June 18, 2002

Fewer Public Marinas for the Average Boater

Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina— Public docks are desappearing as waterfront property becomes more expensive and harder to find, according to Applied Technology & Management, Inc., a leading environmental, coastal, and water resources engineering firm. To combat the skyrocketing costs of desirable waterfront locations, waterfront developers are tranforming public marina facilities into marina villages and other mixed-use developments. And while they offer plenty of amenities, these mixed-use developments are eating up the docks and slip space that were once available to the general boating public.

"High costs and market pressures are pushing developers to take public marinas and integrate them into residential communities," says Sam Phlegar, vice president with Applied Technology & Management. "It may be the best investment for waterfront developers, but the average boater is losing the ability to keep his boat in the water."

Here are a few of the reasons why public marinas are disappearing:

Fewer waterfront locations. "It's a plain and simple fact that there are fewer locations suitable for marina facilities along the East Coast," says Phlegar. As more people migrate to the coast, the availability of desirable property is declining. With any waterfront development project, one of the key criteria is ease of access, and a location with shallow water or high wave and wake potential is much less attractive.

Selling versus leasing. As marina owners struggle with the rising costs of buying and maintaining waterfront property, they're passing the costs to boaters. According to Phlegar, more and more marina owners are selling slips instead of leasing them. The average boater is faced with the choice of making a large investment and long-term commitment to a marina, or potentially getting forced out of his current slip.

Increased mixed-use development. As demand for waterfront property skyrockets, more developers are looking at mixed-use projects to make the most of their investment. Ed Modzelewski, chairman of ATM, estimates that more than 80% of new marina facilities are being integrated into mixed-use development, particularly in Florida. "The combination of residential, retail, and marine facilities is a good way for developers to make their waterfront investment more profitable, but as they transform public facilities into marina village communities there's increasingly limited space available to the boating public," says Modzelewski.