Cabral pier under contract
Source: Banner Online, by Pru Sowers
November 15, 2007
PROVINCETOWN — A major real estate developer from Newburyport has signed an agreement to purchase Fisherman’s Wharf, the recreational and commercial pier the town had been considering buying.
Chuck Lagasse — who along with his wife, Ann, was previously the largest landlord in downtown Newburyport — has agreed to purchase the wharf for an undisclosed sum. Lagasse was in Provincetown on Tuesday meeting with town officials to discuss his initial plans for the pier and seek their support.
Lagasse would not comment on the specifics of his vision to renovate the pier, owned by Robert and Vaughn Cabral, but said he would expand the recreational boating facility. He wanted to meet with town officials Tuesday to hear their opinions on what the town’s priorities are, he said.
“I want to see what the town would want and if it would welcome a different and better marina down there. I’d like to expand the marine environment there,” Lagasse said.
Based on their initial discussions with Lagasse, one town official, who asked not to be identified because of the confidentiality of the meeting, said Lagasse talked about adding another 350 seasonal and nightly boat slips on the west side of Fisherman’s Wharf. He also discussed upgrading the marina to increase services for boaters.
Lagasse did not reveal any plans for improvements to the wharf deck. However, he has extensive retail experience, including being a landlord in downtown Newburyport to dozens of retail stores and restaurants. According to newspaper reports, he helped revitalize the sagging downtown there by offering low rents to his tenants, helping them establish a foothold in the area.
In February, Lagasse sold a $38 million stake in dozens of his downtown and waterfront properties in Newburyport to Steven Karp, the Boston real estate billionaire who is credited — and blamed by some — for turning Nantucket into the exclusive destination it has become. Karp, chair and CEO of Newton-based New England Development, made his fortune building shopping malls up and down the East Coast. Lagasse would not say if Karp is one of his partners in the deal to purchase Fisherman’s Wharf. However, Karp and Lagasse are now in the initial stages of planning a major development of the extensive waterfront property they have amassed in Newburyport, including several marinas. The only information Lagasse has released about that project is that the first priority will be to find a hotel partner to agree to come to the city.
Lagasse said he is in “the beginning steps” of creating a redevelopment plan for Fisherman’s Wharf but that he does not want to collide with MacMillan Pier, the commercial pier owned by the town.
“I don’t want to compete with the town’s wharf,” he said.
However, there are currently commercial tenants on Fisherman’s Wharf, including some charter fishing boats and a whale watch boat. And Harbormaster Rex McKinsey, who oversees operations on MacMillan Pier, has been actively courting large recreational yachts on a nightly basis in the summer, as well as cruise ships. The Provincetown Public Pier Corp. also installed several marine-related “trap sheds” on the pier this summer that were rented out to retail tenants.
Len Clingham, Pier Corp. chair, said that while there may be some overlap in the tenants both piers would seek, it could help the town if Lagasse keeps Fisherman’s Wharf as a recreational wharf.
“He’s going to make more money on recreational boaters. Maybe some of the commercial and whale watching boats [berthing on Fisherman’s Wharf] would come back to us,” he said.
If Lagasse envisions turning Fisherman’s Wharf into a shopping destination, it could impact Commercial Street businesses. However, Town Manager Sharon Lynn, who met with Lagasse on Tuesday, said she would be willing to form a collaboration with the new owners of Fisherman’s Wharf to produce concerts and other events that would attract large crowds.
“We need a convention center. We need a big gathering place. If [Lagasse] can bring people here and make this a friendly harbor and encourage tourism, the business owners would be happy,” she said.
The Cabrals put an asking price on Fisherman’s Wharf of $8 million. Last year the town made an offer of $3.3 million, which was rebuffed. However, talks between the Cabrals and the town resumed in September, when Congressman William Delahunt offered to explore the possibility of finding federal and state grants to help with the purchase price.
Mary-Jo Avellar, board of selectmen chair, said she would have preferred that the town purchase Fisherman’s Wharf but the funding would have been difficult to find.
“If there’s an opportunity for a private developer to step in, that’s the most logical thing to happen,” she said.
psowers@provincetownbanner.com
