Suntex to Transform Fort Lauderdale Marina
The company has teamed up with Edgewater Resources to expand Las Olas Marina, as part of a $70 million redevelopment plan initiated by the city.
By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor
Rendering of Las Olas Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The City of Fort Lauderdale has chosen a joint venture of Suntex Marina Investors LLC and Edgewater Resources LLC to redevelop the Las Olas Marina, one step of a $70 million project designed to create waterfront and beach access, a park, new parking facilities and renovate existing sidewalks.
Additionally, the city approved a 50-year lease to operate the property.
“The site is a prime spot, located in the heart of Fort Lauderdale—the mega yacht capital of the world—with easy access to all that the city has to offer,” David Filler, Suntex’ principal investments and acquisitions, told Commercial Property Executive. “Overall, we are trying to create a platform for all boat owners to have a consistent and positive experience across all of our marinas. Las Olas will not only be our newest marina from an acquisition standpoint, but will truly be a brand new marina.”
In April of 2016, the city announced plans to expand the waterways as the Las Olas Marina enlisted the help of CBRE to seek proposals for redeveloping the site. Among the city’s goals were to deepen the Fort Lauderdale marina basin and extend the docks to accommodate larger ships and mega yachts.
Still in its early stages, the marina facilities will incorporate strategies to achieve Florida Clean Marina Program designation with a great emphasis on sustainability. The plan calls for a new promenade, plus food and beverage concepts to help bring more public access and enjoyment to the waterfront marina.
“In the immediate future, there will be a shortage of slips as more and more mega yachts are being built and the supply of slips available have not kept up,” Filler said. “This is a tremendous opportunity to showcase all that Suntex Marinas has to offer, incorporating the highest level of services and amenities and demonstrating our exceptional operational skills and development capabilities.”
Convenient access
The property is close to the Port Everglades and offers convenient access to the ocean from the ICW. In addition, the facility itself will have plenty of amenities including a pool, a hot tub, Captain’s Lounge, two restaurants, showers and a beautiful view overlooking the water.
“It will also include approximately 7,000 square feet of retail space to service marina tenants and the general public,” Filler said. “This will include coffee shops, ice cream parlor, ships store, boat brokerage offices and chandlery.”
Suntex currently has a portfolio of 45 marinas, located throughout the country in states like California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Virginia.
The Fort Lauderdale waterfront has been popular for a while. Last December, Tavistock Development Co. acquired Fort Lauderdale’s Pier 66 Marina and Hyatt Regency Hotel, a 127-slip mega-yacht marina and a 384-key hotel, from the Blackstone Group for $163 million.
Image courtesy of Suntex Marina Investors
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