From shipyard to village

QUINCY -- Auto dealer Dan Quirk has neither boats nor cars in mind as he plots the redevelopment of the storied Fore River Shipyard.

Instead the brash entrepreneur envisions a vast waterfront community, with condominiums, offices, shops, and restaurants erected on an industrial wasteland that counts a sludge treatment plant, oil tanks, and power plant as neighbors.

Once one of the most productive shipyards in the world, Fore River has been little used in the 20 years since General Dynamics shut it down. Previous efforts to revive it for shipbuilding have failed, but Quirk, who bought the shipyard three years ago and stores cars there, said he is not fazed by the property's recent history of failure.

''This is Quincy and Braintree, which are vibrant economic areas. They can absorb a development of this magnitude over a period of 15 years," he said.

So far, Quirk has sketched a broad vision of the shipyard's transformation into an urban village. His development team is expected to unveil a master plan for the 110-acre site this year.

Among the shipyard's valuable assets is its waterfront location; high-speed commuter boats already convey South Shore commuters to and from Boston from a nearby ferry stop. Moreover, as beat up as the shipyard is, Quirk is following a proven formula for redevelopment of maritime and industrial properties whose glory days faded with the passing of the region's manufacturing economy.

On the north end of Quincy is Marina Bay, a former air base that was transformed in the 1980s into high-priced condominiums, restaurants, nightclubs, office buildings, and a marina. A similar complex is planned just a few miles south of Fore River at the Hingham Shipyard.

''This is a great setting," said Gary Maule, principal of RTKL Associates, the Washington, D.C., consulting firm crafting the master plan. ''It has a rich history. It is on the waterfront, and it is tied into the regional transportation system."

John Dobie, planning director for Quirk, described the Fore River project as ''a little bit of Marina Bay, a little bit of Charlestown Navy Yard."

The Fore River Shipyard, though, has obstacles its neighboring waterfront communities do not.

Marina Bay has a spectacular view of Boston Harbor and the city skyline. The Hingham Shipyard sits in Hewitt's Cove and looks out on the Back River as it empties into Hingham Bay. But the Fore River Shipyard overlooks petroleum tanks, a power plant across the river, and a factory that processes fatty acids. It is next to the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority's pellet plant, which converts sludge from the Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant to fertilizer.

Dobie said the industrial atmosphere of the surroundings has an appeal. ''It's going to have a certain amount of grit. It is going to appeal to people who want to live in a real environment," he said.

Across the country, dozens of old industrial sites known as ''brownfields" are being converted into housing, shops, and parks as environmentalists and developers work to bring polluted properties back to productive use. ''The stigma issue is really going away," said Charlie Bartsch, a brownfields specialist for ICF International, a Washington, D.C. consulting firm.

Access is both a plus and minus for the yard. The Harbor Express commuter boats, which go to downtown Boston and Logan Airport, dock next door. Getting to the yard by automobile, though, is difficult. Nearby routes 3A and 53 are congested. The yard can be reached from Route 3, but via backroads in Braintree and Weymouth.

But lack of highway access should not be a major obstacle, said Dennis Frenchman, professor of urban design at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ''It might not be a great site for a regional shopping center, but for residential uses, it's not that difficult to get to," he said.

Frenchman prepared a report on the shipyard in the early 1990s, when officials were pondering the property's fate. He said the deep water port makes the yard well-suited to marine research activities. He also advocates preserving historic features of the site, which Quirk's planners said they would like to do.

Though heavily used over the years, the property has had a series of environmental cleanups, by Quirk and previous owners, and is acceptable for reuse now, he and his planners said. Last year, two employees of an asbestos removal company were killed at the shipyard, when a partially dismantled crane collapsed on a building.

After closing it in 1986, General Dynamics sold the shipyard the following year to the MWRA, which used it as a staging area for the Boston Harbor cleanup. As the harbor project concluded in the early 1990s, state and local officials began entertaining proposals for its reuse. In 1995, Sotirious Emmanouil, an MIT-trained shipbuilding executive, promised to restore shipbuilding there and two years later won a $55 million loan guarantee from the US Maritime Administration.

While Emmanouil's company, Massachusetts Heavy Industries, cleaned up much of the yard and constructed some buildings, the firm never secured shipbuilding contracts and also became embroiled in conflict with its general contractor. In 2000, the company defaulted on its loans and the Maritime Administration seized the property. Three years later, the agency auctioned it off, with Quirk the highest bidder at $9 million.

Local officials at first protested the award to Quirk. Some distrust was due to Quirk's having sued the city earlier in matters involving a property of his in West Quincy. Also, he had never developed anything other than his dealerships, and officials questioned whether he could conduct such a big project successfully.

Since then, Quirk appears to have won over officials and residents. He has conducted an open planning process and has held a series of meetings at which the public was invited to voice opinions.

''They have shown a lot of enthusiasm for listening to the neighbors," said David Oliva, president of the East Braintree Civic Association.

Quincy City Councilor Daniel G. Raymondi, who represents neighborhoods around the shipyard, said residents realize that shipbuilding is not going to return and have generally supported Quirk's vision. ''I think people recognize it needs to be a mixed use," Raymondi said.

Quirk said it could be several years before major construction starts.

Because two-thirds of the shipyard is in Quincy and the rest is in Braintree, the property will need to be rezoned in both locales. A lengthy state environmental review also will be required, he said.

Meanwhile, he's been trying to find a buyer for Goliath, the 25-story, 1,200-ton crane that is a landmark on the South Shore horizon. The massive structure, which General Dynamics built over 30 years ago, is rusting and could become a hazard, according to Quirk.

The MWRA tried unsuccessfully to sell Goliath over a decade ago, but the market for such a massive structure appears to be limited. With US shipbuilding on the decline, there are few, if any, domestic yards that could use it. Moving it overseas would be costly and difficult.

If he can't sell it, Quirk said, he will have Goliath dismantled and scrapped.

Robert Preer can be reached at preer@globe.com.