Saratoga seen as more than museum

Frank Lennon envisions an attraction where visitors can walk the four-acre flight deck of the USS Saratoga – a World War II-era aircraft carrier – perusing a collection of rare pre-war, World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War-era carrier-based aircraft.
He sees an attraction that incorporates flight-simulator rides, an interactive theater where participants learn about undersea explorations of lost warships, permanent and rotating exhibits showcasing the day-to-day life of America at war in 1944, Rhode Island’s war heroes and the ports the USS Saratoga visited. He envisions restaurants, vocational training workshops, community meeting space, recreation space, rides for children and possibly a water park.
It’s a project that’s been 10 years in the making, yet the USS Saratoga Museum Foundation is still working to get Quonset Development Corporation’s approval. Now Lennon, the foundation’s volunteer president, hopes a $282,000 federal appropriation announced last month will “prime the pump” for investment from corporations needed to make the park a reality.
“The $282,000 adds credibility to the project,” he explained. “We’re hoping that once other corporations and philanthropic organizations see we got the appropriation that it’s going to give a greater comfort level to come in and support this.”
The Air, Land & Sea Heritage and Technology Park at Quonset Point in North Kingstown – tentatively being called “The Saratoga Experience” – will be a family attraction/education center/museum and memorial offering a wide variety of recreational experiences. It is hoped that it will draw about 400,000 visitors per year, employ about 80 people and generate $1.2 million in new direct tax revenue for the state each year.
The foundation still needs corporate support because, though it can identify the $10.5 million needed to bring the project to fruition, it also might have to prove it has the additional funds needed to dredge the Bay before moving the USS Saratoga from Newport to the north side of Davisville Pier 2, as outlined in a June 2005 meeting of the QDC board of directors meeting.
QDC approval rests on knowing the foundation will be able to complete all tasks required, from dredging to permitting to developing the park.
The foundation still needs permits from the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council and the R.I. Department of Environmental Management, noted David Preston, spokesperson for the QDC. It also needs to address a few security issues.
“So the Quonset board, right now, I would characterize their view as kind of wait and see,” Prestonsaid. “Once [the foundation has] financing in place and the permits in hand – at that point, the QDC would be delighted to have a conversation with them about what a market rental rate or lease rate for that waterfront property would be.”
At least purchasing the ship won’t be necessary, Lennon said, because the U.S. Navy has reserved the vessel for the foundation and will donate it once the project is approved.
Also contingent upon QDC approval is the foundation’s $6.5 million loan guarantee awarded last year by U.S. Department of Agriculture, through its Community Facilities program. Independence Bank, of East Greenwich, is the underwriter.
The rest of the $10.5 million that the foundation is counting on includes cash donations and pledges amounting to $4 million. That includes a $1.5 million donation from Alan Shawn Feinstein, a $1 million pledge from a Rhode Island family, a $500,000 donation from another local donor, and a collection of smaller donations and pledges from people in 45 states, Lennon said.
For now, the foundation plans to continue raising money and getting the proper environmental testing done for permitting.
It will also be using the $282,000 federal appropriation to build relationships with colleges, universities and the R.I. Department of Labor and Training for the vocational-training aspect of park.
“Every dollar will be spent with the eventual work-force development center aboard the ship in mind,” Lennon said. “Acquisition and restoration of shop equipment … will be one use of the proceeds.”
The machine shop and woodworking equipment will eventually be aboard the ship. But the foundation wants to put it to use before it gains control of the vessel through pilot programs with educational institutions such as Davisville Middle School, the North Kingstown School Department, Roger Williams University, the University of Rhode Island and the Community College of Rhode Island, Lennon said.
The foundation hopes to win support from public and private leaders by showing how the project could have an impact on work-force development, he said.
If General Dynamics’ Electric Boat has a need for welders, for example, and a pilot program using the shop equipment can provide a workshop in that area, it might inspire corporate sponsorship as well, Lennon said.
“Instead of telling people what we are going to do in the future, we can use some of this funding to show them results even before we get the ship,” he said. •