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Dunedin marina plans sail ahead

By SHEELA RAMAN
Published February 3, 2007

DUNEDIN - New boat slips and a more exclusive marina may soon arrive on Dunedin's shores.

The City Commission on Thursday night unanimously approved a preliminary site plan for a new Marker One Marina, under the ownership of Pinellas Marina LLC, headed by Dunedin businessmen Patrick Sheppard and Michael Sharks.

The new marina would occupy the site of the existing marina and vacant restaurant, formerly Jesse's Dockside, at 343 Causeway Blvd. Pinellas Marina purchased the property for $29-million in March 2006.

With the planned expansion and improvements, the new marina could prove to be an $80-million project, developers have said.

Along with a larger boathouse, it would include a bar and grill, yacht brokerage, clubhouse for marina members and benches for walkers on the Pinellas Trail.

"It is in my client's interests to lush this up, to make it an upscale project," William Fisher, the Clearwater architect for the owners.

The plan calls for replacing the existing 175 covered and uncovered indoor boat storage spaces with 339 covered storage spaces.

The number of wet slips might decrease by four or five, but would remain close to the current number of 144, said Paul Raymond, the Clearwater attorney who represents Pinellas Marina LLC.

Inside the new marina, there will be a grill and bar, a boating supply store, and a yacht brokerage business, said Raymond. There also will be a clubhouse facility with changing rooms and lockers for members.

The new marina would bring a new system of membership.

Now, members lease boat slips from the marina. In the new Marker One Marina, members could either lease spaces or own spaces and rent them to others, if they chose.

The owner has yet to determine exactly how many spaces will be available for lease and how many will be for sale, Raymond said. Those numbers, as well as the cost of renting or owning a slip, will depend on market conditions, he said.

The project, which would be 50 feet tall and 350 feet long, would eliminate the "junkyard look" the marina currently has, Fisher said.

The building will not appear as tall as it is because of its step-back design, which creates a "layer-cake" effect when viewed from afar, he said. Where the building borders the Pinellas Trail, Fisher said he plans to build brick paths and benches where walkers can stop and rest.

Commissioners generally approved of the project, agreeing that it would be the first step to redeveloping the area near the causeway. Their main reservations involved parking and public access to the new marina.

Commissioner Julie Ward Bujalski wondered what the city might do to offer those who have used that property for years some access in the future.

Commissioner Deborah Kynes requested that Pinellas Marina LLC look into every possibility for creating some form of public access to the new marina facility.

The owners are not required to do so by law, however, and the city has no leverage to get Pinellas Marina to take such measures since it complied with every preliminary site plan stipulation the city had.

Robert DiSpirito, Dunedin's new city manager, had similar concerns.

"Not having been in an affluent community before this, my concern here is that people who were once able to afford a slip won't be able to afford one anymore," he said, noting that slips will likely become more expensive in the new marina.

"But on the other hand," he said, "this project is accomplishing the larger goal of preserving water access for the public."

DiSpirito will meet in coming weeks with the owners' representative, Daniel Dennehy, of Trio Management Inc., to discuss ways to make the project more publicly accessible.

"They're asking us to give something we don't have to give," Dennehy said. "But we may very well give some of what they are asking because it would benefit the community and could fit into our financial parameters."

Dennehy said Pinellas Marina LLC is shooting for a March 1 final site plan hearing.

Commissioner Julie Scales was not worried about public access, she said. The new marina would actually increase public access to the water, she said, with a large increase in the number of boat slips.

Although Pinellas Marina went over the city's required minimum of 150 parking spaces and included 62 additional spots, commissioners worried these would not be enough, and traffic for the marina would disrupt the lives of surrounding residents.

In the end, however, they all concluded the project should at least move forward for now.

"I am favorably impressed with the project," said Mayor Bob Hackworth.

Times staff writer Sheela Raman can be reached at sraman@sptimes.com or 727 445-4158.

Fast Facts:

A new Marker One marina

Address: 343 Causeway Blvd., Dunedin

Dry slips, currently: 175

Dry slips, planned: 339

Amenities: Clubhouse, yacht brokerage, bar and grill, connections to the Pinellas Trail.

Trivia tidbit: One of the new owners, Patrick Sheppard, is president of the Clearwater Jazz Holiday Foundation, and recently bought a van for a Dunedin family in need at Christmas.

[Last modified February 3, 2007, 00:00:49]