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2021 March April Marina World

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  • Vessels
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  • Developments
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  • Drystack
  • Boats
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  • Marine
  • Waterfront
The magazine for the marina industry

WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENTS

WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENTS Billfish Bay Marina in Alabama includes a 500-boat drystack and 145-berth marina. more units that benefit from the proximity to these features, while also reducing construction costs. Ultimately, it is critical to remember that buyers and visitors often remember and value the natural and cultural features that make a place unique at least as much as the shops, restaurants, homes and berths we build for them. This approach can also lead to potential grant funding opportunities that reduce costs and encourage debt and equity funding sources by reducing entitlement delays and associated project costs. The mix of potential product types could include branded residential products in a range of sizes in attached or detached products spread out through a site or concentrated in taller structures, and berthing opportunities that range from indoor drystack facilities to superyacht mooring facilities. Hotels, spas and resort elements can complement restaurants, shopping and other services. In summary, the master planning process must give equal consideration to the appropriate mix of these real estate and marina products, the demands of the project financing structure, the opportunities and limitations of the entitlement process and, most important, the qualities of the site that will attract buyers and make the development distinctive. Marina Santa Cruz – La Paz, Mexico Marina Santa Cruz is located just north of La Paz, Mexico in a sheltered bay off the Sea of Cortez that offers easy access to nearby fishing, island national parks and secluded beaches accessible only by water. The rolling landscape provides stunning views and private coves for three exclusive resort hotels and a mix of branded residential products. The marina basin will provide protected berthing for yachts up to 150m (490ft) out of danger of hurricanes, while also offering a range of smaller wet slips and drystack facilities that will provide access to the water for more moderately priced inland development areas, thereby increasing the value and absorption rate of the overall project. Unique product offerings include floating homes that are buffered from more active areas by stands of protected mangroves. In planning for over two years, the project has completed MIA federal environmental permitting through an Environmental Impact Statement and will be under construction in the autumn of 2021. The regional market includes Cabo San Lucas and Cabo San Jose at the southern tip of the Baha Peninsula, and this project will offer a more secluded environment and more protected boating for tourists and buyers from the USA and Canada in the winter, and Mexico in the summer months, creating year round demand. Placencia Belize Marina and Resort – Placencia, Belize Placencia Belize Marina and Resort is a 265ha (655 acre) development located along a 1.5km (1mi) stretch of beach on the Caribbean Sea protected by one of the largest coral reefs in the world, second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Located at the northern end of the Placencia Peninsula, the project site offers access to both the Caribbean Sea and the protected fishing waters within the protected bay west of the peninsula. The master plan will create a new internal basin harbour on land that has lost its natural character to previous farming activities, and will restore large areas with mangroves and other natural habitat features. A mix of low density waterfront residential areas and clustered higher density resort hotel and active waterfront will offer boating opportunities for superyachts and fishermen. Floating homes clustered along interior lagoons will reduce impacts on poor quality soils while also reducing construction costs and eliminating flooding concerns. Interior shorelines will be lined with mangroves and natural features rather than hardened structures to reduce costs and expand habitat. Most important, this approach is much more environmentally sensitive and establishes a completely different feel and character not found in the region. Billfish Bay Marina – Orange Beach, Alabama The Billfish Bay Marina Resort project is located along the shores of Terry Cove on the Gulf of Mexico. The area is more densely developed than the projects described above, but still incorporates many of the same strategies in balancing development density, product mix and access to natural resources to create a highly desirable waterfront resort. The market analysis identified a programme that includes a fully automated state-of-the-art 500 boat drystack marina facility, 145 berth marina, 50 luxury fishing villas, over 75 luxury condominiums, beach/pool club, multi-storey restaurant, marina ship’s store and over 10,000ft² (929m²) of marine-centric commercial/retail space including boat sales, waterside concessions and floating tiki bar located along a public waterfront promenade. The plan protects over five acres (2ha) of protected wetlands, which make up nearly 20% of the total site. With 800ft (244m) of waterfront, the plan offers public access to shops and 36 www.marinaworld.com – March/April 2021

WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENTS Architectural attention to detail, coupled with an advanced automated boat moving system, will make F3 Marina Fort Lauderdale one of the most impressive drystacks in the world. restaurants while providing exclusive high end residential products. F3 Marina Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale, Florida While less diverse in the product offering than the examples above, F3 Marina Fort Lauderdale re-imagines what is possible in the drystack marina market on an urban infill/brownfield site. Under construction now and opening this autumn, the facility is located on a 0.56ha (1.4 acre) site within a highly developed boating area near the intercoastal access channel to the ocean. The facility includes an automated drystack marina for 240 boats with maximum length of 53ft (16m) and weight of 30,000lbs (13,610kg), within a Category 5 Hurricane rated building that is 131ft (40m) high. The crane handling and launching system allows parking to be provided on the ground floor beneath the structure, along with boater service areas. As the area is very well served by multi-modal public transportation, and services like Uber and Lyft are very convenient and popular, parking requirements were substantially reduced, along with the associated costs. Finally, the project is located near a number of residential properties, which led to extensive entitlement limitations to the shape of the structure to minimise shading, and the inclusion of a range of architectural features that will make this facility one of the most beautiful dry rack marina facilities anywhere. The above article was written by the award-winning team at US-based Edgewater Resources, specialists in marina and waterfront planning, design and engineering. www.edgewaterresources.com MARINAS From the smallest to the largest Any customized solutions for every need Minus Minus top led Geo Aquarius Domyna Link www.marinaworld.com – March/April 2021 37

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