Waterfront Advisory Committee sees pavilion concept

posted on: 10/2/2023

The plans for creating a park pavilion at the city’s waterfront site now under construction continue to take shape. The Cochecho Waterfront Development Advisory Committee, at its Sept. 26 meeting, voted unanimously to give the green light to its design consultant, CJ Architects, to finalize pavilion plans and ready them for construction bidding.

At the meeting, Carla Goodnight, principal of CJ Architects, gave a presentation about the park pavilion, providing an overview of the design and the different elements incorporated. As of now, it includes space for boat storage and a vendor, such as for kayak rentals. There would also be a public gathering space, recreation spaces, and bathrooms. CWDAC’s park pavilion subcommittee has been working with CJ Architects for the past year on what elements to be included in the final design.

The site work and the foundation for the park pavilion would be included in the ongoing public improvements to the waterfront site. The complete cost for constructing the building is still to be determined, but Deputy City Manager Christopher G. Parker noted at the meeting the city has received verbal confirmation from the federal government that it will be awarded $500,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to help defray the costs. Parker also noted approximately $300,000 in Recreation impact fees will be generated for the project.

“We want to create something that is iconic, but we also want to create something reasonable and realistic,” Parker said at the meeting.

The CWDAC also received a presentation from Cathartes, the private developer, about the minor adjustments they have made in their plans, and an update on the ongoing public improvements at the waterfront site since construction began in June.

Click here to watch the meeting.

As the waterfront project progresses, the city and CWDAC plan frequent email updates to keep the public abreast of the project. To sign up for these updates, visit https://bit.ly/dovernewsletters and add “Project updates: Waterfront Development” to your current email subscription list.