3-9-2023 Lt Bob Hall Dockside Condo ProjectDockside Condo Project
It’s astonishing that this project is still winding its way through the approval process in the Town
of Barnstable.
It’s been clear from the start of this project in around 2015 that most committee members on
the various boards have logically been very apprehensive about approving it. Its height and
density are in conflict with all the ordinances articulated by various committee members over
the years. But for some intangible reason, the project seems to circumvent the very logical and
reasonable objections from the various committee members and moves forward. That is not
good for Hyannis!
Hyannis tends to have a reputation for being a little less quaint than the balance of Cape Cod.
Since a vast majority of visitors come to Cape Cod for its quaintness, Hyannis seems to have
fewer visitors than we could because of the fact there are some aspects of Hyannis that are too
much like what visitors are coming to Cape Cod to escape.
Building the towering structures immediately on top of Hyannis Harbor would only exacerbate
that visitor problem exponentially. Hyannis is not Boston or New York City or Shanghai.
Massive structures in those harbors are commonplace. Buildings like that do not exist on Cape
and Island harbors and should never be on any of them! Again, people come to Cape Cod to
get away from what they are used to in ordinary life. Four or five story buildings are what they
are trying to escape.
Allowing these structures to be built in Hyannis Harbor will be a detriment to the businesses
immediate to the harbor and on Main Street as well. Visitors to Cape Cod will find Hyannis
Harbor to be completely incompatible to other harbors on or near Cape Cod. Having thos e
buildings further undermine the quaintness of the harbor will cause visitors to get in their cars
as fast as they can after getting off the ferries to seek the Cape Cod they dream of in other
villages.
And that’s assuming visitors will even use Hyannis Harbor as their way to and from the Islands.
New Bedford, Falmouth and Chatham will become much more attractive in comparison to
Hyannis as other harbor departure/arrival options.
Too bad for the Hi Line ferry and the Steamship Authority as their income will plummet. Too
bad for the restaurants like Baxter’s and The Black Cat and Spanky’s as their businesses erode
from the reduced tourism as a result of these towering buildings that are anathema to other
Cape and lsland harbors. And all of this translates to Main Street businesses as well, as the
reduction in tourists will severely undermine their success as well. If I ran a Main Street
business or on the Main Street commission I would be very apprehensive of this project being
approved.
I don’t know if this project was approved by the Hyannis Main Street Waterfront District
Commission but it certainly violates their stated objective of “focusing on historic preservation
and preserving the unique historic character of Hyannis Harbor ”.
The tax revenue, or some other logic that escapes most people, for this project getting this far
must still exist. However, the potential long term financial impact of the loss of revenue in
visitor spending is mind boggling. If this project is approved and the negative impact is realized
after the fact, there is no turning back. The commission members can’t say “oh, we made a
huge mistake, let’s fix it”. These buildings will be there for decades and so will the negative
impact of them.
Commissioners….please don’t look at the short term revenue opportunity associated with this
project. Instead, look at the long term risk to Hyannis in approving building these incompatible
structures in the harbor and recognize the long term ramifications of doing so would be
irreparable!