Old ferry terminal will become a market hall by next summer
Council votes 7 to 2 to save the 1920s building instead of pulling it down.
By Ruth Okafor, city reporter
The terminal building has stood empty since the new pier opened in 2011.
After three years of arguments, the old ferry terminal on Water Street has a future. On Thursday night the town council voted to turn it into an indoor market with room for forty stalls, a small stage and a public cafe on the upper floor.
"People have walked past this building every day of their lives," said council member Dev Patel. "Now they will finally get to walk inside it."
The repairs will cost about $4.2 million. Half will come from a state grant for historic buildings, and the rest from stall rents over the next fifteen years. Work on the roof starts in January.
Not everyone is happy. Two council members said the money should go to the harbor road, which floods most winters. A public meeting on the road is planned for November.