PLATTSBURGH -- Work on developing a lake-front park on Dock Street near Plattsburgh Boat Basin will begin today.

The project, which concludes some previous environmental-cleanup efforts to remove contaminated soil on the property, is part of a more extensive plan to develop 12 acres of land on the former site of the Canadian Pacific Rail Yard.

The overall rail yard has been the focal point of a major renovation project, including the construction of a paved parking area and future hopes for a hotel and convention center on site.

"They completed Phase 1 (where the parking lot now sits) in the winter of 2005 into the spring of 2006," said Alicia Thorne, project manager for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which is overseeing clean-up actions at the rail yard.

"They excavated some petroleum-tainted soil and pulled out some underground tanks and back filled," she added, noting that the asphalt pavement also serves as a barrier covering the former rail-yard property.

A study of the grounds conducted in 2004 identified some areas of concern, but the eastern portion where the park will sit does not pose any major concerns, Thorne said.

"There are a couple of foundations that might be contaminated underneath, but it's not likely," she said. "We do have a contingency plan, though (if workers find fuel spills during construction)."

But the focus of the upcoming activity will be to create a park for public access to Lake Champlain.

"It's going to provide over 1,000 feet of shoreline access to the public," said Kevin Farrington, City of Plattsburgh engineer. "It will be a nice little area for people to come and enjoy the lake front."

The park will stretch from the parking lot near Clare and Carl's, around the small inlet and peninsula to the beginning of the city's filtration-plant property.

Workers will clear the property, level the ground and then fill in the area with a foot of topsoil before seeding and putting in trails and benches.

The project is expected to be finished in early November, Farrington said, noting that workers will be able to do any follow-up work in the spring.

The state is also planning on constructing a boat launch on the site some time in the future, Farrington added.

The Plattsburgh and Montreal Railroad originally developed the site as a rail yard in 1852. At one time, Barrett Trucking Company leased a portion of the site for salt storage for about a decade.

jmeyers@pressrepublican.com