Canada’s newest marina, Milltown Marina, sits on the outskirts of downtown Vancouver, B.C. in a well-protected basin on the North Arm of the Frasier River on Richmond Island. Following, almost four years of permitting hurdles and a year of construction, Milltown opened its doors in October 2013.
The marina’s wet slips cater to vessels 30’ to 80’ in length with a capacity for 220 vessels. The floating concrete docks are terracotta colored with rounded finger ends. The inspiration for the dock’s color was taken from a high-end megayacht marina in the British Virgin Islands that was built by Bellingham Marine. Full utilities are provided at all slips. The marina also includes a dry storage building for vessels under 30’ in length as well as a restaurant and club house.
According to an article that ran in Marpole Online, the island was originally a sand bar. Then a cannery was built on the island and eventually a sawmill. The site was in disrepair from years of neglect and heavy industrial use. Following a comprehensive cleanup effort of the waters and the upland property as well as a number of habitat restoration measures, the area is coming back to life.
An old creosote contaminated retaining wall was replaced with a “green wall” to encourage plant life, sunken logs, concrete and rebar were removed from the slough floor, and a new bird and wildlife habitat islet was created at the mouth of the slough.
In January 2013, Bellingham Marine was awarded a design/build contract for the construction of the marina. Bellingham’s scope of work included dock and electrical design, dock installation and supply of electrical equipment.
Developers of the marina and upland property hope that the new facility will help provide some relief from chronic moorage shortages for Metro Vancouver boat owners as well as provide new public access to Richmond Island for residents seeking recreational activities and a chance to reconnect with the riverfront. Currently, waiting lists for moorage in Vancouver can stretch up to eight years.
As the world’s leading marina design-build construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat® concrete floating dock systems as well as timber and metal frame systems. The company also produces Unistack® dry stack systems for marinas worldwide.
Contact: Bellingham Marine, P.O. Box 8, Bellingham, WA 98227; www.bellingham-marine.com.
Stock Island developer, Matthew Strunk, has opened a new marina in Key West, Florida – Stock Island Marina Village. The new moorage facility built by worldwide marina builder, Bellingham Marine was designed by Strunk and his team to appeal to a wide spectrum of boaters from Megayacht owners to shrimp boat captains.
Located in Safe Harbor, Stock Island Marina Village is accessed from the Atlantic through an entrance channel dredged to a depth of 25 ft. to 35 ft. The marina basin is divided by two massive land piers and separated by 300 ft. of water.
Bellingham Marine completed the first phase of construction in November. 128 slips were installed in the marina’s north basin for boats ranging from 40 feet to 70 feet. Two new side-tie docks were also put in to provide Superyacht moorage for vessels up to 250 ft. The second basin houses the marina’s older live-aboard moorage with 80 slips.
Strunk’s vision for the property is to transform the once industrial site into a world class marina that attracts visitors from around the world and reflects an appreciation for the history of the area and the eclectic lifestyle Key West is famous for.
Stock Island Marina Village offers a wide range of amenities on the docks, including in-slip pump outs for all slips and 480A, 3-phase electrical service for power-hungry super yachts. High-speed fueling is available on the 430-foot fuel dock, the largest in South Florida. Upland amenities include a ship’s store with a captain’s lounge above and an outdoor bar and grill, dog parks, and an organic community garden for live-aboards who want to grow fresh fruits and vegetables.
Just beyond the noise and crowds of Duval Street in Key West, Stock Island Marina Village will be a heaven for many boat owners and captains.
As the world’s leading marina design-build construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat® concrete floating dock systems as well as timber and metal frame systems. The company also produces Unistack® dry stack systems for marinas worldwide.
Leading marina builder and dock manufacturer Bellingham Marine recently named Michael LaRocque General Manager of the company’s Northeast Division.
LaRocque will be responsible for the day to day operations of the division including project administration, detailed scheduling of manufacture and construction activities, and budgeting. A veteran of the construction industry with a background in civil engineering, LaRocque has over 20 years’ experience, holding a number of varied positions in the civil engineering and construction management trades.
Prior to his appointment as General Manager, LaRocque was a Senior Project Manager /Operations Manager for Bellingham Marine overseeing design/build projects for the company in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.
“I’m honored to be a part of the best team in the industry and am looking forward to leading Bellingham’s Northeast Division toward continued growth,” said LaRocque.
