Boathouse To Return To Harbor

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by Thomas MacMillan | Aug 31, 2010 3:52 pm

(32) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Long Wharf

Langan Years after it was painstakingly dismantled brick by brick and boxed up in crates in a city warehouse, a historic New Haven harbor boathouse will rise again—as part of a shiny new multimillion-dollar waterfront building.

That building will be the Boathouse at Canal Dock, a $30 million addition to Long Wharf, a historical, cultural, educational, and recreational center planned for New Haven’s waterfront.

The public building will comprise interpretive displays, classroom and exhibit space, public boat storage, and locker rooms and storage areas. Part of the historic Adee Boathouse, dismantled in 2007 to make way for the expanded I-95 Q Bridge, will be rebuilt inside the new boathouse.

City and state official gathered with designers and engineers at the Long Wharf Pier on Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the completion of the first phase of the project’s design. The event was also intended to spread the word about a public meeting on Thursday to discuss the project. That meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the Hall of Records at 200 Orange St.

Officials have been working on this project for over 10 years.

It all began when the state started planning the new Quinnipiac Bridge. For New Haven, that construction meant further separation from the waterfront and the destruction of the historic Adee Boathouse, opened by Yale in 1911. After extensive negotiation, the city managed to reach a memorandum of agreement with the state Department of Transportation in 1999, which stated that the state would help with several measures to mitigate the loss of the boathouse and the imposition of the new bridge.

Among those measures was the new State Street railroad station, which ultimately led to the construction of 360 State, the new 33-story mixed-use downtown tower, Mayor John DeStefano (pictured) told the small crowd on the pier. The city also gained the Church Street South bridge, and now the boathouse.

Langan The new 31,000-square-foot boathouse will sit atop a new 55,000-square-foot platform. Its $30 million cost is considered part of the state’s overall Q bridge budget. The project will include floating docks for crew rowing boats, kayaks, canoes, and sailboats. On the inland side of the building, there will be landscaping and other streetscape improvements.

Inside, the building will be used for historical and environmental education, as well as supporting waterfront recreation.

DeeDee Hamilton, a Spanish teacher in New Haven Public Schools, said she hopes to start a crew program for girls and boys. She said she’s looking at the G-Row program in Boston for inspiration.

Al Marder (pictured), president of the Amistad Committee, said his organization is very much looking forward to the new boathouse. “We’re 100 percent for it.”

The historic Amistad Schooner docks at the Long Wharf Pier when it’s in town. The presence of a huge new boathouse geared toward education can only help draw attention to the storied former slave ship and the other historical locations of interest in New Haven and Connecticut, like the Freedom Trail, Marder said.

Marder pointed to the highway nearby, noting that 140,000 cars pass by everyday. The new boathouse might give some of those people an excuse to stop and learn about New Haven and Connecticut, Marder said.

Kristen Andrews, head of Schooner Inc, said she hopes her organization will benefit from the new boathouse as well. Schooner is a non-profit environmental educational organization that operates out of New Haven harbor. The organizations boat, the Quinnipiack, was docked at the pier on Tuesday. Andrews suggested some of Schooner’s young program participants could act as docents for exhibits at the boathouse.

The operation of the boathouse will be overseen by a new not-for-profit organization, the Canal Dock Corporation, said Karyn Gilvarg, head of the City Plan Department. The property will be owned by the city, which is aiming for it to be a “revenue neutral” project. The Canal Dock Corporation would set fees for kayak storage, and other day-to-day concerns.

The project is based on the 2002 agreement with the state, which set the $30 million pricetag. While the cost of the Quinnipiac Bridge has ballooned to $2.2 billion, the city is adhering to the $30 million price point set eight years ago, Gilvarg said. That money buys a lot less now than it did in 2002, she said. The city has had to reduce the planned platform size from 100,000 square feet to 55,000 square feet.

Gilvarg said construction could begin in late 2011 or early 2012.

The construction will incorporate parts of the Adee Boathouse. Originally, the plan was to completely reconstruct the historic boathouse. That turned out to be impossible. The new plan, drawn up by Langan engineering corporation, calls for the facade of the Adee boathouse to be rebuilt inside the glassy new building.

