailed to: pppcadmin**provincetown-ma.gov
Eric Williams can be reached at ewilliams**capecodonline.com.
(Published: January 3, 2007)
January 3, 2007
Can P'town pier pay off?
By ERIC WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
PROVINCETOWN - Let's say you owned a spectacular but expensive pier, jutting gamely over one of the great natural harbors of the world. Sure, it's nice, but there are bills to pay. There must be an artful way to beef up revenues and leverage the grand location - light retail, lovely kiosks, maybe even a yacht club.
Those are the kinds of suggestions that the Provincetown Pier Corp. is seeking for town-owned MacMillan Pier.
''We want to know what the community would like to see out here,'' said Rex McKinsey, the town's harbor master/pier manager. ''We'd like something unique and totally appropriate for Provincetown.''
The pier sees considerable foot traffic during the warmer months, but the audience doesn't linger, McKinsey said.
''People walk down here, they walk to the end of the pier, look around and walk back downtown. They could have a richer experience if we had other things going on that they could participate in.''
That experience could enrich the town, if rent-paying businesses set up shop along the wooden boardwalk that runs along the quarter-mile pier, or at the 22,000-square-foot ''T'' top at its end.
The pier was rebuilt several years ago, with local taxpayers footing approximately $4 million of the $18 million cost. The remainder came from state and federal grants.
Shortly thereafter, the Pier Corp. signed a 20-year lease to manage it.
''The idea is that at some point in the course of a 20-year lease that the town would be made whole, repaid, once the pier starts making money,'' said Provincetown Town Manager Keith Bergman.
That hasn't happened yet.
''We knew there would be some ramping up,'' said Bergman, who said debt service on the town's contribution to the pier project runs at about $300,000 per year. In the first few years of the lease, the Pier Corp. has paid back significantly less than that. ''We got $10,000 one year,'' recalled Bergman.
MacMillan Pier is connected to the town's sewer system, a big advantage for any possible development. And while state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations control activity on the pier, McKinsey said he met informally with state officials last month about development.
One possibility that seemed within the allowed uses is a yacht club, open to the public, McKinsey said.
There might be room for a small multipurpose structure that could house fish offloading facilities, a yacht club, perhaps even a sushi bar, he said.
But for the upcoming season, McKinsey said it is likely that the Pier Corp. would seek proposals for small kiosk-type businesses along the boardwalk.
Ideas may be sent to: Provincetown Pier Corp., 260 Commercial St., Provincetown, MA 02657, called in 508-487-7030 or e-mailed to: pppcadmin**provincetown-ma.gov
Eric Williams can be reached at ewilliams**capecodonline.com.
(Published: January 3, 2007)