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Club + Resort Business

California Yacht Club Faces Uncertain Future

By C&RB Staff | April 21, 2022

The 100-year-old organization located in Marina del Ray was sold late last year as part of a $1.7 billion deal which included self-storage firm LAACO and the downtown Los Angeles Athletic Club. Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso’s development group is in talks with Los Angeles County officials to secure the Yacht Club’s lease, which is set to expire July 31.

The California Yacht Club is facing an uncertain future, Scuttlebutt Sailing News reported.

The club, which operates from Marina del Ray about six miles north of Los Angeles International Airport, is a prominent racing host. The organization held the 2021 J/70 World Championship and 2022 ILCA Midwinters and will soon be welcoming the 2022 U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded and Doublehanded Championship, Scuttlebutt Sailing News reported.

The California Yacht Club is a for-profit business, and was owned by the Hathaway family for at least four generations, Scuttlebutt Sailing News reported.

The club was sold in late 2021 as part of a $1.7 billion deal which included self-storage firm LAACO and the downtown Los Angeles Athletic Club, Scuttlebutt Sailing News reported. While the downtown club has since been sold, the yacht club is getting shopped as well, and among the shoppers is billionaire Los Angeles developer and mayoral candidate Rick Caruso.

The yacht club’s lease, which carried a minimum annual rent last year of nearly $1.1 million, is set to expire July 31, potentially unmooring it from the property where it operates if it cannot obtain an extension, Scuttlebutt Sailing News reported. Caruso’s development organization has been in talks with Los Angeles County officials to secure the soon-to-expire lease, and since he already holds parcels on either side of the club, the corner of the harbor could be the site of another one of his mega-projects.

While the developer, whose net worth is estimated at $4.3 billion by Forbes, isn’t revealing his intentions, he does do boating with his 100 million 65m yacht Invictus, Scuttlebutt Sailing News reported.

The California Yacht Club was founded in 1922 and moved to its present site in 1967.

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‘Nothing left’: After California Yacht Club fire, residents mourn loss of a beloved spot

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In an instant, an overnight seaside blaze engulfed decades’ worth of boating trophies, historical artifacts and cherished memorabilia at the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey on Monday.

Fire crews attempted to control the blaze as heavy smoke and flames consumed the two-story building. By the time they had subdued the fire two hours later, only the skeletal remnants of the clubhouse were left standing.

John Myers, senior vice president of the club, said the blaze had been reported by an employee working late in the clubhouse Monday night. The fire spared the remainder of the facilities on the ground, including the docks and the yachts moored there. But the clubhouse, and particularly its second floor, was all but wiped out.

“We are working closely with the Los Angeles County Fire Department in their investigation of the cause of the incident and will share those findings when they become available to us,” Myers said.

Members are left mourning, comparing the loss to the death of a loved one.

Jennifer Dakoske Koslu awoke in Rancho Mirage at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, before the sun had risen, to find her phone inundated with text messages from club members.

The first message she read simply stated, “The CYC is gone.”

“As soon as I opened my phone, it went to a link on the Citizen app and saw a video of the club burning. I was shocked,” Dakoske Koslu said.

For the last 24 years, Dakoske Koslu and her family have been dedicated members of the CYC, whose clubhouse is a few miles away from their home in Playa del Rey. She said it is where her children have grown up, familiarizing themselves with every inch.

“I remember taking my son there on the Fourth of July when he was just 3 weeks old. It was the first place we went with him as a newborn,” Dakoske Koslu said.

She and her husband biked to the club in the aftermath of the fire, greeted by the charred remains of the building on Wednesday afternoon.

“The destruction is unbelievable. It’s clear that the fire was burning intensely on the second floor,” Dakoske Koslu said. “There’s nothing left.”

The second floor once housed a collection of the club’s prestigious racing trophies, kept on display for members and visitors. The fire melted all but a single salvageable California Cup. Most notably, the priceless King of Spain Trophy, acquired in 1929 from King Alfonso XIII, was lost.

