New Uses For City’s Waterfront Still Up For Debate

Dozens of people shared their ideas about what to do with some key sites on the city's waterfront during a waterfront land use planning meeting Wednesday night at the Waypoint Event Center.

Plenty of focus was on the former NStar site that was once planned to be home to a resort waterfront casino.

Jim kendall suggests the city, along with SMAST and UMass Dartmouth, build a flume tank. He says the tank is used to test new equipment and would benefit the fishing industry along the coast.

"It's the water version of a wind tunnel. They do it for vessels, they do it for fishing gear and all different kinds of associated uses. There is nothing that I know of on the East Coast that could meet that demand right now," Kendall said.

Others suggested the site could be home to a technological museum, a harbor hotel or open public space.

Another site that was discussed was State Pier. The planning firm proposed adding a fish auction on the southeastern portion of the pier as well as a mixed use open area for parking and festivals.

Public accessibility was one of the main goals for any redevelopment along the waterfront, but it was also made clear by a number of attendees to preserve the city's robust fishing industry.

Brie Hensold, Principal Planner from Sasaki Associates, Inc., says this plan isn't meant to set anything in stone, but rather act as a guide for future development.

"It's a framework that helps you guide future decisions that get more investigation as they come up because we know there's a lot of growth in a lot of different waterfront industries as well as demand from people that aren't even there yet," Hensold said.

Hensold says the plan is expected to be complete later this fall and final public hearings to conclude by December 2015.