Salisbury City Council inks marina development deal
Two waterfront parcels at the Port of Salisbury Marina will be developed with a mix of commercial and residential units under a plan that won the approval of City Council members this week.
Salisbury Development Group LLC, the lone bidder for the project on the city-owned lots, will pay $1 to purchase one of the parcels and $1 per year to the lease the second over a 50-year term.
The developer has 60 days to conduct necessary tests, inspections and studies before getting building permits. Settlement will take place within 30 days after the last permit issued.
“We are poised and ready to begin” once the studies and permits are completed, Keith Fisher, the architect for the project, told City Council members,
Fisher estimated it will take 12 months to develop a site plan and 24 months to get the necessary city and state permits. Some preliminary work has already begun, he said.
Mayor Jake Day said the project will contribute significantly to the city’s property tax base once completed. No tax breaks for the developer are included in the deal, he said.
The marina will be the first project in the Salisbury area for David Perlmutter, a principal with the Salisbury Development Group, but he has development experience in Prince Georges County and in nearby Seaford where he is building the Residences at River Place along the Nanticoke River.
In the Salisbury deal, the developer will be required to build residential and commercial units on the purchased lot, which also will add 155 parking spaces to the area.
The leased land, which is close to the River’s Edge apartment complex, will be the site of a new boathouse for public use that the contractor has agreed to build.
Day said the city will use $90,000 of state Program Open Space funding toward the boathouse construction.
While the city will continue to own the land at the boathouse and marina, Salisbury Development Group also will take over day-to-day operations of the marina, including maintenance. The city will still be responsible for capital expenses.
The deal for the land will require the relocation of a city sewage pump station that currently sits on one of the lots. The city is requiring the developer to purchase land at Fitzwater and Pearl streets and donate it to the city, and to pay $25,000 toward the construction of a new pump station.
Day said the city has worked to resolve concerns of Lavonzella Siggers, who lives next to the site for the new pump station. Plans include planting trees as a buffer, he said.
The plan for the marina is the latest effort to redevelop key city-owned properties including three downtown parking lots.
In October, City Council members finalized a contract with Devreco, a developer responsible for other downtown projects, for Lots 1 and 11 behind the Downtown Plaza and bordered by Camden, Division, West Market streets and Circle Avenue, and will develop a multiuse plan for the land to include a mix of retail, apartments, park areas and parking.
The city also recently advertised for proposals for Lot 10 at the intersection of Routes 50 and 13 near the state office building.
The redevelopment in downtown and at the marina are part of the city’s 20-year master plan that delineates seven districts, with numerous public and private projects in each.
Long-range marina district projects include a Parsons Road streetscape, Brew River site improvements, a Wicomico River crossing at Lake Street and a parking garage on West Main Street.
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