From the December 31, 2004 print edition
Jane Meinhardt
Staff writer
Waterfront redevelopment, regulations and hurricanes are among the issues the marine industry coped with this year.
Probably the most significant impact on the industry came from the four hurricanes that blasted across parts of Florida this season. Losses from Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne surpassed those caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
A final loss total isn't available yet, but the Boat Owners Association of the United States, which is a boating advocacy group and a major marine insurer in Florida, estimated recreational boat losses alone will be around $700 million. Hurricane Andrew caused $500 million in recreational vessel damage.
The hurricanes devastated parts of the marine industry but provided lucrative business boosts for other segments. Boat repair businesses, salvage firms, and dock and seawall contractors still have waiting lists of customers who need work done, much of it paid for by insurance.
Marine retailers also benefited as boat owners and repair businesses replaced damaged items.
Like other brokerages, Massey Yacht Sales on the waterfront in Palmetto had to shut down for the hurricanes, which meant about six weeks of lost business. However, the market for brokerage sail and powerboats resumed as strong as it was before the storms.
The firm expects 2004 gross sales to be 30 percent to 35 percent higher than last year, said Frank Hamilton, Massey's sales manager. Annual sales volume is about $18 million. More than half the sales volume is brokerage yachts, but Massey feels the Tampa Bay area market is so good the firm took on two lines of new yachts.
Massey added the Albin line of power yachts and the sailboats and power yachts manufactured by Shannon Yachts LLC in Bristol, Rhode Island.
The brokerage is now the only authorized Shannon dealer in the United States. The semi-custom, high-quality yachts traditionally are sold factory-direct.
Shannon sailing yachts range in price from about $290,000 to $1.1 million. The manufacturer has three power yacht models that cost $450,000 to $1 million.
While the market may support sales of yachts such as the Shannons, some places to dock and maintain them are disappearing.
Waterfront redevelopment projects announced in 2004 will replace several marina and boatyards in the Tampa Bay area.
Presales are underway at The Residences at Windward Passage, a 55-unit luxury condominium development that is replacing the High-and-Dry Marina on Island Estates in Clearwater. The marina was one of the oldest in the Tampa Bay area.
Huber Yacht Basin -- which includes a boatyard, slips and dry storage -- on Frenchman's Creek in south St. Petersburg was sold. Developers plan to turn the property into Venetian style townhomes with slips.
St. Petersburg city officials approved a 14-story condominium and retail project called the Harborage Marina Village. The $40-million project is planned along the waterfront in the 1110 block of Third Street South, currently part of the Harborage Marina.
In May, St. Petersburg developer Grady Pridgen announced a $350-million residential project in Tampa at Imperial Yacht Basin property off Gandy Boulevard. He purchased the property for $25 million.
An old trailer court on a shallow creek in south Sarasota is being replaced with condominiums with 26-foot slips for sale at $5,000 a foot.
"It's just crazy," said Bruce Blomgren, CEO of Brandy Marine Inc. in Sarasota. "What is happening is that submerged land prices are accelerating faster than land prices."
His firm provides marina and waterfront property management and development consulting around the country and abroad.
In mid-2004, "dockominiums" and yacht memberships, which involve buying a slip, cost an average of $3,000 per linear foot, he said. By the end of the year, the cost was up to $4,500 a linear foot.
Along with regulating boat speed and access in areas frequented by manatees, cities and other government entities are now regulating where boats can be anchored and developing mooring fields to control the waterfront and generate revenue, Blomgren said.
"With what's happened so far, you should get your hands on a dock quickly," he said.
jmeinhardt@bizjournals.com | 727.224.2299
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