PORTLAND — The Gulf of Maine Research Institute is moving forward with plans to rebuild the former Naval Reserve Pier in Portland.
Once the condemned pier is restored, it will once again be used for berthing Coast Guard cutters.
In addition, its completion will allow the institute to develop the upland portion of the site for marine research and marine biotechnology tenants.
Work on the pier could start as early as this winter, and the project could be finished by summer, said Donald Perkins, president of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
Maine voters on Nov. 3 approved $1.5 million for the project as part of the transportation bond, bringing the total amount of state and federal funding to $3.3 million.
Perkins said engineers had estimated it would cost about $4 million to rebuild the pier, but that was before the recession. He hopes marine construction firms looking for work will lower their bids so the institute won't have to raise additional money. The deadline for submitting proposals is Dec. 3.
The bulkhead pier is built on fill rather than pilings. A gangway connects the pier to a floating concrete platform for vessels. The platform does not need repairs.
The Coast Guard plans to move at least one of its three cutters from its South Portland base to the Portland side of the river as soon as the project is completed, Coast Guard Cmdr. Brian Downey said.
The South Portland base is overcrowded with vessels, he said, and the rebuilt pier in Portland would be an ideal place to locate cutters. The cutters would have Coast Guard personnel on board, allowing the vessels to be dispatched in emergencies.
"It's a great place for them, and it will help us relieve the congestion on the South Portland side," Downey said.
The Coast Guard will have a long-term lease to berth vessels at the new pier. The institute will have the right to request short-term berthing for research vessels if the Coast Guard is not using the pier at the time, Perkins said.
Rather than use its own vessel, the institute collaborates with the fishing industry to provide vessel support for most of its research at sea.
In 2003, the Coast Guard transferred the dilapidated pier and adjacent 2.4 acres of land to the institute. In return, the institute agreed to rebuild the pier and bulkhead within three years and provide space for Coast Guard vessels.
The institute later received an extension until the end of 2009 to raise the funds and complete the repairs. The institute cannot use the upland portion of the site until it has fulfilled its obligation to the Coast Guard, Perkins said.
Founded in 1968 with the intent of building an aquarium on Portland's waterfront, the institute has instead built a $17 million, 3,600-square-foot facility on Commercial Street that houses an unusual hybrid of high-tech elementary education and marine research. Perkins said the institute plans to continue with that model rather than build an aquarium.
He said the institute does not need additional space beyond its Commercial Street building. In fact, the institute early next year plans to lease a portion of its laboratory space.
Finding tenants for the land adjacent to the pier, he said, would provide the institute with income. But more importantly, it would generate economic development related to marine research and marine biotechnology.
Perkins said Portland's waterfront offers a competitive advantage.
"There are not that many waterfronts in great cities like Portland that have so much growth potential," he said. "We are excited to be able to look forward to developing a creative mix of uses down here that complement the waterfront."
Staff Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 791-6369 or at:
tbell@pressherald.com.
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