John Plante (pictured), a senior associate at Langan, said the facade will be reconstructed along with an interior stairwell and a common room with interpretive displays to tell the history of the harbor and boathouse.

It’s been a painstaking process, Plante said. A Langan staffer even tracked down the original plans for the construction of the Adee boathouse.

Gilvarg said she is not anticipating opposition to the plans at the public meeting on Thursday. Some people may not understand the history of the project, and all of the permitting and building constraints placed upon it, she said. That context may have to be explained, she said.

“I’m expecting a lot of enthusiasm,” Gilvarg said.

Comments

posted by: davec on August 31, 2010 4:26pm

Bell Jar.

posted by: Thomas on August 31, 2010 6:16pm

I had wondered what they did with the boathouse. Sounds like an excellent use of the space. Wondering if the Kayak and Canoe’s will be available to the public for rentals? A good idea might also be to add a snack, restaurant/bar to the plans that might generate revenue for the city and offset the costs.

posted by: William Hosley on August 31, 2010 8:34pm

The money would be better spent augmenting the appeal and utility of things of value (East Rock Park, New Haven Museum, Grove Street Cemetery, Pardee Morris House, Lighthouse Point Park, etc.) that (unlike the Amistad ship) are 365 day/year cultural attractions and are at risk. New Haven has a goldmine of cultural content, some of which is gasping for life and would florish with 1/10th a budget like this. A facility for rowing and sailing? Doesn’t New Haven already have two yacht clubs? A visitor center? Is that really the best site? Good signage (which Long Wharf dock does not have) or even a glitzy new building (there!?) won’t come close to solving the issues confronting that location.

This may be a nice trophy. But is it the best use of that kind of money for whatever criteria influenced the choices made? Clearly, this was quid pro quo money for trashing a landmark. The question of what to do to mitigate the effects hardly requires a literal shifting of energies around the corner to another spot on the bay. Or does it?

posted by: Prince William on August 31, 2010 8:36pm

Bravo! New Haven Harbor front is so underutilized. With that said please leave the industrial are of River St. alone, so the companies there can create jobs.

posted by: terrapin on August 31, 2010 9:17pm

Not to pick nits, but we all know that this Amistad is a re-creation of the real Amistad, that this schooner is not the actual Amistad, right?

posted by: jimmy5 on September 1, 2010 7:14am

Great addition to an already historic harbor…jimmy5

posted by: Judi on September 1, 2010 7:27am

You should know how to spell Langan - it’s in your city!

posted by: admirer on September 1, 2010 7:32am

Who is the design architect for the boathouse ?
The article suggests that Langan Engineering are the designers.
Is this accurate meaning that they designed the building or is there a design firm associated with the project where Langan is the firm of Record ?

posted by: L on September 1, 2010 7:40am

I think this is great news, and not a waste of money. I am happy that New Haven seems to be undoing some of the bad city planning that took place in recent decades past and destroyed some great places to live and visit. The harbor has been such a waste for most citizens!

posted by: admirer on September 1, 2010 8:06am

Could you please be more specific regarding bad city planning decisions in recent decades.
New Haven suffered more than most during the Urban Renewal decade 50 years ago and the resultant wake that followed but since that time and maybe as a result of New Haven has been very responsive and responsible.
Please leave out those obvious and highly charged examples where the city administrators had limited recourse in determining the outcomes.
The negotiations with not for profit academic institutions whose ultimate contributions to the city of New Haven have been vast are common to all host cities of these world class institutions. A broad understanding of these negotiations reveal complex compromises that try to balance the priorities of divergent needs.
Now back to that boathouse , Preliminary images look promising, lets hope the follow-through is strong.

posted by: robn on September 1, 2010 8:07am

The city of New Haven needs to stop funding poorly designed self-indulgent architecture. I have no problem with some re-use of the previous facade, but this design is an abomination.

posted by: Vinny G on September 1, 2010 9:41am

Save the money and cut taxes.

posted by: harbor on September 1, 2010 9:44am

This is great news. The harbor is an incredible resource and is underutilized. People dont realize its one of the most important working harbors on the east coast. A learning center that explores both the marine life in the sound and the history of industry in the harbor would be fascinating, a great asset for new haven. It also sounds like it will be a great recreation place for people to enjoy the water. Can’t wait to visit it.

posted by: Gretchen Pritchard on September 1, 2010 9:47am

??!!

