Eastport seeks cruise tourism City improving area to attract more ships

EASTPORT – The downtown is dressed for success, and now that the Port Authority has purchased a major piece of real estate next to the U.S. post office, the finishing touches soon will be in place.

The Port Authority recently purchased the former Grant’s Garage. The property abuts both Washington and Sullivan streets. The city received a $250,000 Department of Transportation grant. It paid $212,000 for the property.

The city’s downtown, at one time home to nothing but vacant buildings, has a new lease on life. Most of the downtown storefronts now are occupied with galleries and tourist-type stores, and there is a renewed energy to the city.

“We’re hoping next year to have our first small cruise ship arrive in Eastport, and so what we plan to do [is] make a large [100-vehicle] parking area, a small park, restrooms and an area where tents can be put up,” City Manager George “Bud” Finch, who also is chairman of the Eastport Port Authority, said Tuesday. The tents could be used by artisans or for recreation activities. “There will be a stage area where entertainment can be provided,” he added.

The parking lot also will accommodate boats and trailers as well as recreation vehicles.

The nearly 1-acre lot looks out over the downtown port and offers picture-postcard views of the bay. “Eventually this is the real anchor for what’s necessary to take the downtown revitalization to the next step,” he said.

The deal includes an apartment building that was built in the 1800s. Port Authority officials are uncertain what they will do with the building so they are seeking requests for proposals from possible developers.

Among the options: renovate the building and turn it into apartments; lease it to the U.S. Coast Guard to house staff or turn it into a dormitory for students who attend Washington County Community College’s boat school.

Finch said that the Port Authority has no plan to tear the building down. “[We need to find out] if private investors are interested in investing in the building,” he said. “So we are actually going out for proposals for someone to invest in the building and operate the building, and that will take about three months.”

And cruise ships soon could grace this picturesque harbor. At a cruise ship convention held earlier this year in Miami, the city promoted what it has to offer.

In March, two Eastport promoters went to Miami to sell the port to cruise ship operators. “Eastport is in a better position today then it’s been in 100 years to move forward, and we expect to hit the ground running next April 1st with a whole new set of plans for the total revitalization of the community,” Finch said.

In 2000, the state welcomed 74 cruise ships, most of them visiting the coastal resort community of Bar Harbor. Right now, 202 ship calls are expected this season.

Eastport knows that with two ports – one downtown and two berths at nearby Estes Head – it needs to tap into the cruise ship industry.

The city is interested in 50- to 100-passenger ships and megayachts that carry six to 12 people. Many of those smaller ships are geared toward young and active passengers interested in adventure and ecotourism.

And it has been a successful year for the Port Authority.

Its dock at Estes Head is expected to ship 350,000 tons of pulp this year. That compares with 314,000 tons shipped last year. The chairman said that ever since Montreal-based Domtar Inc. purchased the pulp and paper mill in Baileyville from George-Pacific Inc. of Atlanta, Ga., the port has seen an increase in shipments. The company, which is the port’s primary shipper, sends pulp to foreign markets.

Finch said another shipper was looking at Eastport, but said it was too early to talk about that possible venture. When the Estes Head port first was proposed years ago, it was estimated it would ship 40,000 tons. “At 350,000 tons, someone has got to realize that Eastport is doing a pretty good job,” he said.