Port Authorities, Fairport Harbor partner up

Comprehensive development study is in the works

The Lake County Ohio Port and Economic Development Authority, Fairport Harbor, and the Fairport Harbor Port Authority last week announced a partnership to undertake a comprehensive development study.

The study seeks to implement key aspects of plans that were proposed in the 2007 Landside Communities Plan — in addition to a hospitality study commissioned by the Lake County Visitors Bureau in 2015 that supported construction of a

hotel and water park.

The developments envisioned in the Landside Communities Plan were contingent on the possible relocation or re-imaging of the water plant and expansion of the existing Port Authority boat ramp and new marina, both of which will be studied as part of the process, according to a news release.

The plan will also evaluate the widening and or relocation of Water Street and an introduction of a waterway canal to more efficiently accommodate vehicular and watercraft traffic. A comprehensive blight study of the entire village will also be conducted.

Fairport Harbor’s water treatment plant is considered to be, by both the village and the Port Authority, one of the most prominent features on its lakefront. However, in the Landside Communities plan, it was assumed the plant would be moved.

The study, the release stated, will examine potential new sites in the village where the plant could be relocated and how it could be modernized.

“The plant is an important part of the services we provide to the residents, and this study will take a look at our options on how modern technology would allow the water treatment facility to be more efficient within a smaller footprint,” said Village Administrator Amy Cossick. “The possible modernization of the plant would free up an acre of valuable space for public use and enjoyment of the lakefront.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a program that provides funds for small communities like Fairport Harbor to develop new water treatment facilities. Having the study in place would put the village in a position to apply for that funding, the Port Authority confirmed.

Another component of the Landside Communities Plan is a significantly enlarged marina that would cater to transient boaters by featuring slips that could accommodate large vessels as well as facilities, like pump-out stations and a fuel dock. Attracting such recreationalists would help spur tourism and hospitality-related development on the waterfront and in Fairport’s storefront commercial district.

According to Fairport Councilman Anthony Bertone, federal funds are available for this kind of project, too.

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the Boating Infrastructure Grant Program for large transient marina development,” he said. “We can leverage revenues generated by the Port Authority’s lakeshore improvement piece of the lodging tax as matching funds to get those grants.”

Peter Zahirsky, director of coastal development for the Port Authority, added that the study would consider additional opportunities to make the marina project unique.

Zahirsky said the Landside Communities Plan called for a maritime museum, and that the Port Authority and the village were interested in exploring opportunities for a floating museum that could be integrated into the marina, adding there could even be a residential component to the marina.

“If you go to Sandusky, you see boathouses with dwelling units built in above,” he said. “Having something like that on the eastern side of Lake Erie could be a real draw.”

Considering an inevitable increase in traffic, the study will also look at widening Water Street, both in terms of cost and how it would alleviate the anticipated congestion.

“Water Street is the main access road to the existing marina and the area around the water plant,” said Mark Rantala, executive director of the Port Authority. “By widening it, we can accommodate more traffic while also minimizing the impact of that traffic to the residents of the village.”

According to the release, enhancing access to the area would make it more appealing to developers looking to build hospitality or mixedused retail and residential projects.

Additionally, the Port Authority and the village intend to include a villagewide blight study as part of the overall effort.

“We have a number of vacant and underutilized properties and this study will help us understand what we need to do in order to get them to their highest and best use,” said Fairport Harbor Mayor Timothy Manross.

The port authorities and the village assert completing this portion of the study will determine whether the necessary conditions exist to establish blight which would allow renewal initiatives to be undertaken. The properties could then be redeveloped in a manner consistent with the village’s vision for economic development, capitalizing on its location on Lake Erie.

For more information, contact Mark Rantala at 440-357-2290, ext. 232, or mrantala@lcport.org; or Timothy Manross at 440-352-3620, ext. 113, or mayor@fairportharbor.org.