Additionally, the club lost cherished photographs of every past commodore, a significant position within a yacht club. Members said they didn’t know if anyone had digitized the images of the commodores or of the club’s founders.

“We would tell yachting stories at the bar around lots of memorabilia, and the yachting artifacts behind the bar are all gone now,” Tom Materna said. “The yacht club provided us a facility for the off-the-water celebrations after hard-fought competition on the water.”

The CYC dates to the early 1920s, started by boat owners from the Los Angeles Athletic Club and other yacht clubs. The Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the first clubhouse in 1922, designed by famed architect Edwin Bergstrom, co-designer of the Pentagon.

In 1965, the yacht club submitted a proposal for an all-encompassing $1-million, two-story, 10,000-square-foot clubhouse on four acres off Admiralty Way. Members envisioned a state-of-the-art facility with 170 boat slips, a guest dock, a small boat hoist and a dry land storage facility for boats. The clubhouse that resulted was dedicated on June 10, 1967.

Then-Commodore William A. DeGroot Jr. told The Times that the triangular parcel of land on which the clubhouse still sits is a “perfectly logical place for a club facility, and a commanding view down the main channel of the marina.”

Though the building has historical significance to its members, it does not have a historic designation, according to Linda Dishman, president of the Los Angeles Conservancy.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and so grateful for the outpouring of support from the community and our members,” Myers said. “CYC has been a beacon for the nautical community for the past 101 years.”

Materna, 68, first found out about the fire through Facebook as friends posted videos and photos of the damage Tuesday morning. Then he began receiving calls and text messages from friends.

“Everybody woke up in the morning and realized we’d lost a significant part of the sailing community,” Materna said.

His connection to the club dates back nearly 52 years, to when he was just 16 years old. After spending 30 years sailing professionally with Hobie Cats, mainly racing catamarans — a watercraft with two parallel hulls of equal size — he recently served as a crew member on other club members’ racing yachts.

The CYC is pivotal in the boat racing community, organizing and hosting events such as the Optimist National Championship and Junior Olympic trials, Materna said. He fondly remembers the hundreds of people from across the globe converging on the marina for similar events.

The main topic among members now is what’s next for the club. Dakoske Koslu noted that the club’s ownership changed over the last few years, and many are unsure and concerned about the club’s continuation after the fire.

The club relocated to the marina in 1967, leasing the land it sits on from the county.

“I don’t think the county has really valued the contributions of the California Yacht Club as an important part of the Marina. They value Trader Joe’s because it’s more money for them,” Dakoske Koslu said.

Dakoske Koslu said she’s seen numerous small marine-oriented businesses displaced from the marina, making way for more commercialized developments such as Trader Joe’s and Recreational Equipment Inc.

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Anthony De Leon is a 2023-24 reporting fellow at the Los Angeles Times. Born in Fresno to a Chicano family, he pursued his higher education in his hometown, earning an associate‘s degree in journalism from Fresno City College and then completing a bachelor’s in media, communications and journalism at Fresno State. He went on to complete his master’s in media innovation at the University of Nevada, Reno.

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CALIFORNIA YACHT CLUB

Founded originally in 1922 by yachtsmen including Charles Hathaway and Frank Garbutt, the California Yacht Club's first clubhouse was built in Wilmington, CA in Los Angeles' inner harbor (berths nos. 192 & 193), just opposite Terminal Island. Close by were the yards of renowned yacht builders Wilmington Boat Works and Fellows & Stewart (second location). In the club's inaugural year, member yachtsmen formed the first Star class fleet on the Pacific coast. Involved in all aspect of the sport, the club has encouraged a variety of pleasure boating, first in Los Angeles Harbor, and now in Santa Monica Bay.

