Comm Voice
Municipal Marina redevelopment needs a fresh set of eyes
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According to a recent article in the Catalyst, the City of St Pete has ended negotiations with the company selected to redevelop the Municipal Marina. According to City staff, the city will now “self-perform the redevelopment of the marina. We no longer believe that a lease agreement is the best option for the redevelopment and operation of the marina.”
Wow! What an understatement!
The lease agreement never was the best option. In fact, it was the absolute worst.
The plan was to give our Municipal Marina away to a private company – Safe Harbor Marinas – to design, build and operate a private marina on City property. The City pulled out of negotiations ONLY when Safe Harbor changed ownership.
Before we pivot away from this near-disaster, let’s consider what almost happened.
(Supporting Documents are at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FaGWAbWQdUUjaICzZB-fKK4wMqDUEpp2?usp=drive_link)
According to the proposed lease, marina slip rents DOUBLE, and then TRIPLE (from $12/ft to $21, then $34) – boaters pay the highest rates in Tampa Bay; The resulting massive profits flow to Safe Harbor, while the City collects pennies on the dollar; 411 boats are displaced during construction, with nowhere to go (local marinas are full). Meanwhile, the first docks to reopen are for Megayachts, serviced by the largest waterfront gas atation on the Florida Gulf Coast; and the lease “Termination Fee” ($61 million, swelling to $84M, then $96M – an amount the City would never allocate) means the lease is essentially endless.
This is the plan that’s been pushed for the last eight years:
A privately-owned, economically-exclusive floating country club at the heart of our waterfront;
A sweetheart deal for Safe Harbor, while St Pete gets the short end of the stick; fdorever.
Was this really the City’s vision for our Municipal Marina? Or did no one actually read the lease terms?
In either case, this project needs a reboot and a fresh set of eyes. St Pete doesn’t need another “world-class facility” for megayachts and one percenters. We need a Municipal Marina that is practical and affordable for the City, and has decent facilities and affordable rent for tenants – for commercial operators; for live-aboards; and for boaters of average means.
Because in the end, it doesn’t matter how magnificent it is if you can’t afford it.
We need a fresh set of eyes – a Marina Work Group – citizen-led and publicly-accountable – to include marina tenants, commercial operators, City staff and experts from the community. That work group would develop a plan that is transparent and publicly accountable. A plan based on documented facts and real public input.
Let’s get back to basics: Revitalizing a Municipal Marina that is functional, pleasant and accessible to all.
Eric Feldman is a lifelong boater, and a fan of affordable municipal marinas. His background includes reviewing multimillion dollar leases with lots of glossy photos and boring numbers. He has no affiliation with any group or company involved in the Marina redevelopment.
Page Obenshain
July 11, 2025at11:02 am
The project is being looked at with fresh eyes. There are two new staff members who are charged with the project. Now that the city will do the renovations there will be public input, where there would be little public input in a private renovation. The city, not being a marina company, will have to do marketing to establish the needs of the boaters. I believe the city will not build the marina with a resort atmosphere, and build it for a longer life expectancy than private would.
In the end a better product….we all hope.
Eric Feldman
July 11, 2025at8:38 am
Debi Mazor, Thanks for your comments – they are spot-on.
However, according the City’s Comprehensive Financial Reports (available at the link I provided), the Marina has earned an average of $618,000 per year PROFIT since 2017. That is a total of $5 million to-date, or $7,500 per slip, which has been diverted into City coffers, to pay for other projects. So yes, the Marina is being starved of resources.
The $250k number is often floated around, but it does not jibe with the City’s own numbers.
Debi Mazor
July 10, 2025at8:26 pm
At last those who are the most knowledgeable about our City Marina, including those who have commented above, who know how it has served the local boating community and contributed to the reputation of St Pete as a world-class sailing destination, are going to have a voice in guiding the City in restoring it to the condition it enjoyed under previous administrations that recognized its value above and beyond its profitability. I remember talking with its 30-yr veteran Harbormaster who told me it always paid for itself but it was too bad the City’s Gen’l Fund siphoned off profits of $250K annually instead of plowing them back into it. And thus we have some accounting to do, that even Mayor Welch might enjoy! Than you Council for listening!
bill herrmann
July 10, 2025at6:54 am
There are many good points in the article. The most accurate statement is this project needs a hard reset!
The marina project needs to be looked at fresh. Start with the basic question of who are the users? And who should the marina serve? Those simple questions should provide the initial path to follow, with no preconceived notions.
Hugh Hazeltine
July 9, 2025at4:19 pm
Our city government functions under a strong Mayor system. All city staff work for the Mayor. It is no secret that the Mayor Welch has focused city staff time on the redevelopment of Tropicana Field. The same staff that worked on the Trop will need to be allocated to work on the Marina at the Mayor’s direction.
There was a forum a couple of years ago with other Mayors at USF. Joe Hamilton of the Catalyst asked Mayor Welch what is next for the Marina? I will paraphrase his response. “You know I am an accountant”. (The Mayor has an accounting degree from USF.) “So it is likely I will choose the lowest cost solution”.
I take this as a signal from Mayor Welch that the subject is not that important to him.
Mayor Welch is in his fourth year and will enjoy a fifth year due to the realignment of elections. Planning, permitting, and procurement is likely to take 2 years from the time it is decided what to do. So it is likely that any shovel in the ground work will not start until midway in the next Mayoral term.
The Marina was constructed in 1964 and has served well for 60 years. To get a plan started it will require looking beyond one’s term in office and realized you are building a facility for the next 60 years of St. Petersburg Citizens. I thank the persons who in 1964 could see that far ahead.
Hugh Hazeltine
July 9, 2025at3:45 pm
Good Job attaching those documents. It will take some time to digest.
LINWOOD GILBERT
July 9, 2025at3:21 pm
Please put me down to assist with a community working group. I developed the Harborage Marina for Florida Progress back in the day and do feasibility studies on marinas for a living.