Marina at Edison Ford

THE DEAL: Royal Palm Marina purchase and conversion into Marina at Edison Ford

BUYER: Royal Palm Marina LLC (principal: Peter G. Pohlmann), Naples
SELLER: Royal Palm Yacht Club Inc.
PROPERTY: 2301, 2360 and 2370 W. First St., Fort Myers
PRICE: $4.5 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $400,000, June 1987; $40,900, April 1971 and $700, July 1975
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Goldstein Buckley Cechman Rice & Purtz PA, Fort Myers

What: Grant Phelan, co-owner of Pinchers Crab Shack; investor Grant Pohlmann; and an undisclosed third partner purchased the 1960s-era former Royal Palm Yacht Club to convert it into the Marina at Edison Ford. The 29,290-square-foot, two-story building is being renovated to house a Pinchers seafood restaurant on the top level and a private dining and catering area on the ground floor. As the new name suggests, the new venture will also feature an affiliation and covered access with the nearby Edison & Ford Winter Estates to provide food and beverage for events and other large groups.

Conditions: Faced with a declining membership, the Royal Palm Yacht Club decided to sell its building.

The Find: In February, Linda Haas of Commercial Property Specialists Inc. learned the yacht club would likely be closing. She called Phelan and suggested the property for Pinchers. Phelan's seafood restaurant group has been growing aggressively recently, adding new locations in Key West and Tarpon Pointe, among others.

Through happenstance Pohlmann, who has invested along with Phelan in the past, had also seen news coverage on a local TV network regarding the falling membership and financial troubles at the private yacht club and was equally interested in the future of the club building.
Haas is credited with the important early introductions that gave the three partners a leg up on negotiations to buy the building before it was put out to the mass market.

Financing: The three partners came up with the down payment, and with SBA financing from Florida Community Bank (two loans totaling $4.4 million) they were able to cover both the purchase and renovations.

Due Diligence: With 90 days to close the deal, the potential buyers met with the city officials and examined the property. They also hired Mike Sheeley with Sheeley Architects Inc. of Fort Myers to design the changes and Dave Douglas of Fort Myers-based David Douglas Associates Inc. for the engineering. Through a bit of luck, Sheeley Architects had handled the Royal Palm Yacht Club's last major renovation in 2007-2008, so it was familiar with the building.

Opportunities and partnerships: Phelan says he was surprised to learn that while the Edison & Ford Winter Estates drew 220,000 people annually, it didn't have an association with a restaurant for events. The partners reached out to the estate's president and CEO Chris Pendleton, and a non-formal partnership was arranged. The agreement was built around cross marketing: the new Marina at Edison Ford would create a covered walkway between it and the estates, and the Edison & Ford Winter Estates would suggest its corporate business to the new catering event business and/or Pinchers. This agreement helped persuade the partners to develop a second kitchen area on the first floor to accommodate the large crowds.

“The barriers to entry with Edison Ford as a partner are huge,” Pohlmann says.

The new owners also decided to largely give up the regular monthly rental income for the 45 boat slips in favor of using the boat slips as additional free restaurant parking.

“There's not a tremendous amount of revenue in leasing boats slips,” Phelan says. “There are only a handful of restaurants where you're assured of getting dockage, and during season it can be very hit or miss. I'm assuming this makes us one of the biggest [restaurants by docks] in the state.”

This boat parking also led the partners to a deal to serve as the home of the 270-member Southwest Florida Yacht Club, particularly for weekend events. They are also in talks with Captiva Cruises to be a water tourism spot.

Opening: The new Marina at Edison Ford is scheduled to open in February.