In the News

Morningstar buys first Florida property

Marina Dockage - 04/01/2009

USA : As part of an aggressive
acquisition plan, North Carolina-based
Morningstar Marinas has acquired
Jacksonville (formerly Mayport)
Marina in Mayport, Florida. This is the
ninth acquired marina for Morningstar
Properties and its first property in
Florida. The marina was purchased for
an undisclosed amount in partnership
with Harrison Street Real Estate in
Chicago, Illinois.

The Jacksonville Marina is located at
the mouth of the St Johns River in the
northeastern section of Florida and acts as
a logical stopping point for boaters moving
inland from the Atlantic Ocean and vice
versa. It currently has drystack storage
for up to 210 boats, 10 slips, a shipstore,
a fuelling system and a service building.
Morningstar intends to significantly
upgrade the property.
"The renovation s will include dredging,
replacing the bulkhead, building new
docks and an overall property upgrade
to redevelop the marina into a first-class
boating and fishing facility," says Matthew
Shapiro, Morningstar's assistant vice president.
Pending permits, Shapiro plans
for renovations to be completed by mid July
of this year.
Morningstar's intention is to purchase
25 marinas by 2012. Its main focus is on
well-situated marinas that have the ability
to offer a range of boating and fishing
services to high-end clientele. According
to Shapiro, due to Morningstar's main
location in North Carolina, the company
is focusing its efforts on the Eastern
Seaboard of the US, specifically Maryland
to Florida.
Morningstar Marinas is the acquisition
arm of Morningstar Properties, a 28-year old
business that specialises in mini-storage
facilities, construc tion and development.
The organisation owns storage units in
locations up and down the east coast
of the US . It s in-house construction
and development expertise includes
masonry, steel and pre-cast concrete panels
for mixed-use developments in rapidly
expanding suburban markets.
The company began purchasing and
redeveloping marinas in 2004. Other
marinas under Morningstar ownership
include Peninsula Yacht Club, King 's
Point, Eaton Ferry and Skippers Landing
in North Carolina; Reserve Harbor Yacht
Club in South Carolina; Bahia Bleu and
Golden Isles in Georgia; and Gwynn's
Island in Virginia.