Newport Harbor Guide - Mega Potential

A Florida developer has received preliminary approval to construct a $150-million shipbuilding and repair yard on 43 acres at Quonset Point. The project, proposed by Island Global Yachting, represents a significant investment in Quonset, a former Navy base that state officials view as a potential remedy for the sluggish growth in tax revenue and paucity of high-wage jobs in Rhode Island. In all of last year, there was $28 million in private investment at Quonset, up 33 percent from 2005. The proposed marine facility alone would exceed the total investment for the past six years.
“It’s an exciting opportunity in the marine-trades sector,” said Saul Kaplan, the state’s top economic-development official. “It’s one of our strongest sectors and one with very significant growth potential. This is us trying to make best use of an important state asset.”
Island Global first proposed the project last fall, in response to a request for proposals from the Quonset Development Corporation, a division of the state Economic Development Corporation that manages the publicly owned land at Quonset. Kaplan is executive director of the EDC. In January, the QDC began exclusive negotiations with the company, which operates luxury marinas in the Caribbean and Middle East.
The QDC board voted unanimously to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with Island Global, and to grant access to the site — in a northern section of the park, south of the southern pier at Davisville — to allow for the detailed studies that precede final design of the project.
In addition to a shipbuilding facility, Island Global says it hopes to construct two buildings for repairing mega-yachts, as well as separate space for yacht storage and sales. Services would include painting, maintenance, woodworking and electrical upgrades.
In all, the company says the 500,000-square-foot facility, including equipment to raise and transport yachts measuring up to 600 feet and weighing 2,000 tons, would employ about 400 craftsmen, according to documents filed with the state, and the workers would earn an average salary of $50,000.
“It’s amazing the potential we think it has,” Jeffrey Boyd, Island Global’s executive vice president of operations, said in an interview yesterday. “There’s a maritime culture in Rhode Island that is very hard to duplicate.”

The company primarily operates marinas and smaller repair operations. In Rhode Island, Boyd said, the established maritime industry will provide a strong labor pool for a range of commercial activities.
The proposed facility, Boyd said, would be the only East Coast location north of Florida dedicated to servicing mega-yachts. Some commercial shipyards operate lifts that can handle these ships, he said, but they mostly handle tanker ships and do not offer the “white-glove” service expected by yachters.
Statewide, marine-related industries employ an estimated 10,000 people, or 1.8 percent of all jobs in Rhode Island, according to the Economic Development Corporation. The QDC did not estimate the tax revenue the project would generate for the state. Proposed lease payments, at $25,000 per acre, would amount to $1.08 million annually. There are 6,231 full-time jobs at the business park at Quonset.
“It takes advantage of Rhode Island’s legacy and great tradition of marine skills,” said Dyana Koelsch, a QDC spokeswoman. “It’s a perfect fit.” “It’s one of our crown jewels,” Kaplan said of the marine sector, “and one we can build on.”
Island Global says it could take two years for construction to begin since many potential obstacles remain. The company is also eyeing an adjacent parcel owned by the Rhode Island Airport Corporation. That agency has not approved the leasing of the 32-acre plot, a step considered critical to the overall deal.
Island Global plans to spend $75 million developing the additional property, to be used to assure easy access to the state airport for boaters and equipment, according to the QDC.
If the Rhode Island Airport Corporation approves the transfer of land, Island Global Yachting would require permits from various federal and state agencies, including the state Department of Environmental Management and the Coastal Resources Management Council. The QDC’s Design Review Committee would scrutinize the proposal, before it is sent to the State Planning Council.

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