Municipal Marina Redevelopment Needs a Fresh Set of Eyes

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 Station 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 8 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; Forever.

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 multi-million dollar leases full of glossy photos and boring numbers. He has no affiliation with any group or company involved in the Marina redevelopment.