On Monday night, October 19, Scituate's Special Town Meeting will vote on a $3,835,165 request to tear down the former Pier 44 restaurant at 44 Jericho Road and build a public harbor park in its place. Very few people in the debate want the building to stay, and very few want to sell the land. The real disagreement is narrower and more local. It's about whether the last open acre on that stretch of harbor should be mostly boardwalk and lawn or should make more room for cars.
The town has owned this acre for sixteen years
Voters chose public use of the site long ago, and they've confirmed that choice since. At a May 2010 Special Town Meeting, more than two-thirds of voters approved buying the former Pier 44 restaurant property with mitigation money from the MBTA's Greenbush commuter rail project, as the Patriot Ledger reported at the time. Sources don't agree on the exact price. The 2010 Ledger story put it at $1.9 million, the commission's 2025 funding application says Town Meeting approved $1.75 million, and the town's 2026 advisory booklet rounds it to $1.8 million. According to the application, the purchase came with a requirement that the site be used noncommercially, with public access to the waterfront.
The question came back once. In 2014, a citizen petition asked the town to sell the property for commercial development, arguing it would bring in tax revenue, according to the Patriot Ledger's coverage that October. The town's June 2026 parking fact sheet says Town Meeting rejected the sale petition. The fact sheet doesn't settle when, though. Its text says 2013, while its list of supporting documents points to a November 13, 2014 vote.
Since then the site has sat in between uses. The town's advisory booklet describes a former restaurant building later rented out for functions, with the rest of the lot paved. Even the Advisory Committee, which opposes the current request, agrees on the basics. Its written report lists three needs: a scenic waterfront space open to the public, an end to the town's ongoing costs of running the existing building, and a fix for the site's environmental problems.
What $3.8 million would put on Jericho Road
The design firm is Copley Wolff Design Group, which the Select Board approved for the park-design contract in 2022. Here's what the plan described in the October 19 advisory booklet includes:
- A pile-supported boardwalk along the seaward edge of the property, which the booklet calls the park's "signature amenity"
- An open central lawn ringed by an ADA-accessible path
- A kayak launch and a small-boat tie-up at the harbor's edge
- Native plantings and bio-retention areas in place of the current asphalt
- A seasonal portable comfort station connected to town sewer and water, instead of a permanent restroom building
- 20 parking spaces, with an option for 12 more along Jericho Road next to the town boat ramp property
Some of this work happens below ground. The site would be regraded to hold more floodwater and absorb stormwater during coastal storms. The booklet says swapping pavement for permeable surfaces would cut runoff into Scituate Harbor, which is currently listed as an impaired waterbody because of fecal coliform contamination. The booklet also states that every permit and approval the park needs has already been obtained.
How the price came down, and how much has already been spent
The construction estimate used to be much higher. The Scituate Harbor Advisory Redevelopment Commission, known as SHARC, worked with the Community Preservation Committee to cut it from $6,048,023 to $3,835,165. Part of the cut came from removing the shade structure and site furnishings. SHARC has said benches and tables could come from donations.
The Advisory Committee's case rests on adding the new request to what the town has already spent. Its report lays out the totals like this:
| Stage | Amount | Source of funds |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 purchase of building and land | $1.8 million, per the booklet | MBTA Greenbush mitigation funds |
| Phase 1 and 2 design, engineering, permitting | $400,000 | MBTA mitigation funds |
| Final design and permitting, April 2023 Town Meeting | $300,000 | Community Preservation |
| Spent to date | About $2.5 million | |
| Proposed construction, October 2026 | $3,835,165 | Community Preservation, $3 million borrowed |
| All-in figure cited by Advisory | About $6.3 million |
The new request would come in two parts: $835,165 from the CPA undesignated fund balance and $3 million in bonds. The borrowing needs a two-thirds vote at Town Meeting. South Shore News reported that the borrowing is structured over 10 years, and that this is only the second time in about 22 years that the Community Preservation Committee has borrowed. The town is also applying for grants that could reduce the CPA share. Those decisions aren't expected until October or November, so they will probably arrive after the vote.
The real fault line is parking
This is where Pier 44 becomes a harbor-wide question. The Advisory Committee voted 2 to 4 against recommending the park, listed as Article 7, Item 6, even though it unanimously supported the first four items in the same article. Its report doesn't argue against a park. The members in opposition said they would prefer "a simpler designed green space" with more modest paths and plantings "vs a $1mln boardwalk and expansive trees." They wanted a layout "that could allow for additional parking given the ongoing challenge of the availability of parking in the harbor community."
The design team faced the same constraint. According to the booklet, finding the balance between parking and open space on such a small parcel "was a subject of much discussion." The town's June 2026 fact sheet gives the breakdown of the 20 spaces: 13 inside the park and seven parallel spaces on Jericho Road, plus another 12 possible nearby.
At the Select Board's September 22 meeting, the parking argument was made directly. As South Shore News reported, one resident said restaurant expansion and outdoor seating had pushed harbor demand up by about 100 parking spaces, and called the park a want rather than a need. Select Board Chair Susan Harrison answered that harbor access is a need in a coastal town where residents shouldn't have to own a boat to reach the water. She also said the borrowed money can't be used to pay for a parking lot. The board recommended the article the night after the Advisory Committee voted against it.
"The project had been through months of public meetings and five or six return appearances... and nobody raised objections until the advisory committee voted against it."
That's how South Shore News summarized the remarks of Community Preservation Committee Chair Dan Fennelly.
The Advisory Committee's own report concedes that much of the cost would come with any design. Demolishing the building, removing asbestos, and repairing the revetment account for a large share of the price. SHARC, for its part, has pointed to the permits already in hand and the risk of rising costs as reasons not to wait. Demolition, asbestos removal, and the revetment repair would still be part of the simpler, lower-cost design the Advisory Committee prefers.
Front Street is changing at the same time
Pier 44 isn't the only harbor property in transition this year. Village Market at 71 Front St. closed in mid-April. Wicked Local reported in July that Star Market, which is set to take over the space, won't open until 2027, because the property owner said the building needs significant investment. That means the harbor's grocery anchor and its most-debated waterfront parcel could both be under construction around the same time. If the park is approved, the town says it will go out to bid. No construction start date has been announced. A SHARC presentation shows a prospective timeline running into spring 2028.
Two dates before the decision
- Thursday, October 15, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. SHARC is holding a free public information session in the lower level of the Scituate Town Library, 85 Branch St. Members of the design team and town officials will be there to answer questions.
- Monday, October 19, 7:00 p.m. The Special Town Meeting takes place in the Scituate High School Gymnasium, 606 Chief Justice Cushing Highway. The park is Article 7, Item 6, and the $3 million in borrowing needs a two-thirds majority.
The full warrant, the Community Preservation application, and the Advisory Committee's reasoning are all in the town's October 19 advisory booklet.
If you own a home near the harbor and wonder how projects like Pier 44 and the Front Street grocery change might affect how buyers see your part of Scituate, Lindsay Conlon is happy to go over it with you, using real local sales instead of guesswork. When you're ready, start with Get My Valuation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
