Tupper Boat House Repairs Will Depend On Soil Test

With grant money secured for a project targeting the historic landmark Tupper Boat House in North Sea, Southampton Town officials are moving forward to see if repairing it will be possible.

At a recent work session, the Southampton Town Board approved $22,325 worth of soil tests to see if the Tupper Boat House can be lifted. Without the type of soil that can support the building’s weight, the town cannot move forward with raising the structure, which would bring planned repairs to a halt, according to Town Councilman John Bouvier.

The Tupper Boat House, at Conscience Point in North Sea, was built between 1929 and 1931 as a workshop for the Tupper Motorcraft boat company—and was later converted into an infamous nightclub and bar. Southampton Town purchased the property in 2003 and in 2014 was awarded more than $450,000 in federal Superstorm Sandy grant money to renovate the building. Last spring, the Town Board declared the building a historic landmark and began to work to preserve the boathouse, which had been damaged in the storm.

The town recently received $375,000 in additional federal grants to do an archaeological study, design the foundation, prepare construction documents and hire contractors to raise the structure. According to Mr. Bouvier, the cost of lifting the boathouse will be approximately $800,000, with an estimated $1.4 million in additional repairs still needed after that. However, those numbers are preliminary until the town receives the results of the soil investigation.