I don’t get why it has to be embalmed in this ugly incongruous glass coffin. Why can’t the boathouse be rebuilt in this new site as itself?

posted by: jondoeski on September 1, 2010 10:09am

its really to bad that I-95 is still there…they should have created a tunnel system similar to the big dig…and only then would our waterfront have been reclaimed

posted by: Voytec on September 1, 2010 10:37am

The Boathouse may benefit New Haven immensely - the new design is a big step forward from what was presented in the past and allows for a flexible usage of the space. I welcome any projects bringing life back to New Haven waterfront. The City has miles of underused or misused harbor and riverfront property - yet most of the people in New Haven are not even aware of it.

There are several misconceptions among the comments above:

- first it’s funding: AFAIK - The City was paid by DOT to compensate the loss of the old Adee Boathouse. The funds usage is VERY restricted and must be used for waterfront - water related structure. So, it’s not financed by our taxes.

- The initial, few year old designs were attempting to recreate the old Adee Boathouse looks. Personally I am not a great fan of creating fake “old” buildings… I like the new concept as it brings the elements of old boathouse on display in symbolic form while providing the new construction efficiency and usability.

- the structure by itself is a great addition to New Haven’w waterfront with great potential. The success will depend on how it will be used.

posted by: William Hosley on September 1, 2010 10:41am

Robn
While I agree with your point about “self-indulgent architecture” the City of New Haven clearly has almost no skin in the game and could NEVER do this - nor would - if it required defunding anything else or raising taxes. The money was the price they coerced the State DOT into ponying up for the right to trash an historic landmarks that, in fact, wasn’t in use and was another not unworthy but apparently dispensible bit of civic embellishment. Think santa claus and spending someone elses money on a project that is not the highest best use of that kind of money for cultural, tourism, civic amenities, historic preservation - when raising $100k for projects that actually preserve national treasures in use and at risk - is so, so hard there.

posted by: Alphonse Credenza on September 1, 2010 10:56am

A beautiful idea, but a complete waste of taxpayer dollars. This project will generate nothing significant in the way of revenue, but instead drain dollars from taxpayers when conservation of capital is essential.

I can’t understand how administrators are so callous and unthinking that they would proceed in these difficult times with luxury no one in the public sphere believes can be afforded. These administrators are living in a dreamworld. More reason that they should be fired.

posted by: robn on September 1, 2010 12:26pm

William Hosley,

It doesn’t matter who’s paying for it. Its bad design and we will have to live with it for the next 50-100 years as a very public emblem to poor taste, undiscerning eye and lack of imagination.

posted by: jondoeski on September 1, 2010 2:10pm

why is an engineering firm designing a architectural emblem for the city?

posted by: Melissa on September 1, 2010 2:11pm

Wonderful project! This is just what New Haven Harbor needs. An attractive green area, benches, walkway and bicycle paths would really help pull this off. Maybe add a nice cafe too!

posted by: Jonathan Hopkins on September 1, 2010 3:07pm

Architects are only required when a building is above a certain square footage. Home Builders, not architects, design the vast majority of this country’s housing. The increased standardization of materials and building codes has made architects nearly useless except to do ridiculous self-monumental boxes in space as a way to make up for inability to design buildings for everyday life, which has had the result of more public dislike for architects.

The rendering shown here looks really strange and cartoonish.

posted by: a on September 1, 2010 5:32pm

What about cleaning up the water and shore before putting another building there? WIll this building be clean energy/use renewable energy? Will they use recycled building materials?

posted by: urban ed on September 1, 2010 8:21pm

What we wanted was the boathouse moved to Long Wharf, or a replica constructed there. What we’re getting is a brick in a fish tank. Please go back to the drawing board.

posted by: William Hosley on September 2, 2010 11:14am

The string of comments is instructional. Obviously not alone in thinking the City should revisit how they’re going about this.

