FALL RIVER — Thanks to a $396,000 planning grant from the Seaport Economic Council , a fenced off 1.6-acre parcel on the Taunton River adjacent to the City Pier could be developed as a public space, including a spot for fishing.
The Fall River Redevelopment Authority, which oversees the Thomas Norton City Pier, received the award recently and hired the BETA Group of Lincoln, Rhode Island, to plan the development of the land.
The land is just north of the City Pier near the Point Gloria condominium complex. The RDA is calling the area Northfield Point, according to executive director Sarah Page.
Planner helped City Pier go from contaminated site to popular waterfront destination
BETA Group did the design and engineering planning work for the City Pier, which officially opened to the public in November 2022 .
It took RDA over 40 years to clean up and redevelop the approximately 4 acres of waterfront open space after taking it by eminent domain. Now, the pristine City Pier is a popular walking spot and hosts a myriad of community events, from concerts organized by the Narrows Center, food truck festivals and more.
RDA is hoping to create another favorite waterfront space for the community and visitors.
Unlike the City Pier, there is no environmental contamination at Northfield Point.
When the pier was off-limits: From 2019 — Fall River Redevelopment Authority will explore new uses for City Pier
How would Northfield Point be developed?
Currently a chain link fence prohibits the public from accessing Northfield Point, which juts out into the Taunton River. That will be gone, allowing access from the walkway along Davol Street.
Page said invasive plant species are growing on the land, which will be replaced by native coastal plantings to assist with flooding on the land. Plans would also include repairing the eroding embankments on the property.
Because the land is in a floodplain, Page said, pathways will be made from materials like gravel or pavers that can absorb and drain rainwater.
Fishing along the waterfront is prohibited, although fishermen frequently fish illegally along the Taunton River banks and on the City Pier. Allowing fishing on Northfield Point will fill a community need.
Free outdoor concerts: A guide to summer fun in the New Bedford and Fall River area
City Pier to get more mooring fields and a dinghy dock
The Seaport Economic Council's grant will also assist in planning to build a dingy dock on the 45-foot dock built at the City Pier and designs for three additional mooring fields, to complement the pier's existing moorings.
Page said there is increasing demand for more moorings. They have identified potentially 15 more moorings that could accommodate boats of up to 50 feet. Those spots are between the City Pier and Northfield Point and to the south between the City Pier and The Cove Restaurant and Marina. Other possible options are near the existing dinghy dock near Battleship Cove and at the city boat ramp at Bicentennial Park.
The moorings will be a good tourism tool, said Page, where out-of-town boaters can park from one to 15 days.
“So they can come a couple of weeks, they can leave their boats and travel, and their dinghy will be on a nice safe dock, and we can get more tourists coming from the water side,” said Page.
In its design of the new mooring fields, BETA Group will require additional water surveys that would include determining water depths, locations of possible obstructions and reviewing navigational charts to determine federal and state water channels, according to the RDA's grant proposal.
Working with nonprofits, getting more grants
“The cool thing is the Audubon Society has a program in the city schools called Nature in the City, so they want to bring kids out to look at the plants and bring them out at low tide to walk along the river and do experiments in the river,” said Page. “So that’s going to be a great collaboration.”
The RDA also does work with GroundWork Southcoast , a nonprofit that focuses on environmental issues in Fall River and New Bedford. The nonprofit works with B.M.C. Durfee High School students, right now doing a lot of work at Cook Pond, said Page, and that can expand with the development of Northfield Point.
As BETA Group is developing designs for the project, Page said, RDA will work on acquiring additional grants and raising money to begin work by next spring and summer.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: A second city pier: $400K grant will help Fall River develop waterfront space for fishing
Most Popular
Comments / 0