Stuart Courtesy Dock to Get $3M Overhaul, Adding 26 New Boat Slips

The aging floating dock that greets roughly 1,450 visiting boaters a year along Stuart's downtown waterfront is coming down this summer. What rises in its place will be nearly twice as large, built to outlast the storms that have damaged the old structure for years.

The Stuart City Commission has approved a roughly $3 million reconstruction of the City of Stuart Courtesy Dock, with construction scheduled to begin Monday, July 6. When the project wraps — targeted for the 2027 Fourth of July celebration — the facility will offer 44 boat slips, up from the current 18, giving visiting boaters significantly more access to downtown Stuart's restaurants, shops and waterfront events.

The redesign moves away from the floating dock system that has proved costly to maintain. "With the floating dock, every year storms and wave action damage the finger piers," Public Works Director Milton Leggett told commissioners during a recent meeting. "The fixed dock never had any damage, so we have decided to go with a fixed dock, which has been more durable and will minimize long-term costs."

The new configuration will replace a 5,533-square-foot floating dock and its associated pilings with a 7,590-square-foot fixed dock, a 1,400-square-foot concrete floating dock and a 300-square-foot floating vessel platform — accommodating both motorized and non-motorized craft, according to public documents.

Funding splits between a $1.15 million Florida Inland Navigation District grant and Transportation Impact Fee dollars, meaning most of the capital cost falls outside the city's general fund. Cummins Cederberg, Inc. is serving as project engineer; Custom Built Marine Construction, Inc. holds the construction contract.

The courtesy docks will close entirely during construction — a significant but temporary disruption for the boating visitors who spend money at Stuart's waterfront businesses each season. The city has set a completion target for the 2027 Independence Day weekend, one of the waterfront's highest-traffic events of the year.

Residents can monitor construction milestones through the City of Stuart Capital Project Dashboard or via QR codes posted at the job site. Questions can be directed to City Project Manager Marc Rogolino at (772) 221-4700.

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