Winthrop Receives $950,880 Grant For Walkway Around Belle Isle Marsh

Winthrop’s Seaport Economic Council has received a grant of $950,880 for the construction a pier-supported wooden walkway and marine ecology park that borders Belle Isle Marsh. The marsh is currently used by only a small group of area activists and volunteers. Winthrop will use the new pier to allow locals, tourists, and educational groups to access the marsh, which is one of only four Great Salt Marshes in Massachusetts.

The Baker-Polito Administration’s Seaport Economic Council announced grant awards to Chatham, Gosnold, Marshfield, New Bedford, Quincy, Salem, Saugus, Salisbury, Winthrop, and the Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative.

The $6.6 million in grant funding will support pier, port, and boardwalk improvements focused on long-term economic and physical resilience, and a tidal energy testing initiative in the Cape Cod Canal. The economic development and infrastructure grants will advance the maritime economy in a diverse set of coastal communities.

The Seaport Economic Council furthers the Baker-Polito Administration’s goal of supporting communities and residents across the state by leveraging unique economic assets to drive sustainable regional growth. The council was re-launched in August, with a mission to deepen the maritime economy, promote economic development, and support resilient infrastructure in all 78 of Massachusetts’ coastal communities while preparing them to engage with the challenges posed by sea level rise and increasingly powerful coastal storms. The council’s capital grant program supports working waterfronts, local tourism, coastal resiliency, and maritime innovation, from the North Shore to Cape Cod and the South Coast.