Huizengas
2/6/2006 6:16:47 PM by AMY MARTINEZ
If you own a marina with more than 50 boat slips in South Florida, there's a good chance the Huizenga family has paid you a visit.
Wayne Huizenga Jr., president of Huizenga Holdings, said he's been to virtually every marina of that size over the past two years.
Huizenga, the 43-year-old son of Miami Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga, says he likes running marinas and wants to buy more.
Huizenga Holdings already owns five marinas from Jensen Beach to Miami and will soon take on a sixth. Stuart officials recently selected Huizenga Holdings to build and run a new, 100-slip marina.
The family's interest in marinas has turned heads in a mostly fragmented industry dominated by mom-and-pop operators.
These are anxious times in the marina business. Residential developers are buying marinas and replacing them with large, waterfront condominiums. Some say that's making it difficult for people to find places to store their boats.
Huizenga said he's committed to running marinas and has no intention to replace them with condos, or to turn around and sell to developers.
"Why sell? Just so we can make a profit?" Huizenga said. "When we find a business that's good, we like to stay in it."
Vera Locke, executive director of the Marine Industries Association of the Treasure Coast, is among those paying close attention to what the Huizengas do. Whether or not their involvement is good for the business depends on "if they turn everything into condos," Locke said.
"We, of course, hope they leave as many slips as possible open to the general public." Huizenga lives in Fort Lauderdale with his wife, Fonda, and their four children, ages 12, 10, 4 and 3. He said Wayne Sr. provides vision and direction, while he oversees the day-to-day operations.
Huizenga said he looks for marinas that allow him to capitalize on the family's reputation for luxury yachting - the Huizengas owned Fort Lauderdale's Bahia Mar and Pier 66 up until last year - as well as marinas that can be purchased at a "fair price." Such marinas might have suffered damage in a hurricane and are in need of a cash infusion.
"We have no problem paying a premium for a great facility or a fair price for a facility that needs upgrading," he said.
Huizenga said Miami-Dade and Broward land prices have gotten too rich for him, so he's looking northward.
"For future business opportunities, I like Palm Beach and Martin better," Huizenga said.
Huizenga said he spends much of his time at the Rybovich Spencer boat yard in West Palm Beach, where he's overseeing the development of a $100 million mixed-use project, which will include more slips for megayachts, retail shops, a restaurant, and two residential towers.
Plans for the two towers have raised some concern one would replace the boatyard. Huizenga said he intends to keep the boatyard for as long as "the business is viable."
He declined to discuss the financial terms of his deals, saying that's "one of the nice things about being a private company."
Huizenga dismissed any suggestion that he's out to revolutionize the marina business, just as his father changed the way people see movies.
"We don't foresee us becoming a giant in the marina business. There's not enough opportunity," Huizenga said. "We just look at it as a great family business," he added. "It's not a Blockbuster story."
MARINA HOLDINGS
Huizenga Holdings of Fort
Lauderdale owns five marinas.
They are: