Fernandina Beach Riverfront Marina Construction: Fall 2026 Update

"The conditions underneath Brett's are so bad that engineers won't even go down there." That was Glen Akramoff, the city's project manager, at the first stakeholder meeting on the Fernandina Harbor Marina rebuild in late July, Florida Newsline reports. City documents say parts of the old café's piling system have fallen into the Amelia River.

Two months later the chain-link is up. Parking Lot A is closed, and Brett's Waterway Café, shut since October 4, 2025, is waiting for demolition crews. The fence looks like the waterfront at its most unfinished. It also surrounds the one project there with a signed contract, a full set of engineering drawings and a completion date. The renderings that get the most attention around downtown are further away than the construction zone.

Inside the fence: a contract with a deadline

On July 21, the City Commission awarded the marina redevelopment to Baker Consulting & Engineering, doing business as Baker Design Build. The base bid is about $9.66 million. With inspection, administration and contingency added, the total budget is about $12.53 million. The work covers demolishing Brett's, replacing a seawall city documents put at roughly 100 years old, dredging the basin, and building new docks, an over-water pier and a new fueling system.

The contract gives the builder 478 calendar days and sets financial penalties for running over. The target finish is December 3, 2027. At the September 28 Waterfront Advisory Board meeting, staff called the project fully engineered and "about to break ground." They said the demolition contractor had met the general contractor on site that morning. In the spring, Brett's demolition was expected in July 2026. The city's July schedule moved that to "by year end."

The marina is staying open throughout. Marina manager Chris Ferguson's plan works like this:

• Fuel: a temporary fuel barge sits between Docks A and B while the permanent fuel dock is rebuilt.
• Displaced boats: boats in the work zone were given temporary slips before August 18. Some slips usually leased to transient or seasonal boaters are being used to hold them.
• Ship store: the store and the construction office are both running out of the building that used to be the boaters' lounge.

Business on the water has held up so far. In his late-September report, Ferguson said transient revenue for the year to date was about $140,000 ahead of last year, and annual dockage was nearly $98,000 ahead. Moorings are still short. The field has 14 mooring buoys today, down from 20 before the storm, and restoring that capacity is ongoing work. Board members also spent part of the September meeting admiring the refreshed ship store and its $28 ball caps.

Getting down to the water around it

With the fence up, the walk and the drive to the water have changed. Ash Street has reopened. The circle at the foot of Centre Street is closed to through traffic. A board member described watching three or four cars ahead of his golf cart try three-point turns there one night, and staff agreed to add left-or-right directional signage.

Ash Street matters beyond its own traffic. Akramoff said any trucks hauling from the site will use Ash rather than Centre Street, and contaminated or "non-clean" material will leave by barge. The safety plan calls for a covered pedestrian walkway to keep the marina reachable, plus cameras on the work area. The city has also said it is considering controlled public access hours, but no schedule had been published as of the latest reporting. The city said an on-site inspector would file daily reports, with weekly summaries posted on its website. Ferguson and Downtown District Coordinator Katie Newton are the public contacts.

South of the fence, the finished part

The new Amelia River Waterfront Park sits beside Parking Lots C and D at the marina's south basin. It has a pavilion, restrooms, a play structure, benches and lighting. The News-Leader reports the grand opening was held April 10, with pirates, music from the Honey Badgers and a visit from Rep. Aaron Bean.

The park also holds two pieces of the old waterfront. The big anchor that stood in front of Brett's was moved there at the end of March, along with the shrimping industry monument. The copper shrimp boat on top of the monument fell and broke when city workers pushed it to test its stability before the move. It was reattached within days. A September 9 meeting of the museum, Main Street, the Historic District Council and city staff came up with about 10 new signs with maps and information for the park. Board members said the signs are in the works.

A northward expansion toward the public boat ramp and the former Atlantic Seafood site has been discussed at a rough cost of about $700,000. It is budgeted for fiscal year 2027-28, and the city's schedule shows construction from August 2027 to February 2028. The Atlantic Seafood building is already gone. Atlantic Seafood Bait & Tackle closed in August 2025, and the city-owned building came down on February 3, 2026.

Next in line: 613 feet of South Front Street seawall

On September 14, commissioners approved a $1.54 million award to EarthTech Enterprises for the first 613-foot segment of the downtown resiliency seawall on South Front Street. The job includes raising the elevation, moving a water main and reconfiguring the street.

At the September 28 meeting, staff said EarthTech expected to mobilize in mid-to-late October or early November, though the contract was not yet signed. The engineer's estimate was over $2 million and $2 million was budgeted, so the low bid left room. Staff hope to use a change order to finish the last 40 to 50 feet to the boat ramp and complete the wall by spring 2027. Fencing and equipment along South Front Street are the next visible change, likely within weeks of this post.

North of the fence, still drawings

Two projects north of the marina are getting a lot of attention, and both are still concepts.

The first is the draft Harbor Master Plan. It covers nine North Front Street parcels and floats ideas like expanded marina docks toward Broome Street, a public fishing facility and north-south pedestrian connections. One concept puts a flood wall out in the water and backfills behind it. When residents asked about it, Jacob Platt said the permitting challenge and mitigation costs would be significant. He said consultants Moffatt & Nichol consider it buildable, but he expects that location to be "revised and manipulated" once real numbers are run. The proposed public promenade still has a gap at the Simmons/Osteen parcel, and no easement had been secured as of the September meeting. The advisory board sent the draft to the City Commission, which meets as the CRA board on October 20 at 5 p.m.

The second is the Amelia River Wharf. It is a private proposal for zero North Front Street, presented by Ron Flick for the Osteen Company and the Simmons family: about 26,400 square feet with two restaurant spaces, retail, and elevated walkways over the river. It received conceptual approval from the Historic District Council in August and now goes to the city's technical review committee. When a resident asked in September whether it was a done deal, staff said it is "still in design" and "not finished yet."

A block inland, the Standard Marine building at 101 N. 2nd St. is a private restoration already in motion. The News-Leader reports it was built in 1882 by C.H. Huot. In 2025, owners Jenny and James Schaffer chose restoration over demolition and proposed a boutique hotel with at least 10 rooms, a restaurant and a coffee shop. City staff reported the preservation work in progress at the September 28 meeting.

The riverfront calendar, in order of certainty

1. October 15, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.: a public input meeting at the MLK Center Auditorium, 1200 Elm Street, on a marketing initiative for the local wild-caught shrimp industry. The Northeast Florida Regional Council is running it under the USDA Local Food Promotion Program. The Nassau County Chamber's notice invites shrimpers, restaurant owners, seafood retailers, hospitality workers and interested community members.
2. October 20, 5 p.m.: the City Commission, meeting as the CRA board, takes up the draft Harbor Master Plan.
3. Mid-October to early November: EarthTech is expected to mobilize on the South Front Street seawall.
4. November 13 to 15: the Pétanque Amelia Island Open, hosted by the Amelia Island Petanque Club. Last year's listing put the venue at the downtown marina's Parking Lots C and D, right next to the new park. It lists the women's tournament Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. and Open games Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Advisory board members said boat-trailer parking will close that weekend, and they want an alternative trailer parking plan added to the process.
5. By year end: the city's target for demolishing Brett's.
6. Spring 2027: the staff target for finishing the South Front Street seawall segment.
7. December 3, 2027: the contract completion date for the marina.

Have questions about how the marina rebuild or the seawall work affects a particular downtown street or property? Ask Craig Brewis. Craig follows these Waterfront Advisory Board updates and will give you a straight answer about what the city has actually committed to. Let's Connect.