MarineMax gets key county approval for St. Pete-Clearwater airport proposal
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 14, 2022

Pinellas County commissioners have approved a 50-year ground lease with Clearwater-based MarineMax Inc. at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.

The lease is for 9.5 acres on the airport’s property, and is expected to lead to the creation of hundreds of jobs and “inject millions into the local economy as the site is developed,” according to a release.

“We are very pleased to bring this economic development opportunity forward with one of the few undeveloped parcels of waterfront land in Pinellas County,” Airport Director Tom Jewsbury said in a release. “The MarineMax project is a job creator for both construction and manufacturing, and the 50-year lease provides a new significant source of revenue for the airport.”

Last year the county issued a request for negotiations to identify economic development options for the property, and MarineMax provided the sole proposal. MarineMax (NYSE: HZO), a recreational boat and yacht retailer, partnered with Intrepid Powerboats and Wannemacher Jensen Architects on the project.

Plans for the site include a 132,000-square-foot manufacturing building, a parking garage with approximately 400 spaces, a travel lift well for hauling and launching yachts and a waterside docking facility for their mooring yachts.

Phase one is expected to be completed by year three of occupancy. The project will be built on property located east of Bayside Bridge and north of Roosevelt Boulevard. The site had been developed in the 1970s as a restaurant and banquet facility, which closed and later became The Turtle Club. When that closed, the county demolished the remaining structure.

The agreement establishes a rate of $0.60 per square foot and has a scaled payment schedule.

MarineMax has more than 125 locations worldwide. The new facility is expected to have 280 trades workers, 20 administrative support staff and 315 temporary construction-related jobs.