Armed with new funds, Lexington braces for redevelopment of village's harbor
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A long-awaited, multi-million-dollar redevelopment around the village of Lexington’s harbor is getting a big boost in state funds.
State Sen. Dan Lauwers, R-Brockway Township, touted the news in a release last week, naming $8 million for improvements to the Lexington marina, boardwalk, and other surrounding facilities as part of a much larger collaboration between local, state, and federal agencies.
The state funds were born out of a Senate appropriations bill signed into law on Jan. 31.
Lauwers also announced a $9 million in federal funds earmarked for upgrades to the Lexington harbor’s breakwater structure, though Cynthia Cutright, who’s serving as Lexington’s interim village manager, said they hadn’t gotten formal confirmation of that award yet.
Either way, the latest news is the latest step in a years-long effort to address needs along the waterfront.
Village President Kristen Kaatz said it was "still kind of surreal" that things were moving forward. She recalled involvement in harbor talks back to 2014 when she said the goal was to address breakwater design flaws, as well as find a path to larger improvements at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources-manned marina facilities.
“If you go back in the history of the village, every time a new president comes in, they write to the DNR," Kaatz said.
“We were hopeful, but what this does for the village (is) it allows us to address that waterfront," she said. "... It’s a chance for all of our residents to participate with our committees and council, as well, to basically create a waterfront of our dreams that is as user-friendly as the community wants it to be. We get to be the architects of our own waterfront.”
Much of the state funds would go toward improvements key to the harbor’s revitalization, Cutright said, particularly where “docks are nearing their end of life,” and hopefully, others further upland with parking and other infrastructure.
Public input, 2020 waterfront concept a 'guiding light' for improvements
A waterfront concept surrounding Lexington's harbor was included in the village's 2020 master plan, which Cutright said could serve as a “guiding light for this overall project.”
“We are actually in the process of writing the RFP (request for proposals) right now to seek design and engineering services for a group to come in and really assess the needs and make the vision come to life,” she said. “More details will be provided through that process, but overall, what we’re looking at the big picture is those plans.”
The master plan’s concept in response to public input included:
Reconfigured vehicular access and parking
Activated boardwalk continuous from the DNR boat launch to the breakwater with points of interest, such as a waterfront plaza, fishing opportunities, and mixed-use development
A new lawn and pavilion to support gatherings and events
An improved play area that incorporates multigenerational activities
An improved beach, sidewalks, and streetscape
Long-term potential for a two-level deck on the northside of the village’s park to increase parking
In 2020, Edgewater Resources, an engineering consultant hired to help set a compass in Lexington's waterfront effort, included the village in an assessment on its website, citing it as the state's third-best harbor despite its aged mooring facility with "30-year-old docks and restrooms in need of modernization."
Ron Olson, the DNR's parks and recreation division chief, said the state has already rehabilitated the harbor building, and that Edgewater helped finalize the $8 million cost estimate to renovate the harbor and marina docks.
But some of the more big-picture needs on land, particularly around Tierney Park, may take other funds.
"We’re still collaborating with the village on some of the things they’re planning to do with the park, and they’re still looking for funding for some things there," Olson said. "They did have a Spark grant (application) in to renovate their band shell that didn’t get adopted this round that was just announced, so they’ll have to keep working on some of the renovation projects in the village.”
The DNR announced $14.2 million in grant applications for the new Spark program, which was funded through dedicated American Rescue Plan Act money and garnered 460 total applications. Lexington, as well as most applicants, missed the first round of funding; two more remain.
The village's band shell is located in Tierney Park — something both Kaatz and Cutright also identified as a future source of improvements on the waterfront. Kaatz joked the parking deck, however, may be a bit more of a dream but agreed much of the other amenities around the waterfront could be included in improvements.
The $9 million that organizers said they hope comes for the break wall is the source of talks with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to address the harbor’s breakwater.
In addition, Lauwers’ statement also pointed to needed dredging, demolition of obsolete floating dockage and utilities, installation of electrical, ice suppression, marine fuel, and pump-out systems, and installation of a dry fire standpipe to improve emergency response.
“I look at it as it’s going to continue to put the Blue Water Area on the map as a recreational tourism site,” Lauwers said. “Should make years or decades of difference, really.”
State funds are a 'game-changer,' official says
Over time, Kaatz said other signs of progress came with the DNR boat launch, a grant-funded study of water sediment transfer around the breakwater, and a more recent memorandum of understanding with the DNR that she credited with helping secure a seat at the design table.
Lauwers said individuals like Stacy Fox, a principal in the proprietor behind the Cadillac House and the Windjammer in Lexington, have also been “instrumental in really making it an understandable project and really educating me on what it could do for the area.”
The Windjammer shares a piece of the harbor side, and Fox, who is active with the Lexington Business Association, said she’d been among the volunteers brought in to help “think through the village harbor,” where the village owns the land leased to the DNR.
“The assets at the marina were at the end of their useful life,” Fox said. “So, it’s time. But you know, the DNR doesn’t necessarily have the funding to kind of take on a capital project like that all at one time. So, this $8 million is just a game-changer.”
On the breakwater side, Fox said the structure has allowed too much sediment to come through. Opening it up, she said, was vital to the intent of the overall project.
“It requires constant dredging and actually prohibits large boats in many cases from even entering the harbor,” she said. “So, repairs to that breakwater were really an important part.”
Still, Cutright said the village wouldn't touch the breakwater structure with the state funds. She expected those to come in as early as May with a grant agreement in place this spring and plans to go to bid this fall.
“With construction, I would guess probably around spring of ’24," she said, "and I would say that would take us at least through the season to construct if not bleeding into 2025.”
In a statement last week, Lauwers said the state money paired with federal funds would be “transformative to the area” and provide an economic boost to local businesses.
In a separate interview, he said he’d been working toward finding funding for the popular harbor for years, recalling it’d also been a priority for his predecessor, Phil Pavlov.
“The opportunity was there and just fortunate,” he said. “I think, because a big part of this is the budget surplus that the state has right now, we were able to secure this.”
Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Armed with new funds, Lexington braces for redevelopment of village's harbor
