Marina Dock Age

Construction on Paper District Marina in Sandusky, Ohio, could begin in June, according to a May 20 Sandusky Register report.

George Poulos, the city’s chief building inspector, described the pre-construction phase as 85 percent complete.

John Hancock, a city consultant helping with the project, said he wanted to submit a proposed contract between the city and Hoty Builders, the construction company, to the Sandusky City Commission by May 24.

If approved, the $3 million project could begin in June.

The marina will feature 62 slips for mostly transient dockage and a 38,000-square-foot amphitheater.

The project will be built in two phases. The first, $1.5 million phase includes infrastructure construction, such as the marina basin, walls, and armor stone.

The city will fund the first phase using about $800,000 from a Clean Ohio Revitalization Grant and about $700,000 from the Chesapeake TIF, which collects a percentage of the property tax revenues generated by the Chesapeake Lofts project. The money must go back into the Paper District, Hancock said.

The second phase includes the docks and bathhouse. The city hopes to fund that portion through an Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) boating grant. The $650,000 grant would need an equal match from the Chesapeake TIF. The city will not know until at least September if it won that grant.

City officials are hopeful that the marina project will be awarded the ODNR grant, but “there’s no 100 percent certainly,” Hancock said.

The first phase will likely take until November, Hancock said. If the city wins the grant for the second phase, the marina could open in 2011.