A plan to dramatically improve and expand Blount Boats’ busy shipyard on Water Street cleared one of its first local hurdles late last month, when the Warren Voluntary Historic District Commission voted to recommend planning approval of Phase I of a multi-phase project that will modernize and expand the boatyard.

Blount Boats officials, who introduced their project before the Warren Planning Commission earlier this Spring and held a site visit for town officials and residents, will appear before the planning board again in the coming months (no date is yet set) to consider the plan.

Blount Boats, which has been shifting a portion of its business toward manufacturing aluminum vessels for the offshore wind farm industry, plans to expand and enlarge several of its buildings, construct and install new equipment and grow its operation to the far south of its lot, as it moves to put more of its resources into building and servicing the large aluminum vessels it is now building for the wind industry.

The expansion plan is two-pronged:

Sprawling over six acres, the shipyard currently has the capacity to build two large wind farm tenders at a time. Since the boats are aluminum, they must be built under cover. One part of the plan involves building an addition to and renovating the operation’s small hull shop facing Water Street. While it currently rises to 29 feet, the building would nearly double in height, topping out at 55 feet under the plan.

“With all this new covered space we can double the number of boats we build concurrently to four,” Blount Boats’ Marcia Blount said.

Secondly, the work includes renovating existing docks and putting in two new finger piers on the south side of the property. These piers will support a travel lift that will be capable of picking all sizes of the beamy catamarans out of the water for maintenance.

“We are not only going to be building these boats, but maintaining the fleets that we are going to build,” she said earlier this year.

Blount officials are asking Warren officials for amendments to the town’ zoning ordinance, specifically those that pertain to the Waterfront Overlay District, to allow for the expansion. In addition to planning review, the plan would also have to go before the Warren Town Council, where a public hearing would be held on the proposed zoning amendments. There would also be state DEM and CRMC approvals involved.

“It’s good for the Blount family and it’s good for Warren to have the certainty that ... you’re going to preserve this industrial use and preserve these good paying jobs,” Blount attorney Andy Teitz said during a recent Zoom-based appearance before the planning board, prior to the WVHDC review.

“We’re hoping to have a degree of certainty for both the town and the industry here.”

Blount officials plan to significantly expand their operation over the coming two to three years, and spread the work over several phases. Ms. Blount believes that when the work is done, the company’s workforce also has the potential to double from its current 50 employees to 100.

Prior to the start of Warren’s formal review, Blount learned earlier this year that the firm had been approved for a $75,000 state grant which will help them complete their master plan and start the administrative process required before building can begin.

The Site Readiness Grant, awarded by the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, will not go toward building costs. Instead, it will help develop the plans needed, and go through town and CRMC approval processes, prior to building.

“It’s going to be a big help paying for design fees (and) helping get our master plan ready for the approval process,” she said.

What would be done?

Blount Boats’ multi-phase site improvement and expansion project would take several years to complete and would be spread over four phases of work, including:

Phase I

* New 10,000 square foot addition to the south hull shop, with a vegetative buffer installed adjacent to the town beach

* Exterior renovations of existing buildings, with new fences and planting along Water Street

* Renovation of the existing south hull shop

Phase II

* Repair bulkheads and finger piers

* Demolish or relocate the existing cruise line building

* Construct new bulkhead and extend existing bulkhead to the west while in filling the existing slipway and removing the rails

* Demolish a residence at the south side of the property

* Pave and extend the existing parking area

Phase III

* Complete bulkhead

* Repair existing pier

* Dredge as needed

Phase IV

* Demolish existing house and sheds

* Build new 12,000 square foot hull shop

Future work areas:

Areas to be improved throughout the various phases include the north hull shop and storage buildings, as well as resurfacing

Please support your local news coverage

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the local economy - and many of the advertisers who support our work - to a near standstill. During this unprecedented challenge, we continue to make our coronavirus coverage free to everyone at eastbayri.com - we believe it is our mission is to deliver vital information to our communities. If you believe local news is essential, especially during this crisis, please consider a tax-deductible donation. 

https://givebutter.com/helpthewarrentimes-gazette" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Donate Here

Thank you for your support!

Matt Hayes, Warren Times-Gazette Publisher