Plans to build a large vessel dock at Schenectady's Mohawk Harbor have been scuttled.
What was envisioned a magnet for tourism has met a quiet end. The Mohawk Harbor large vessel dock project has been canceled.
Schenectady City Engineer Chris Wallin says the project that aimed to accommodate large boats, yachts and the Erie Canal Cruise Line fell victim to delays caused by the pandemic.
What we called the Large Vessel Dockage project at Mohawk harbor was funded through a 2018 CFA grant, which was a competitive, funded grant through New York State," said Wallin. "Between 2018 and today we had the COVID epidemic. So the project was put on hold. It was brushed off and restarted around 2022 when we started working with the Army Corps and the DEC and going through the design for the large vessel dockage."
Wallin says permitting costs were higher than expected, as planning work dragged on.
"As we started to investigate the size and requirements for these docks, the docks were larger and larger, where we were dealing with a 10 foot dock in width, 10 to 12 feet in width, approximately 150 to 250 feet in length, depending on what the budget would end up coming back at," Wallin said. "And as we started just going through the permitting and cost procedures, we started noticing the costs increasing [with] every revision of the estimate."
Wallin says the docks chosen for the project also carried a high price. Due to seasonal changes with the Mohawk River — including potential ice jams and flooding — the docks would have to be removed every year and stored. Ultimately, after going out to bid, Wallin says the project came in about $1 million over budget.
"So, where we had around $2 million dollars for the project. I think it came back higher, maybe closer to three. We were looking at, okay, this an investment we still want to make. As we met internally and with the Galesi Group, who was the property owner and would be operating the dock, we came to the conclusion that the ownership and the operating of the docks wasn't feasible from a cost and from an investment standpoint," said Wallin.
Meantime, the Erie Canal Cruise Line, envisioned as utilizing the large vessel dock, could not stay afloat due to the economic storm wrought by COVID and went bankrupt. Wallin says a possible alternative, the Albany-based Dutch Apple Cruises, was also dead in the water as its boats were too tall to pass underneath the nearby Freeman's Bridge.
A representative from Galesi Group was unavailable to comment on the scuttled project.
Metroplex Development Authority Executive Director David Hogenkamp says the agency quickly regrouped to ensure public recreational access to the waterfront.
"We really went back and did some research of what vessels were using Mohawk River and how many vessels were docking at the current harbor. And it was decided that the majority of the vessels that were coming to enjoy the harbor were able to enter through the existing harbor and enjoy Mohawk Harbor. And as of right now, there aren't any river cruises or anything else that we felt justified making a further investment in the docks. Not that we can't do that in the future, but right now, we wanted to focus on the local public access," Hogenkamp said.
Citing recent construction of a hotel and the Mohawk Harbor Events Center, Hogenkamp says development of Mohawk Harbor Landing, including a kayak launch and expanding public spaces, will continue.
