Community News: Maritime Welcome Center and Prince George St. Park Get HPC Approval

From Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley’s newsletter Feb 2025

On Thursday, February 27, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC)

unanimously approved the City’s submission to construct the Maritime

Welcome Center (MWC) and Prince George Street Park. The Welcome Center

will serve as the headquarters for both the Annapolis Harbormaster and the

satellite offices for Visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel (visitor’s bureau) as well as use by the general public, and dockside amenities for mariners. The Prince George Street Park with its resilience features, will provide connections between the United States Naval Academy and City Dock.

In total, 22 people spoke in support of the project with six in opposition over the course of a nearly five-hour public hearing.

The new Maritime Welcome Center will provide Americans with Disabilities Act

(ADA) connections to activate and preserve historic Burtis House, which was

raised six feet in December of 2024 and will soon undergo preservation and

restoration work. The City acquired Burtis House in 2022 from the State of

Maryland.

The Welcome Center was previously approved by the Planning Commission in January, the Critical Area Commission in December, and was given conditional approval by Maryland Historic Trust.

The MWC structure is considered Phase II of the Annapolis City Dock project.

Phase I, which consists of City Dock Park and the flood mitigation measures

around Ego Alley, was approved by the Annapolis Planning and Historic

Preservation commissions in early 2024. City Dock Park includes a raised

earthen berm with a fountain, pergola, and stage. Additional work will involve

realigning the storm drains along inner Dock Street. Due to the construction of

the berm, a major feature of flood mitigation at the site, the existing

harbormaster’s office will require demolition.

Thursday’s HPC meeting was the culmination of six years of robust community engagement on the overall City Dock project, including more than 150 public work sessions or hearings and more than 350 stakeholder meetings.

Together, the Welcome Center, Prince George Street Park, and connections to

Burtis House will also provide direct and easy access to the water for boating,

fishing, paddleboards and kayaks, and sweeping views of Spa Creek, the mouth of the Severn River and the Chesapeake Bay. In addition to the recreation space, there will be educational and the potential for commercial water-related uses at the site.