Marion Harbormaster facility hits construction ‘milestones’

MARION — There is a “lot of good news” as construction of Marion’s new Harbormaster facility moves forward and site preparation continues, said Marion Town Administrator Geoff Gorman at a Tuesday, Feb. 6 meeting of the Marion Select Board.

Excavation of the Island Wharf site for the building’s foundation has begun, Gorman said, and the foundation is expected to begin pouring by the end of the week.

“We are one day ahead of our milestone for that, which is good,” Gorman said.

There are two more upcoming milestones for the project, according to Gorman. That includes the building’s wood framing, expected to start March 14, and a watertight enclosure that should be in place by the end of April, Gorman said.

These are “just the milestones,” he said. “Again, things are always subject to change.”

In November, the town selected Marion-based South Coast Improvement Company as the project’s contractor.

Construction of the new harbormaster building is expected to cost more than $3.5 million. Marion residents voted to borrow an additional $922,000 for construction of the project at Fall Town Meeting in October, and seaport grants and a previous Town Meeting appropriation already cover about $2.3 million of the cost, Gorman said.

The new facility would allow all functions of the harbormaster’s office to be performed in one place, rather than employees having to divide their time between the current building and Town Hall, said Marion Harbormaster Adam Murphy at an information session in October.

The new facility would be a single story raised about 22 feet off the ground. A raised deck that faces the water will surround the facility, which will also include an elevator to make the structure handicapped accessible, engineers working on the project have said.