Redevelopment Strategies For A Diverse & Vibrant Newport Harbor

Redevelopment Strategies For A Diverse & Vibrant Newport Harbor Teresa A. Crean, AICP Coastal Community Planner University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center RI Sea Grant Working Waterways & Waterfronts 2010 Portland, ME 29 September 2010

Newport, RI City by the Sea

Newport 2030 Workshop

Day 1: Study Tours Tour 1 Streetscape, Signage & Public Access Tour 2 - Redevelopment and Adaptive Reuse of Major Properties Tour 3 - Commercial Corridor/Tourism Tour 4 Heritage & Cultural Tourism Tour 5 - Harbor Management/Preservation of Natural Environment Tour 6 - Transportation Modes & Management Tour 7 - Maritime Industries

Top 3 Priority Recommendations 1. Create a continuous harbor walk that links all waterfront parcels and allows public access both laterally and along the shore. 2. Honor the working waterfront, maintain its relevance, and preserve its identity. 3. Develop mechanisms to encourage consistent coordination & communication among different levels of government, commissions, and officials so that they may identify and work toward common goals for Newport s waterfront.

STAKEHOLDERS: FUNDERS: Partners 1. City of Newport Planning Dept & Planning Board 2. City of Newport Waterfront Commission 3. Newport Co. Chamber of Commerce 4. Newport Co. Convention & Visitors Bureau 5. Alliance for a Livable Newport 6. Friends of the Waterfront 1. Rhode Island Foundation 2. Prince Charitable Trusts 3. RI Sea Grant

Friends of the Waterfront Informational / Historical Signs King Park Mary Ferrazzoli Park www.newportwaterfront.org

www.newportwaterfront.org Friends of the Waterfront Directional Signs

Harbor Walking around North America Teresa Crean URI CRC / RI Sea Grant George Christie URI Landscape Architecture Friends of the Waterfront Annual Meeting 28 May 2009

Cities Studied Cities Included in Presentation CANADA Vancouver, British Columbia Halifax, Nova Scotia UNITED STATES San Antonio, Texas Newburyport, Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts Providence, Rhode Island Other Cities Studied EUROPE Amsterdam, The Netherlands Chatham, England Gloucester, England Weymouth, England Barcelona, Spain UNITED STATES Seattle, Washington Portland, Oregon Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Cincinnati, Ohio Jacksonville, Florida D Iberville, Mississippi Charleston, South Carolina Portland, Maine

Newport s Harbor Walk

Opportunities to improve the legibility of Harbor Walk? Example: Brown & Howard Wharf

Opportunities for additional links along the water?

March 6, 2010 Harbor Walk Tour About 75 participants at the start 65 people followed the tour to Brown & Howard Wharf 25+ people completed the walk to King Park

Display Map Friends of the Waterfront City of Newport Planning City of Newport Parks Dept CRMC Shoreline Public Access Points

Survey Focus on locals & residents New survey for summer visitors & tourists to be launched in June Identify perceptions & ideas from Newporters & Aquidneck Islanders

Newport Harbor Economic Study Establish and describe an economic baseline for the Newport waterfront/harbor project boundary. Understand the value of the land-side and waterside economies in Newport Harbor and the interrelationships between the two to generate an analysis that synergizes both sides as one Harbor economy. Provide credible and practical economic scenarios that illustrate the economic impacts of different mixes of land/water uses for the harbor and provide guidance to the City to set policies and make investment decisions related to the waterfront and harbor.

Economic Study: Data Land Parcel Overview: Land Use/$ Value/Zoning Public Access Parking & Circulation Businesses/Employers Special Events Redevelopment Proposals Anchor properties Water Moorings, Piers & Docks Marinas Special Events Excursions/Charters Commercial Fishing Operations Cruise Ships

RI Statewide Ports & Harbors 26, 42% 9, 15% Newport Commercial Purpose Harborwalk North Harborwalk South 26, 43% Commercial Ferry Commercial Fishing Sewer Ship Building or Repair Recreational Purpose boat building Marine Commercial / Industrial Commercial Marine Recreation Marine Recreation, Not Commercial boat repair charter ticket sales commercial passenger vessel marina yacht club restaurant 14, 2% 38, 7% Quonset Business Park 514, 91% 2, 10% 8, 44% Wickford 8, 46% public access seasonal laydown dockominium boat ramp public dockage transient slips 13, 5% 5, 2% Providence 252, 93% 12, 51% Bristol 5, 19% 7, 30%

RI Statewide Ports & Harbors Insert map Water Dependency: Water Dependent Water Related Water Enhanced

Zoning

Land Use & Assessment Data Newport Shipyard State Pier #9 (RIDEM) Newport Harbor Hotel & Marina Parascondolo Armory & Ann St. Pier Newport Onshore Brown & Howard Wharf IYRS Casey s Marina

Land Use & Assessment Data

Land Use & Assessment Data TOTAL ASSESSED PARCEL VALUE Water dependent = $178,313,000.00 Water related = $82,200,700.00 Water enhanced = $5,994,900.00

Parking Study Npt Co. Chamber

Floodplain Chapter 10 of city s Hazard Mitigation Strategy Newport Harbor area requires mandatory flood insurance Newport Harbor is susceptible to storm surge

Public Access Ongoing Harbor Walk initiative: Display & Survey Locals Visitors/Tourists Design Charrette Implementation Program & Funding Strategy

Special Events Newport International Boat Show Brokerage Boat Show / Wooden Boat Show Tall Ships Regattas Sail Newport / 12-Metre / 6- Metre Folk & Jazz Festivals @ Fort Adams Black Ships Festival Seafood/Chowder Festivals & Clambakes

City Redevelopment Efforts U.S. Navy Hospital Van Zandt Pier Perrotti Park / Long Wharf U.S. Post Office Armory / Ann St. Pier Lee s Wharf King Park

Visitor Data GoNewport.com Industry Resources Global Insights Report Ticket Sales & Vendors 2008-2009 = ~ $1.5M Tours: Mansion, Boat, Museum, Motor, Walking, Special Events, Misc. Room & Meals Taxes Visitor Counts & Annual Est. = ~3M Annually (80% of visitors visit May-Oct) Cruise Ships

Moorings 1. Actual Revenues, 2009: Mooring Fees = $441,727.00 Harbor Fees/Fines = $125,305.00 2. Number of Moorings = 943 Commercial = 294 Private = 649 Waiting List = 468 Applications

Slips & Dockominiums SLIPS (Comm./Indust.): Newport Shipyard 75 Newport Harbor Hotel & Marina 60 Storer Park (City Park) 2 Bannister's Wharf 30 Perrotti Park / Harbormaster 6 Bowen's Wharf 10 Newport Armory & Ann St. Pier 4 Newport Onshore / Wyndham 65 Casey's Marina 1 National Grid 1 DOCKOMINIUMS = 110 1. Newport Onshore Commercial = 5 Residential = 100 2. Lee s Wharf Residential = 45 The Pier Restaurant 20 International Yacht Restoration School 20 Goat Island / IDC Marina Inc. 175 TOTAL 469

Cruise Ships 1. $4.00 per passenger to City 2. 2009 Actual Revenues to City = $284,568.00 3. 100% of Cruise Ship revenues go directly into Maritime Fund, NOT General Fund 4. Cruise Ship revenues make up about 1/3 of Harbormaster s operating budget.

Commercial Fishing Operations COMMERCIAL FISHING PIER: State Pier #9 (RIDEM) 60 full-time commercial fishing vessels, mostly lobster boats In 2006, 48 vessels with federal licenses listed Newport as their home port Fishing-related businesses have left Newport & fishermen must go to Point Judith or New Bedford for supplies SEAFOOD WHOLESALERS: 1. Parascondolo groundfish & squid (private dock in Harbor) 2. Aquidneck Lobster lobster (location in Harbor) 3. Omega Sea scallops & shrimp Source: Ocean SAMP Fisheries Chapter, to be published August 2010

Parcel Size = 1.33 acres; 2009 Assessed Land Value = approx. $4M

Question to Answer Do water dependent uses in Newport Harbor contribute more to municipal revenues on a per acre of waterfront land basis than other commercial or residential uses in the Harbor?

What s Next? 1. Waterfront Workshop with Newport City Council, November 2010 2. Comprehensive Community Plan Update, December 2010 3. Zoning Updates Waterfront Business (WB) District, 2011 4. Public Access (Harbor Walk) Implementation Projects, 2011 5. Encourage ongoing collaboration & PARTNERSHIPS

Next Challenge What about Sea Level Rise? September 10, 2010, Wickford Village, North Kingstown, RI

Next Challenge What about Sea Level Rise? September 10, 2010, Wickford Village, North Kingstown, RI

Newport Harbor Web Page www.seagrant.gso.uri.edu/ecosystems/ai/nh_harborwalk.html

Teresa A. Crean, AICP (401) 874-6626 tcrean@crc.uri.edu