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Bay Pines Marina gets okay for more dry slips

By Anne Lindberg, Times Staff Writer
In print: Wednesday, April 9, 2008

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SEMINOLE — Pinellas County commissioners on Tuesday approved a request to more than double the number of dry slips at the Bay Pines Marina.

The request by marina owners East Madeira Corp. and the Travis Corp. is part of a larger revamping of the business, which abuts the Harbor Lights Mobile Home Park.

When complete, the marina is expected to have 700 dry slips and 163 wet slips that would all be open to the public. East Madeira also wants to dredge the area, install a canoe-kayak launch site, and build a 6-foot-wide passageway along the seawall, among other things.

The marina, 5000 92nd St. N, currently has 60 wet slips, 300 high and dry slips, a fueling facility, a sewage pumpout station, a loading ramp for the dry slips and a bait shop.

Before construction can begin, East Madeira must submit a site plan and development agreement to Seminole for the City Council's approval. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission must also okay the proposal.

The move to increase the size of the marina, originally built in the 1970s, is the latest attempt to develop the marina and Harbor Lights.

The first attempt came in June 2005, when developer John Loder announced that his Sun Vista Development Group wanted to buy the mobile home park and the marina for $60-million: $45-million for the park and $15-million for the marina. Loder planned a $300-million project with nearly 400 residences, including townhomes, single-family dwellings and luxury condominiums.

Loder was unable to close on schedule and upped the price on the 34-acre park to $47-million, making the total value of the deal $62-million.

But Loder again failed to close, blaming a problem with the title. The Travis family sued to have the contract declared null. Loder countersued and said in the suit he still wanted the park and asked the judge to make the sale go through.

The lawsuits were settled last August when the Travises agreed to reinstate the contract and Loder agreed to close by January, but that never happened.