The Clearwater Beach Municipal Marina is going to be rebuilt and expanded. A $15 million capital improvement plan is scheduled to take place through 2024. The developers will use computer-aided design to develop the slip configurations, floating concrete docks and utility lines, according to an article in the Tampa Bay Times.
Ed Chesney, director of the city’s marine and aviation department, called the project a “big undertaking.” He oversaw the construction of the downtown marina below the Clearwater Memorial Causeway on the east side of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Chesney said the city will apply lessons learned from the downtown marina to the to the larger 198-slip municipal facility that has been built in unconnected stages since the 1970s. He said the current configuration has a lot of “wasted space” and that the CAD approach will let designers change the layout and slip sizes. The city has $300,000 to do preliminary work before bids go out.
The municipal marina is home to a pirate tourist ship, dolphin tours, charter fishing boats and privately owned vessels.