Over the years CYC has been the club for numerous prominent yachtsmen including Merritt Adamson, Pierpont Davis, Roy E. Disney, J. Paul Getty, Samuel K. Rindge, William Stewart, James Kilroy and navigator extraodinaire, Ben Mitchell. Movie mogul Cecil B. DeMille once served as a trustee of the club and donated a gold cup for powerboat racing. Comedy film producers Al Christie and Hal Roach were both deeply involved in club activities in the twenties and thirties.

Power boating has always been a part of the club's mission along with sailing and rowing. The first CYC powerboat regatta was run in 1922 and the winner was none less than the famous Gar Wood in his Harmsworth Trophy winner Miss America. CYC's Catalina Challenge race for powerboats has been run annually since 1922.

A fire on Thanksgiving Day, 1930 severely damaged the original clubhouse although the heroic efforts of some members saved all of the trophies.

In 1932, several CYC members figured prominently in the sailing events at the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Owen Churchill, inventor of the SwimFin, won the gold medal in the Eight-Metre Class with Angelita.

Unfortunately, the club was forced to relinquish its key location in the East Basin to the Coast Guard for the war effort in 1941. A dormant period followed.

With the development of the long-awaited Marina Del Rey in the early 1960s, the club reformed in '63 and elected Fritz Overton, Commodore in 1923, as head of the "new" club. In 1966, they opened the modern clubhouse and marina facility that is their home today. The radial design of the building allows sweeping panoramic views of the marina.

The California Yacht Club is owned by the Hathaway family, owners of the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The annual "Great Catalina to Marina del Rey Rowing and Paddling Event" pays tribute to Charles Hathaway's row in 1976 from Catalina Island to the club on his 50th birthday.

The unique combination of private ownership and annually elected flag officers has worked well to establish California Yacht Club as one of the outstanding clubs in the nation.

Published on April 20th, 2022 | by Editor

Unclear future for California Yacht Club

Published on April 20th, 2022 by Editor -->

As North America’s largest man-made small-craft harbor, Marina del Rey sits roughly six miles north of Los Angeles International Airport, offering a desirable coastal community with waterfront views, aquatic sports, and award-winning restaurants.

The harbor is also home to several yachting hubs, with California Yacht Club as the prominent racing host.

The club held the 2021 J/70 World Championship and 2022 ILCA Midwinters and will soon be welcoming the 2022 U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded and Doublehanded Championship. Each summer it hosts the harbor’s Wednesday keelboat series.

But unique in the scope of clubs, California Yacht Club is a for-profit business, and after the Hathaway family provided at least four generations of stable ownership, this cornerstone of yachting is a rocking boat.

The club was sold in late 2021 as part of a $1.7 billion deal which included self-storage firm LAACO and the downtown Los Angeles Athletic Club. While the downtown club has since been sold, the yacht club is getting shopped as well, and among the shoppers is billionaire Los Angeles developer and mayoral candidate Rick Caruso.

The yacht club’s lease, which carried a minimum annual rent last year of nearly $1.1 million, is set to expire July 31, potentially unmooring it from the property where it operates if it cannot obtain an extension.

Caruso’s development organization has been in talks with Los Angeles County officials to secure the soon-to-expire lease, and as he already holds parcels on either side of the club, the highly coveted corner of the harbor could be the site of another one of his mega-projects.

While the developer, whose net worth is estimated at $4.3 billion by Forbes, isn’t revealing his intentions, he does do boating with his 100 million 65m yacht Invictus.

The California Yacht Club was founded in 1922 and moved to its present site in 1967, offering one of the finest boat anchorages along with elite services for junior and adult membership.

Tags: California Yacht Club

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'Nothing left': After California Yacht Club fire, residents mourn loss of a beloved spot

In an instant, an overnight seaside blaze engulfed decades' worth of boating trophies, historical artifacts and cherished memorabilia at the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey on Monday.

Fire crews attempted to control the blaze as heavy smoke and flames consumed the two-story building. By the time they had subdued the fire two hours later, only the skeletal remnants of the clubhouse were left standing.

