Lake Ontario Marina in New York Gets Upgrades

The City of Oswego, New York, has started work on improvements to its popular marina and to adjoining areas along the waterfront in Oswego Bay.
Wright’s Landing Marina, built in the 1980s, is owned and operated by the city. It features 90 slips on floating wooden docks, some with power and some without, and enjoys close to 100 percent occupancy during its busiest season from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

The $7.1 million improvement project will include the elevation of the marina, the construction of a new boater access center, the addition of fuel pumps, replacement of an existing pavilion and the establishment of a walking trail that will connect the marina to a nearby park.

The city is installing new sheet piling along the shoreline and will raise the marina decks by three feet to address flooding issues. Since 2014, the International Joint Commission, which regulates the use of waters shared by the U.S. and Canada, has allowed more fluctuations in the water levels in all of the Great Lakes. “Lake Ontario, being the last Great Lake before the St. Lawrence River, takes all the water from the other lakes. That has filled up Lake Ontario, flooding the entire shoreline,” said William Barlow, Oswego’s mayor.

A new boater access center will contain a payment area for people who want to use the marina or purchase fuel, and two ADA-accessible unisex bathrooms. “There will be a lobby area where we are setting up different kiosks, which will have information about nearby restaurants, bars, accommodations and recreational activities for boaters not familiar with the Oswego area,” Barlow said.

The boater access center will also feature a small conference room where the captains of the charter boats that dock at Wright’s Landing can meet with their parties before they sail to go over their rules and regulations. Boaters renting marina slips will be welcome to use this area if they need it for work or study as well.

An existing small pavilion at the marina will be replaced by a much larger one that will offer amenities like picnic tables, grills, furniture, sinks and even TVs. A new ADA-accessible trail will make it easier for boaters at the marina to walk to the adjacent Breitbeck Park, which is famed for its sunset views. The park will offer firepit seating areas that boaters are welcome to use.

New York State is providing $6.1 million of the funding for the marina’s improvements through its Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI) for communities along Lake Ontario. A grant from New York’s Department of State will also help pay for the renovations.

The City of Oswego’s Department of Public Works will do most of the work but contract out some other parts of the project, like the sheet piling. The city shut down the marina in May due to the coronavirus pandemic, and may decide to keep it closed for the remainder of the summer in order to expedite the completion of the work. Barlow said the city plans to have the project completed by this summer, although some portions may extend into early 2021.

Another improvement will be the renovation of the International Pier that’s part of Wright’s Landing. “The pier reaches out into the harbor, but right now it’s a gravel driveway that nobody uses. We are making that a pedestrian-oriented boardwalk where people can go to fish, have picnics and parties. The building at the end of the pier will become a restaurant and bar,” Barlow said. That $6.5 million project will start in September and should be completed by August 2021.

“If you combine all the projects, we’re investing about $15 million into a very small area, so it should look totally different next year,” Barlow said.