Ogdensburg approves $175,000 sale for planned waterfront shipyard

The Ogdensburg City Council unanimously approved selling 1 Madison Ave., part of the former Diamond National site, to J.E. Sheehan Contracting Corp. for $175,000. The Potsdam company plans to develop the property as the Ogdensburg Shipyard, a waterfront boat repair and storage facility.

The project is expected to include a roughly 10,000-square-foot building, a 150-ton mobile boat lift, boat fuel sales and reconstruction of the existing pier. The agreement requires at least $3 million in development costs, which the company would fund, along with water, sewer, stormwater and access improvements.

The site is part of the roughly 15.4-acre Diamond Site. The city will retain the adjacent 2 Madison Ave. parcel for possible future use or sale. City officials estimate the completed project could generate about $64,800 in annual property taxes and $118,000 in annual sales tax revenue. About $25,000 of the projected property tax revenue and $59,000 of the projected sales tax revenue would go to the city.

The agreement requires the property to remain in water-dependent use for at least 10 years after completion. It also calls for at least 10 full-time-equivalent jobs within 12 months of completion. If substantial completion does not occur within 24 months after closing, subject to extensions, the city could seek to take the property back.

The city received five proposals through its request for proposals process and selected J.E. Sheehan Contracting Corp. as the preferred developer. The property has been city-owned since 1992, and cleanup was completed through work that received a state Certificate of Completion in 2014.

Closing, development and permitting are next. The first phase is expected to target an opening in June or July 2027.