John Myers, senior vice president of the club, said the blaze had been reported by an employee working late in the clubhouse Monday night. The fire spared the remainder of the facilities on the ground, including the docks and the yachts moored there. But the clubhouse, and particularly its second floor, was all but wiped out.

“We are working closely with the Los Angeles County Fire Department in their investigation of the cause of the incident and will share those findings when they become available to us,” Myers said.

Members are left mourning, comparing the loss to the death of a loved one.

Jennifer Dakoske Koslu awoke in Rancho Mirage at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, before the sun had risen, to find her phone inundated with text messages from club members.

The first message she read simply stated, "The CYC is gone."

“As soon as I opened my phone, it went to a link on the Citizen app and saw a video of the club burning. I was shocked,” Dakoske Koslu said.

For the last 24 years, Dakoske Koslu and her family have been dedicated members of the CYC, whose clubhouse is a few miles away from their home in Playa del Rey. She said it is where her children have grown up, familiarizing themselves with every inch.

“I remember taking my son there on the Fourth of July when he was just 3 weeks old. It was the first place we went with him as a newborn," Dakoske Koslu said.

She and her husband biked to the club in the aftermath of the fire, greeted by the charred remains of the building on Wednesday afternoon.

“The destruction is unbelievable. It's clear that the fire was burning intensely on the second floor,” Dakoske Koslu said. “There's nothing left.”

The second floor once housed a collection of the club's prestigious racing trophies, kept on display for members and visitors. The fire melted all but a single salvageable California Cup. Most notably, the priceless King of Spain Trophy, acquired in 1929 from King Alfonso XIII, was lost.

Additionally, the club lost cherished photographs of every past commodore, a significant position within a yacht club. Members said they didn't know if anyone had digitized the images of the commodores or of the club's founders.

“We would tell yachting stories at the bar around lots of memorabilia, and the yachting artifacts behind the bar are all gone now,” Tom Materna said. “The yacht club provided us a facility for the off-the-water celebrations after hard-fought competition on the water.”

The CYC dates to the early 1920s, started by boat owners from the Los Angeles Athletic Club and other yacht clubs. The Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the first clubhouse in 1922, designed by famed architect Edwin Bergstrom, co-designer of the Pentagon.

In 1965, the yacht club submitted a proposal for an all-encompassing $1-million, two-story, 10,000-square-foot clubhouse on four acres off Admiralty Way. Members envisioned a state-of-the-art facility with 170 boat slips, a guest dock, a small boat hoist and a dry land storage facility for boats. The clubhouse that resulted was dedicated on June 10, 1967.

Then-Commodore William A. DeGroot Jr. told The Times that the triangular parcel of land on which the clubhouse still sits is a “perfectly logical place for a club facility, and a commanding view down the main channel of the marina.”

Though the building has historical significance to its members, it does not have a historic designation, according to Linda Dishman, president of the Los Angeles Conservancy.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and so grateful for the outpouring of support from the community and our members,” Myers said. “CYC has been a beacon for the nautical community for the past 101 years.”

Materna, 68, first found out about the fire through Facebook as friends posted videos and photos of the damage Tuesday morning. Then he began receiving calls and text messages from friends.

“Everybody woke up in the morning and realized we'd lost a significant part of the sailing community,” Materna said.

His connection to the club dates back nearly 52 years, to when he was just 16 years old. After spending 30 years sailing professionally with Hobie Cats, mainly racing catamarans — a watercraft with two parallel hulls of equal size — he recently served as a crew member on other club members' racing yachts.

The CYC is pivotal in the boat racing community, organizing and hosting events such as the Optimist National Championship and Junior Olympic trials, Materna said. He fondly remembers the hundreds of people from across the globe converging on the marina for similar events.

The main topic among members now is what's next for the club. Dakoske Koslu noted that the club's ownership changed over the last few years, and many are unsure and concerned about the club's continuation after the fire.

The club relocated to the marina in 1967, leasing the land it sits on from the county.

“I don't think the county has really valued the contributions of the California Yacht Club as an important part of the Marina. They value Trader Joe's because it's more money for them,” Dakoske Koslu said.

