TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Developer Proposes 300-Slip Marina

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 2, 2007

PORT RICHEY - A Pinellas Park-based real estate development group has approached Port Richey with a proposal to build a commercial marina with 300 wet slips on Miller's Bayou.

Belleair Development Group has submitted plans to the city's building department to add floating docks, a boat ramp, a bait shop and retail businesses to Port Richey's waterfront.

"Right now, we're trying to put a deal together," Belleair's Carlos Yepes said. "It would be a wonderful enhancement to the area and something that the city really seems to want."

If approved, the project would be the largest commercial marina in Pasco County.

Yepes said company officials plan to make a presentation to city council members at their next regular meeting, set for Nov. 14. "We want to hear what city officials and the public think about the proposal," he said.

Belleair is under contract to purchase land from the Don Johnson Trust, named after the commercial shrimper and Seaside Inn owner who died nearly two years ago.

Yepes said the marina proposal would include other land purchases and leasing deals with adjacent property owners for additional parking and ancillary businesses.

Belleair builds convenience stores, drugstores, fast-food restaurants and, more recently, commercial marinas, and it owns properties throughout the state, Yepes said.

Besides council approval, the project would require permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other regulatory agencies.

"We have a lot of hurdles to go through before we break ground," Yepes said.

Mayor Richard Rober said he has seen the proposal and thinks it's a good idea. But he said there are many unanswered questions. "There's a lot of logistical problems," Rober said. "We have some concurrency issues such as parking and stormwater retention that we'll need to discuss and resolve."
Boat slips are at a premium in the Tampa Bay area, especially in Pasco County.

In recent years, public boat ramps and family-owned marinas have disappeared from Florida's shores as developers gobble up waterfront properties for condominiums.

Aside from the few privately owned marinas that dot Pasco's coastline, there are only a handful of spots where boaters can access the Gulf of Mexico.

The county has nearly 25,000 registered watercraft, according to state figures, and just four public ramps: at the Main Street bridge in New Port Richey, Anclote River Park in Holiday, Nicks Park in Port Richey and Robert J. Strickland Memorial Park in Hudson.

Joe Meadows, a charter boat captain who rents dock space next to Nicks Park, said a marina of the size being proposed would revitalize the city's waterfront overlay.

"It's desperately needed," he said. "I'd love to see something like this happen."

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT