OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford A man walks up a dock at the Dunkirk Marina this week. The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation’s local fishery research ship, the Argo, is docked in the background.

There’s a lot in the works at the Dunkirk Marina.

Peter and Tonya Smith and Dunkirk officials offered a presentation about their plans for the city marina last week, during a Common Council workshop. The Smiths recently took over the lease for the marina.

“This has actually been in the works for over a year,” said Vince DeJoy, city planning and development director. “We hope to use Pete’s vision for the transformation of this marina to a destination as one of the best small boat marinas in all of Lake Erie from Buffalo to Cleveland. He’s hired some really top-notch designers and professionals that have helped him put his vision on paper, and helped to develop the scope of the work and the projects that will be happening.”

DeJoy said an application will be put in to use part of Dunkirk’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative award.

Permanent docks, as opposed to the seasonal ones currently installed, are proposed. There are also plans for electrical upgrades to “make the docks safe and completely marine code-compliant with today’s standards,” DeJoy said.

Mayor Wilfred Rosas later announced a $12,000 grant from the Lake Erie Management Commission for removal of wrecked docks on the west side of the marina. The county Legislature will have to approve the grant.

DeJoy said that Smith is proposing “significant rehab to the existing bathhouse… to add a second story on to that existing structure, to do an AirBnB-type of opportunity for short term rental.”

In addition, Peter Smith said “We want to propose having one or two docks … to have some houseboat style rentals on the water. It would not be ever moved from the slips, but people would be able to rent them.”

The former Dutch Bertges and Stefan’s Marina building next to Memorial Park will get renovated into a seafood restaurant and a second story will be added for apartments or condos, he said. An old foundation was already removed, and that part of the site was milled and made into a parking lot.

Smith would also like to add an entrance off Lakeshore Drive because the current entrance near the pier can get very congested. Police Chief David Ortolano said he liked that idea.

A new, renovated site for getting gasoline is also coming. Peter Smith will pay for a new gas tank, which will cost at least $400,000. “It’s coming out of your paycheck,” he joked to DeJoy.

DeJoy said most of the projects won’t be able to start until the first quarter of 2024 because that’s when the state will approve DRI projects. However, Peter Smith said work could start immediately thereafter, as the plans have been in the works for a while.