Boating group’s bid to buy Lakebay Marina falls through after owner hikes price
An attempt by a nonprofit boating association to buy the decrepit Lakebay Marina on the Key Peninsula has fallen through, its president said, because the owner suddenly doubled the price.
“I’m incredibly saddened to report that the acquisition of Lakebay is not going to be able to move forward,” said Bob Wise, president of the Recreational Boating Association of Washington, in a news release Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Wise said the current owner of the marina, Mark Scott, raised his asking price from $1.24 million to $3.135 million when the RBAW, citing the coronavirus pandemic, asked for a one-year extension of its purchase agreement.
“We cannot in good conscience agree to those terms,” Wise said.
As a result, he said, the purchase agreement will lapse Sept. 30.
The dilapidated marina with its decaying buildings and scuttled boats has been a major eyesore on the Key Peninsula. The nonprofit RBAW Marine Park Conservancy had hoped to take if over and eventually donate it to the state as part of the state parks system.
In December, 2019, it agreed to pay $1.24 million for the property, which includes the pier, the warehouse and cafe, and five parcels of land surrounding Mayo Cove.
The offer included $250,000 budgeted by Pierce County and an allocation of $100,000 from state of Washington.
But fundraising was difficult due to the pandemic, Wise said, and the organization was able to raise only about $70,000 from private sources. They asked the owner, Scott, for a one-year extension, which it offered to sweeten with $25,000 price increase and an additional $25,000 earnest-money deposit.
Scott replied with a counter-offer of a four-year extension that would have allowed installment payments, but then raised the price by nearly 250 percent, Wise said.
Wise said the conservancy had worked on a grant-funding strategy with the state Recreation and Conservation Office, Department of Natural Resouces, and State Parks that “could have put all the parties in excellent position to finance the acquisition under a 1-year extension.”
But the sudden price increase was a deal-breaker, he said.
Landmark on Peninsula
The historic marina has been a landmark on the Key Peninsula since the 1880s, but it has been in rundown condition for decades. Since acqiuring the property in 2013, Scott has struggled with maintenance and numerous regulatory problems.
Once a 19th Century timber-loading dock, a stop for the famed “Mosquito fleet” of small steamers, and later an egg warehouse, the Lakebay Marina is the only public marine facility on the Key Peninsula, and one of the few fuel docks in the southern part of the Sound.
Scott has struggled to keep up with electrical and structural problems dogging the deteriorating pier and warehouse. At one point, the entire facility was closed by Pierce County until it was brought up to fire and safety codes.
History of problems
The marina and its adjoining Lakebay Cafe reopened in July 2019 following months of reconstruction and work to meet state and county standards.
The marina, cafe and campground were dogged in the past by county permitting and health violations. It was cited in June for an unapproved water system and for not having power in the cafe, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said.
“It struggled, in all honesty, and there have been quite a few issues over the last few years to keep it running,” said county councul member Derek Young, who represents the area.
Over the years, county and state cited Scott in a slew of investigations, including operating an illegal RV park and campground, improper food handling, water and sewer violations, allowing illegal live-aboards, illegal clam and oyster harvesting, and illegal scuttling of boats.
Scott said last year he was being red-taped to death and considered abandoning the property following months of violation notices and issues. Some with mobile homes or boats saw advertisements on Craigslist and began to live on the property without proper facilities, and Scott was caught up in a long-running feud with a tenant who refused to leave.
“The discussion in the community turned to if there is a way to acquire this site.,” Young said. “When the opportunity came up for the recreational boaters, I was pretty excited to help. It’s a huge issue for the community but also boating in south sound in general.”
Young said the county agreed to help fund the acquisition because access for boaters is in the public interest. The appropriation was included in the county budget approved in November.
The marina began as a pier used to transfer lumber for Tacoma in 1884 and was a stop for vessels in the “Mosquito Fleet” of small steamers that plied the sound. It was used as an egg warehouse for the Washington Co-Operative Egg and Poultry Association until 1956.
This story was originally published September 29, 2020 at 11:48 AM.