Here’s the deal. A nationally significantistoric landmark was trashed. The quid pro quo - all negotiated and carried out in the spirit as if historic resources mattered - was money to “mitigate” the loss.

But in the end any sense that historic resoresources matter are at best symbolic. Were any preservationist or historians involved in the planning?

If you demand money for a cause and then ignore the real substance of that cause - well, I suppose it goes straight to character.

It wouldn’t matter except that New Haven really could make hay with its historic resources. Instead of spending $1 mill/year importating dancers and singers from afar for the Arts Festival - why not do more to develop, showcase, interpret and care for the abundance of historic resources that are so essential to NH’s identity and appeal?

New Haven is CT’s best and only walking city. Tourism (the least of several reasons why doing it right matters) flourishes where wandering around, shopping, eating, soaking up historic and architectural atmosphere are interwoven. The weakest link here is the historic.

Needless to say, I believe the neglect of the starving and debilitated New Haven Museum is an abomination and that invested 10% of what this boat house will cost or even 10% of the 15+/- mill spent on the Arts Festival over the years would have been transformational for a treasure that has taken 150 years of loving laying on of hands to create. If not now, when?

To take money in the name of historic resources and then do almost nothing for historic resources in exchange, is a form of contempt for historic resources.

posted by: jondoeski on September 2, 2010 12:12pm

@ john hopkins, i believe architects are essential towards the designing of civic spaces. they possess an understanding of space and scale that engineers do not quite grasp. your point of standardized building materials is correct, although it’s really more about the building methods. yes the renderings are poor. if you can’t convince the public on paper, why would you think you will convince them with the finished product. its seems to me the nature of this project is politically driven. and that’s really a shame considering the amount of architectural design firms in new haven…never-mind the starving start-ups that could use the encouragement from the gov.

posted by: Vinny G on September 2, 2010 2:24pm

The municipality generally selects an architect (based upon political contributions) who intern selects an engineer to design the structural components of the building.

posted by: AIA no way on September 2, 2010 11:15pm

Can’t help but think this design is an effort to win an award for some Frank Gehry inspired dream. New Haven residents will rue the day when it comes time to pay for maintenance of the building if not replace the platform pilings. Think Uncle Sam is going to participate in those costs?

posted by: kip on September 3, 2010 1:21pm

Some of the home builders could use a little design influence. Some of the newly constructed houses, though more fireproof, have a number of shortcomings. Sometimes it feels as though I’m in an over-sized motor-home Perhaps I’d like to pass to another room without approaching the entertainment area. Some of the homes are as much “split ranch” as an efficiency is a “studio”. Architects design, do the home builders merely consume or is it worth considering the consequences of the arrangement of space?

posted by: Thomas on September 7, 2010 12:37pm

When was the Harbor Boathouse last used for Crew Racing? Did Yale move to Derby due to Pollution in the Harbor? If this area is to rough for recreational boating then why spend the money, is this another landmark situation saving an old brick building? To bad they did not buy the Hardware store up river at Front and Grand Streets. That area would be excellent for both Kayak and Canoeing, but I may be wrong.

posted by: Fred on September 7, 2010 3:34pm

It is really ridiculous that in a city that is filled with more architects per capita than almost any other city in the US that this is not a project for a local architecture office.

posted by: architect on September 7, 2010 3:53pm

to Jonathan Hopkins

If you think “Home Builders” are doing such a great job with building this country then take a look at how our economy is going, our environment, our cities,... your commentary is ridiculous. It is sad that architecture isn’t taken more seriously as part of a civic debate and of civic importance. Europe holds their architects in high esteem, commissions are awarded through public competition and the cities are better. In the US we get stuck with mediocre buildings like this boathouse as our civic architecture. Yes there are star-architects who build flashy buildings, but there are more architects that produce good solid civic buildings. I would of rather they picked something that was more forward thinking than this boathouse, but as soon as anyone proposes something different it challenges people’s sense of taste. For better and worse, everyone is an architectural critic even those that don’t know anything about architecture… The city should of had a public competition for this project where people could participate. The best buildings in New Haven were designed by architects not Home Builders.

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