UNH  Pier Facility

The University of New Hampshire (UNH) has received a $14M federal grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the construction of a marine research laboratory and pier.

The intended site for both the pier and laboratory had been a 5-acre, former U.S. Coast Guard parcel of land located on Fort Point in New Castle, New Hampshire; property now owned by the university. However, a decision  by the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, regarding preservation of on-site historic structures, effectively precludes construction of the laboratory building on this parcel. 

Plans then evolved that called for a pier (175 feet shorter than the existing former USCG pier being replaced) and associated support building on the New Castle property, and a marine research and education facility adjacent to the Seacoast Science Center at Odiorne Point State Park in nearby Rye.  

Now, however, due primarily to significant construction cost escalation that has occurred since receipt of the NOAA grant, the university no longer has the resources to pursue construction of the envisioned marine laboratory on the Seacoast.  Instead, the university will complete the pier facility on its New Castle property, and will explore using the remaining funds from the NOAA grant to meet other longstanding and high priority marine laboratory needs on campus and at other existing UNH facilities.  Click here for a related press release.

The proposed pier facility will support the activities of the UNH Marine Program, the Cooperative Institute for New England Mariculture and Fisheries (CINEMar), the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental  Technology (CICEET), the UNH Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM), the Joint Hydrographic Center (JHC), the Coastal Ocean Observation and Analysis (COOA) program, and the UNH Sea Grant Program.  

The pier will be home port for the new NOAA ocean mapping "SWATH" vessel, delivery of which is expected in late-2008. A floating dock system will provide berthing for smaller research vessels.  The pier will be appropriately equipped to support the berthed vessels as well as the research, education and service missions of the University.

And, as directed by the New Hampshire Division of Historic Resources, construction on the New Castle property will not directly affect existing on-site historic resources.