By Carol Britton Meyer

Construction on the mixed-use Paragon Dunes development – now under the new name “The Wayfarer” – is expected to start within the next few months, even as the source of all of the water supply to serve the development has not yet been determined.

Weir River Water System Managing Director/Superintendent Russell Tierney told The Hull Times that the WRWS currently has the capacity to provide water to The Wayfarer, “but we’re trying to have developers find other [sources] to mitigate water usage. We want to work with the builders, but we also want to ensure that the three towns [served by the WRWS – Hull, Hingham, and part of Cohasset] don’t suffer from overuse of the system.”

the PARAGON DUNES DEVELOPMENT has been renamed the wayfarer, removing the nod to the site’s amusement history.

Tierney told the Design Review Board at a recent meeting that the Procopio Companies have been told to discuss obtaining up to 20,000 gallons per day of water capacity from Cohasset.

The Wayfarer project, located at 181-199 Nantasket Ave., was approved by the planning board last November and has a targeted completion date of spring 2027. It encompasses the former miniature golf course, arcade, and Paragon Boardwalk outdoor venue.

“The demolition is complete, and we are looking to start construction late this summer or early fall,” project manager Michael Modoono told The Hull Times.

The development was approved to include 132 residential units, commercial uses, an elevated courtyard with an inground pool, public open spaces, a parking garage, surface parking for a total of 180 cars, and a dog run. The total project cost is $65 million.

Designed with a multifamily component, a retail component, and a large-scale food and beverage operation, “this project is truly mixed-use and will serve as a catalyst for placemaking on Nantasket Beach,” according to a description on the project’s website.

The plan as approved also include a 10-foot-wide wooden boardwalk along Nantasket Avenue with stairs and handicapped-accessible ramps, and elevating all but one of the commercial spaces and the residential lobby to a height that is about two feet, four inches above the current level of the sidewalk.

The raised boardwalk will allow flood water to pass under the building.

Modoono confirmed that under the parking management plan approved by the planning board, the Nantasket Junction commuter rail station parking lot was identified as the location for residents to park their cars in the case of a weather event that causes flooding in the area of The Wayfarer.

“A shuttle bus would bring them back [to the development],” he said.

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