DNR Celebrates Completion Of Inner Harbor Marine Center Renovation

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

DNR Celebrates Completion Of Inner Harbor Marine Center Renovation
Agency provided $1.15 million in Waterway Improvement Funds
BALTIMORE – On Saturday, June 23rd, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials will join federal, local, and private partners to celebrate the newly renovated Inner Harbor Marina facility. DNR provided $1.15 million in Waterway Improvement Fund Grants to Baltimore City to construct the 132-slip Inner Harbor Marina – one-third of the cost of the $3.4 million project.

“Enhancing Maryland’s waterways for citizens and visitors is a vital part of what we do, and we congratulate the City and its partners on the completion of this exciting project,” said DNR Secretary John R. Griffin. “Every opportunity to enjoy our bays and tributaries is also an opportunity to reflect upon the personal responsibility we all share in keeping them clean and healthy.”

DNR’s Waterway Improvement Program provided $1,147,982 in state funding to the project, and Marine Associates, LLC, provided $1,147,982 in private funds for the project. The third funding component, a $1,080,577 federal grant awarded through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) Program, was the second “BIG” Tier II grant awarded to Maryland and the second largest Tier II Grant awarded nationwide by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 2006. Baltimore Development Corporation, the local government partner, also played a key role in facilitating the project.

Since its construction three decades ago, the marina’s popularity and success has outgrown its original capacity. The owner of the marina – the City of Baltimore – and the Baltimore Marine Center, a private concessionaire that leases the site, recognized that the marina facilities were no longer adequate or functional for the needs and demands of today’s boating public.

The existing marina, including piles, floating docks, and utilities, was entirely removed to create a new state-of-the-art floating concrete dock system. The new system reorients the marina from being perpendicular to parallel to the shoreline. The renovated marina has 132 slips – 40 leased slips and 92 transient slips – for boats 50 feet and larger. Additionally, two landside accessible continuous 800± foot floating docks connect to one 200-foot floating dock. A perimeter floating dock protects the marina from wave action and floating debris, while accommodating additional transient boats including those up to 250 feet in length.

Each slip has dockside electric service and three-phase electric service is offered for larger vessels docked on the outboard side of the proposed perimeter breakwater/dock. The marina also provides Individual dockside water supply and sanitary sewer pump-out services. Security, public safety, handicap access, and protection of property from storms have all been improved with the renovations.

Created in 1966, the Waterway Improvement Fund supports the development, use, and enjoyment of all waters within the State of Maryland for the benefit of the general boating public. Revenues for this Fund are obtained primarily from the one-time 5% excise tax paid to the State of Maryland when a boat is purchased and titled in the State. In addition, the Fund also receives 0.3% of the state motor fuel tax as a result of purchases made to fuel boats.
To learn more about the Waterway Improvement Program, visit http://www.dnr.state.md.us/grantsandloans/waterwayimprovement.asp.
June 22, 2007
Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 449,000 acres of public lands and 17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 12 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov.