Program Update - Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program - U.S. ...

Boating
Infrastructure
Grant
Baltimore City’s Inner Harbor Marine Center
The City of Baltimore reports that over 13 million people visit the Baltimore Inner
Harbor annually. Recent investments in new and expanded attractions have made
the Inner Harbor a popular destination. However, the outdated Inner Harbor Marine
Center was in need of replacement.
Thirty years ago, MD’s DNR provided matching Waterway Improvement Fund
Grants to Baltimore City to construct the 158 slip Inner Harbor Marina. The marina
was built and designed for the average size vessel at the time including 3 slips for
50-foot boats, 2 for 48-foot boats, and the rest for 40-foot boats. This configuration
does not meet the needs and demands of today’s general boating public which includes
an increasing number of larger boats.
Starting in 2005, the concept of the Baltimore Inner Harbor Marine Center
Renovation project was carried out as a coordinated effort between the City, the Inner
Harbor Marina concessionaires who lease the site, the State of Maryland, and the
USFWS Boating Infrastructure Grant Program. A Tier II Boating Infrastructure
Grant (BIG) request was submitted and awarded by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service,
providing an essential $1,080,577 in federal BIG funding to supplement the State
of Maryland Waterway Improvement funds and private funds for the extensive
renovations. The project began in November of 2006 and was completed in May of
2007 so as to minimally interrupt the marina’s boating season.
The finished product is a source of pride for all involved and an example of successful
collaboration between local, State, Federal and private entities for the benefit of the
boating public. The total cost of the project was $3,376,541.
Wildlife and Sport Fish Program Update September 2008 39