City Dock team outlines flood protections and a maritime welcome center; public raises concerns about scale and business impacts

City of Annapolis officials and project consultants presented a progress update on the City Dock project at the Feb. 2 council meeting, framing the work as a combined resiliency and public-space initiative while acknowledging public concern over scale and economic impacts.

Eileen Fogarty, the City Dock project lead, introduced a multidisciplinary team that included the Office of Emergency Management, landscape architects and the project master planner. Deputy Dave Mandel said 2024 was the worst flooding year on record for the city — noting 120 flood events compared with a previous year’s 65 — and that the city forecasts more than $125,000,000 in economic costs if no mitigation occurs. The team said flood protections will combine elevated land forms, fixed walls, a new steel sheet-pile bulkhead along Compromise Street, and deployable flood barriers for temporary, event-driven protection.

Design and program features described by the team include an active park with seating, a great lawn, water features, increased public restrooms, and a maritime welcome center that consolidates harbor-master functions and visitor services adjacent to the historic Burdes (Burdus/Berdis) House. The project team said the maritime welcome center has been reduced over time — from earlier plans of roughly 8,600 interior square feet to about 7,819 square feet in later designs — and the basement was removed for cost and groundwater reasons.

Project partners cited in the presentation include Anne Arundel County (which has allocated $2,000,000 toward the maritime welcome center), Visit Annapolis and the United States Naval Academy; the Navy is constructing an adjacent flood wall that will tie into the City Dock elevation strategy. The presenters said the project is partly funded and justified through grant applications to FEMA and others with flooding data attached to support mitigation needs.

Public commenters raised several objections. John Richards and Katie McDermott described the maritime welcome center as an unnecessary structure that would harm the harbor’s open view and called for scaling back the building to prioritize flood protection. Business owners on Dock Street and Pete Chambliss warned the construction and reduced parking were already hurting storefronts and asked the city to work with the contractor, Whiting-Turner, and to provide relief for affected businesses. Aldermen pressed the team for detail on elevations and deployable barriers; the team said the fixed bulkhead elevation will match the existing concrete-capped bulkhead (4.5 feet) and that deployable barriers will be erected proactively when forecasted water levels approach trigger elevations with a recommended 6–12 inch buffer.

Council members also pressed for clearer milestones, oversight and transparency. Alderman Thorpe said the project’s publicly circulated $100,000,000 figure warrants finance and audit-committee oversight and a clear milestone schedule to the full council. Project staff acknowledged there remain decisions to be made and said they would share additional technical drawings and images with council members.

The meeting record shows that immediately after the presentation council voted to enter a closed session under the Annotated Code of Maryland, General Provisions Article §3-305(b)(7) to discuss pending or potential litigation related to the City Dock project; the council recessed to a separate conference room for that discussion and returned to complete other agenda items.

What happens next: Project staff said construction phase 1 is underway and staff will share additional sketches and barrier-system images with aldermen; council members asked staff to provide milestone timelines and budget transparency to upcoming finance and audit committees.