Dakoske Koslu said she’s seen numerous small marine-oriented businesses displaced from the marina, making way for more commercialized developments such as Trader Joe's and Recreational Equipment Inc.

Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .

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Searching for Answers: California Yacht Club Destroyed by Fire

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Investigators searched Tuesday for the cause of a fire that destroyed the California Yacht Club, a fixture in Marina del Rey for half a century.

The early morning blaze injured two firefighters and left longtime club members and patrons devastated by the sight of a local institution left largely in rubble.

The flames were reported shortly before midnight Monday at the California Yacht Club in the 4400 block of Admiralty Way, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The fire quickly went to a second alarm as on-scene commanders summoned more resources to the scene.

Two firefighters suffered injuries described as moderate while battling the flames and were taken to a hospital. Both were treated and later released.

The yacht club was founded in 1922 in Wilmington Harbor near San Pedro and the current facility in Marina del Rey was built in 1967, according to the club’s website.

Jeff Jackson, a Marina del Rey resident and longtime member of the club, shot cell phone video of the fire from his nearby 14th-floor condo. He told reporters the club was a welcoming gathering place.

“It just breaks my heart,” Jackson said. “I don’t know what they’re going to do for Christmas. … It doesn’t feel like a yacht club at all. It just feels like — I call it my `Cheers’ bar because it’s just so warm and inviting and as soon as you walk in the door, it’s `Hi J.J., how are you? How are the kids?’ And so it’s a very personal club. And I think anyone who is a member knows what I’m speaking of and the warmth and love we feel for them and they feel for us.”

Jackson said the club had recently switched to new owners, who were considering plans for remodeling the building.

A man who said he was the club’s former owner told OnScene.TV his father helped build the structure in the 1960s.

“This has been my home for, you know, 40 years, 50 years,” he said. “… It’s been a home for so many people. We are so heartbroken right now.”

According to reports from the scene, two employees may have been inside the building when the fire broke out, possibly near the kitchen. The cause of the blaze, however, remained under investigation.

The fire was restricted to the building, and no boats were damaged.

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Massive fire guts historic California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey

Firefighters worked overnight Monday to extinguish a blaze that erupted at a historic yacht club in Marina del Rey.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department received a call around 11:30 p.m. Monday for a structure fire at the California Yacht Club in the 4400 block of Admiralty Way, said Fred Fielding, a Fire Department spokesperson.

Crews arrived to find heavy smoke and fire engulfing the two-story building, fire officials said.

Video from news outlets showed large flames consuming the structure as smoke billowed overhead. Multiple firetrucks and firefighters were called in to help contain the blaze.

Two firefighters suffered moderate injuries and were taken to a hospital, Fielding said. The extent of their injuries and their status was not immediately known.

The blaze was knocked down just before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Jeremy Stafford, supervising fire dispatcher at the L.A. County Fire Department.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Stafford said.

The California Yacht Club was started in 1922 by yachtsman from the Los Angeles Athletic Club and other yacht clubs, according to the club's website .

Representatives for the club did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .

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California's Boating & Fishing News

Two Southern California yacht clubs recognized on Top 50 list

Platinum Clubs organization names Newport Harbor YC and San Diego YC to worldwide compilation.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA—Newport Harbor and San Diego yacht clubs both earned a spot on the Top 50 Platinum Yacht Clubs for 2020-2021, it was recently announced. The worldwide list is compiled by Platinum Clubs of the World.

Placing on the list means a yacht club is presented with the title of “Five Star Clubs of Excellence.”

San Diego YC was founded in 1886 and has recently hosted sailing events such as Women’s Winter Invitational, Yachting Cup, the CA500, the SoCal 300, Dutch Shoe Marathon, International Masters Regatta and Lipton Cup.

Newport Harbor YC first opened its doors in 1916 and hosts the Newport to Cabo Race every two years, among other regattas.