“Mr. LaRocque’s backgrounds in engineering and effective management of complex construction projects make him the best person to lead the Northeast Division,” said Bellingham Marine President, Everett Babbitt. “He has the right mix of experience and drive needed to keep our company moving forward.”
Bellingham Marine’s Northeast division covers the U.S.’s northeastern states as well as those around the Great Lakes.
As the world’s leading marina design-build construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat® concrete floating dock systems as well as timber and metal frame systems. The company also produces Unistack® dry stack systems for marinas worldwide.
Contact: Bellingham Marine, P.O. Box 8, Bellingham, WA 98227; www.bellingham-marine.com.
In late October, St. George Motor Boat Club, which is located in the southern metropolitan region of Sydney, completed an expansion to their existing marina. 78 berths for vessels 8m to 18m in length were added to the facility bringing the marina’s total capacity up to 228 and making the club marina one of the largest marinas in Australia’s NSW.
Bellingham Marine was hired as the design/build contractor for the job to provide a turn-key solution including piling, pontoons, and utility services.
In addition to the new berths, the marina added a second floating wave attenuator. The new 4m wide curved attenuator provides the marina’s interior slips with additional protection from prevailing Southerly winds. The marina’s existing “E” arm attenuator was also extended as part of the expansion project.
“The club is proud to have partnered with Bellingham marine in providing a state of the art facility for its 20,000 strong membership base,” said Club President David Blyth. “The system has already had its first test with the club experiencing 50 knot southerly winds on October 29 of this year. The attenuator performed as it was designed to; even under these extreme conditions with waves over 1 metre in Kogarah Bay the marina was like a mill pond.”
“We are very pleased with the way Bellingham Marine went about their work with minimal disruption to current parking and berthing. The 3.5 million dollar development was achieved through 5 years of hard work and is a credit to the board and club CEO Adrian Vermeulen. As a developer myself, I was impressed with the final result with less than 1% in variations from the original quoted amount,” said Blyth.
About Bellingham Marine
As the world’s leading marina design-build construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat® concrete floating dock systems as well as timber and metal frame systems. The company also produces Unistack® dry stack systems for marinas worldwide.
Contact:
Bellingham Marine, 22 Sinnamon Rd., 17 Mile Rocks, QLD 4073, Australia
Phone: 011-61-7-3376-6955 | bmi@bellingham-marine.com | www.bellingham-marine.com.au
Unifloat, Unideck and Unistack are registered trademarks of Bellingham Marine.
In 2008, Hurricane Ike tore through the Gulf Coast of the U.S., hitting hard the towns along Texas’ coast and leaving a number of the area’s marinas in disrepair. Over the past several years, many of the marinas affected by Ike have been rebuilt – Pelican Rest Marina located in Galveston, Texas, is the latest to complete new construction.
From the beginning, the vision of the owner for Pelican Rest Marina was clear; build a high-end marina catering to 60 foot and larger class sport fishing yachts as part of a mixed-use upscale complex. After Hurricane Ike the debris was cleaned up and Pelican Rest Marina began to transform the site into a tropical showpiece for the “Gateway to Galveston” for both cars arriving via the adjacent Gulf Freeway and for boaters looking for a great stop while cruising or for a permanent home for their boat.
The building of the boat slips for Pelican Rest was done over the course of three years with the first phase completed in 2011 and the second phase completed in 2013. In 2012, the owner of Pelican Rest put out to bid the second phase of their project. Bellingham Marine was awarded the contract to supply 3,327 linear feet of concrete floating docks. Construction of the second phase was completed in 2013.
In addition to the marina, the property’s upland structures are nearing completion. A five star steak house will open its doors in November and construction of the condominiums is anticipated to be completed in 2014-2015.
Located on the north side of Offatts Bayou, Pelican Rest Marina offers boaters access to gas and diesel and plenty deep water. The marina’s boat slips are equipped big power, potable water and Wi-Fi; patrons are also treated to VIP Vessel Concierge Services.
As the world’s leading marina design-build construction company, Bellingham Marine produces Unifloat® concrete floating dock systems as well as timber and metal frame systems. The company also produces Unistack® dry stack systems for marinas worldwide.
Unifloat, Unideck and Unistack are registered trademarks of Bellingham Marine.