Broaddus & Associates was selected by the City of Gulfport to provide Project Management services to rebuild and improve the small craft harbor from damages incurred by Hurricane Katrina. Adjacent to downtown Gulfport, the new marina, harbor services facility and boat launch ramp will be critical to restoring the downtown waterfront and attracting visitors to the harbor, community park and recreation area. In addition to obtaining permits and approvals and overseeing the design and construction, Broaddus & Associates’ primary responsibility was that of funding approval and coordination of a design that significantly improves the facility.

The project was slated to receive FEMA funds to rebuild the harbor to its pre-storm condition, but the city wanted a more useful facility better able to withstand the next storm. Our team proposed a new harbor with 319 slips and a transient boat dock for 15 boats built of concrete pilings instead of timber; a stronger bulkhead; a fully ADA-accessible harbor services facility with restrooms, showers and laundry facilities; a promenade; and features such as safety ladders and an architectural elevated electrical transformer platform.

FEMA agreed to fund many of the proposed improvements, but the team had to obtain the remaining necessary funding from the state economic development authority, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, the Clean Vessel Act, the Boating Infrastructure Grant program, Coastal Impact Assistance Program and the Community Development Block Grant.

Once the project was funded, the next hurdle was obtaining permits from all the necessary agencies, including Corps of Engineers, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the EPA. To complicate matters, the team had to coordinate the use of the funds, as each funding agency had different goals and restrictions on how those funds could be administered. When the project is completed in early 2011, it will serve as the cornerstone of a mixed-use recreational development plan at the end of Gulfport’s Historic Downtown.