A boatyard and marina in the Florida Keys was just scooped up by a company tied to the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based baked goods producer, Bama Companies, for $5.75 million.
Marathon Boat Yard Marine Center at 2059 Overseas Highway sold to Silent Hunter Boat Yard, LLC, which is led by Bama’s CEO Paula Marshall and her family office’s accountant Matt Alley, records show.
The family-owned and operated business opened in 1937 and is now in its fourth generation of ownership. It produces a number of baked goods, as well as frozen baked and unbaked biscuits for the food service industry in the U.S. and internationally. Records show Marshall also owns a nearby home in Marathon, which she bought in 2011 for $2.7 million.
The seller of the marina is Southern Exposure Associates Inc., led by Bruce and Sherry Popham. The Pophams operate the center and paid about $1.9 million for the 12-acre property in 1998.
Rick Roughen of KW Commercial represented the sellers. The property spans about 6 acres above seawater and consists of 3.5 acres of submerged land. An additional 3.25 acres are protected mangroves, Roughen said.
Marathon Boat Yard Marine Center is just one mile west of the Seven Mile Bridge, and offers access to large and heavily loaded vessels coming from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The site also allows for additional commercial development on more than 60,000 square feet of space on the property, Roughen said.
The market for marinas in South Florida is hot. In March, Safe Harbor Marinas, a major international owner and operator of marinas, paid $61 million for three marinas in North Palm Beach and Riviera Beach. Marina operators and developers are also buying land in areas like Fort Lauderdale and Deerfield Beach.