Other yacht clubs making the Top 50 list included: Annapolis Yacht Club, Beach Point Club, Chicago Yacht Club, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Nassau Yacht Club (Bahamas), Raffles Marina (Singapore), Real Club Nautico de Vigo (Spain), Royal Bombay Yacht Club (India), Royal Cork Yacht Club (Ireland), The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (Australia), Société des Régates du Havre (France), Yacht Club de Monaco and Yacht Club Santo Amaro (Brazil).

Two Southern California yacht clubs earned an Honorable Mention, scoring within three points of the Top 50 list: Balboa Yacht Club (Newport Beach) and California Yacht Club (Marina del Rey).

Fifty yacht clubs are selected based upon points awarded by a selected panel. A yacht club must score at least 8 points to qualify for the Top 50 list. Scoring is awarded as follows: 100 points for a top three club, 80 points for a ranking between four and 10, 60 points for 11 to 25 ranking, 40 points for 26-60 ranking, 20 points for 51-75 ranking and 10 points for 76-100 ranking.

Voting was conducted by 116 panelists from all around the world; panelists hailed from the United States, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, The Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Arab Emirates. Panelists vote every two years (odd years). Finalists are selected based upon submitted recommendations from panelists and applications from yacht clubs from around the world. A final ballot is eventually created and sent out to panelists. There is a 30-day voting period, with the election conducted electronically (via a third party).

“Points are awarded by the position and ranking that the panelist assigns to each club. The total number of points is calculated and divided by the total number of panelists who have visited a club to determine the final points score,” a Platinum Clubs of the World statement about the voting process said.

The Club Leaders Forum Advisory Board of the Platinum Clubs of the World compiled the Top 50 list. Platinum Clubs of America have been recognizing top yacht clubs for more than 20 years.

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Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) abyc.org 7201 E. Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90803 (562) 434-9955 Fax (562)434-2267 Total: 370 Families are members Facilities: ABYC’s distinctive two story waterfront clubhouse is ideally located on property that has a large boatyard,...

Harbor Association Members

San Diego Association of Yacht Clubs (SDAYC)

San Diego Association of Yacht Clubs (SDAYC) 3517 Camino del Rio South, Ste 208 San Diego, CA 92108 sdayc.org 619-282-505

Association of Santa Monica Bay Yacht Clubs (ASMBYC)

Association of Santa Monica Bay Yacht Clubs (ASMBYC) asmbyc.org

Association of Santa Barbara Channel Yacht Clubs (ASBYC)

Association of San Pedro Bay Yacht Clubs (ASPBYC)

Association of San Pedro Bay Yacht Clubs (ASPBYC) aspbyc.org

Association of Orange Coast Yacht Clubs (AOCYC)

Association of Orange Coast Yacht Clubs (AOCYC) aocyc.org PO Box 12245 Newport Beach, CA 92658

Affiliations

Pacific Coast Yachting Association (PCYA)

Pacific Coast Yachting Association (PCYA) PCYA.info

Yacht Racing Union of Southern California (YRUSC)

Yacht Racing Union of Southern California YRUSC.org

Recreational Boaters Of California (RBOC)

Recreational Boaters Of California (RBOC) RBOC.org 925 L Street, Suite 260 Sacramento, CA 95814

US Sailing USSailing.org 1 Roger Williams University Way Bristol, RI 02809

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Yacht club’s new owners envision creating a ‘destination’

The 37,000-square-foot Treasure Island Yacht and Tennis Club will soon have a new lease on life as an entertainment and hospitality destination with pickleball facilities.

Its new ownership group has no plans to redevelop the embattled property that recently changed hands twice in less than five months. West Hollywood, California-based Tavaco Properties acquired the 7.76-acre waterfront club in late December from an entity connected to Bank OZK.

Tavaco officials now seek individual operators to upgrade and transform the site’s multiple venues. Managing partner Sam Tavakoli told the Catalyst that once-popular weekend pool parties could return in March.

“Many people out there have disposable income, and they want entertainment,” Tavakoli said. “We want to help fill that void and give people what they want.”

He plans to convert the club’s six tennis courts into pickleball facilities. Tavakoli said the building’s first floor, currently vacant and used for storage, could house a pro shop.

The area could also house a small café and retail store catering to the 47-slip marina’s tenants. Tavakoli called rental interest “on fire.”

“The property was so mismanaged before that they weren’t even signing leases,” he added. “We’ve been filling up the marina and getting a ton of activity there.”

Tavakoli said the overarching goal is offering a “club-like feel” to the general public. He said visitors could play pickleball, work out at a downstairs gym, have a couple of cocktails by the pool and a nice meal at the second-floor restaurant.

Tavaco Properties has no plans to redevelop the nearly eight-acre waterfront property.

Tavakoli said discussions with numerous local and national hospitality groups to operate the restaurant are ongoing. However, he pledged that the facility would not feature a chain or “tourist trap.”

The firm also seeks long-term tenants to oversee the third-floor event space. Tavakoli said the venue, which includes a fully operational kitchen, is move-in ready for someone with a catering and liquor license.

“But while that’s being finalized, we’re speaking with local operators for bringing back those weekend pool parties,” he added. “Again, we are not operators – we will not be hosting these. But there’s an immense interest.

“Truly, we’re trying to create a destination here.”

Tavakoli said the pickleball facilities would “absolutely” have a separate operator. However, he said the local market’s popularity has garnered interest from national groups who want to manage the event space, restaurant and pool.

Tavakoli stressed the importance of finding ideal operators and setting them up for success. He also wants to ensure synergies between the tenants.

While the long-term leasing process will take some time, Tavakoli hopes to find groups that can immediately utilize the event space and pool area. He also noted the club’s historically “astronomically high” liquor sales.

In January, Bank OZK’s property manager said the eight-acre parcel, the largest on Treasure Island, is “sitting useless” due to state statutes that prevent local governments from increasing density on barrier islands. St. Petersburg businessman Bill Edwards, the club’s former owner, sued the City of Treasure Island in November 2022 amid a zoning dispute.

Tavaco remains unphased by a lack of redevelopment opportunities. “Why develop condos when you have such a nice venue, and you have a target audience surrounding it,” Tavakoli said. “That’s our opinion.”

Tavaco Properties has received an influx of interest in marina slip rentals.

John Burpee, CEO of Seminole-based John Burpee & Associates, managed the property after Bank OZK acquired it from Edwards in August 2023 for $15.1 million. He said it was previously under contract with a local developer who defaulted on the contract.

However, he noted Tavaco was an all-cash, fast-close buyer. Founded in 1987, the firm’s website boasts extensive experience with nonperforming loans, value-added investments and repositioning projects.

Tavakoli said the company owns assets throughout Tampa Bay and has kept a close eye on the region’s “impressive” growth. He called the opportunity to acquire eight acres of waterfront land in Treasure Island “tough to pass up.”

“We want to create a venue of entertainment and hospitality for the community,” Tavakoli added. “That is where the void is. I can’t emphasize that enough.”

He said potential operators are considering “pouring tons of money” into the club. Tavakoli also stressed that a local group could open the pool and event space “tomorrow.”

He said the firm intends to purchase additional properties in the area. Tavakoli credited Mayor Tyler Payne and other Treasure Island officials for their support throughout the process.

“It’s so nice to see a city where the officials care and want to see the city and operators succeed,” Tavakoli said. “It’s very refreshing.”

Hugh Hazeltine

February 7, 2024at3:04 pm

I will miss the tennis courts

February 7, 2024at1:35 pm

Are they going to pay the vendors that have outstanding unpaid accounts?

Kathleen Mendelssohn

February 7, 2024at11:26 am

I hope they continue with Jetride boat club… would possibly be a good draw for them…excited about pickleball

Jennie Renfrow

February 5, 2024at4:17 pm

Yay! This is what I was hoping for!!

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