Lakebay Marina sale closes, putting historic pier on way to become a public park

The long-neglected Lakebay Marina got a new lease on life this week, as the state Department of Natural Resources joined a nonprofit boating association in purchasing the historic facility for eventual rehabilitation as a public park.

The $1.6 million deal with the former marina owner was closed Dec. 28 by DNR and its partner, the Recreational Boating Association of Washington.

“It’s a done deal,” said RBAW President Bob Wise, sounding jubilant. “Nobody thought we could get this done, but we refused to give up. This is an unbelievable asset for the Key Peninsula and the whole South Puget Sound.”

Built in 1928 on the site of one of the original “mosquito fleet” piers in Mayo Cove on the Key Peninsula, the marina and its adjoining cafe had fallen into disrepair in recent years. Some of its outbuildings were demolished as a public hazard by Pierce County.

Money to buy the marina and 2.8 acres of upland and tideland property, adjacent to Penrose Point State Park, came from a $1.776 million Boating Facilities Program Grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office. The grant includes some money for planning and design, but additional grants will be needed for actual construction, Wise said.

“This purchase is a great example of how we all need to work together to make sure Washington remains a great state for boaters,“ said Megan Duffy, the RCO director, in a news release. “The funding came from boaters, through a program that uses boating gas taxes to pay for boating facilities, and was implemented through a state agency-private sector partnership.”

DNR and the boating association plan to renovate the marina, one of only two public piers on the Key Peninsula and one of the few fueling stations in the South Puget Sound. Plans included the addition of picnic areas, public restrooms, recreational moorage and vessel pump-out and fueling stations.

Old docks will come out

The work will probably take two to three years, Wise told The Gateway in an interview, but some demolition could begin as soon as this spring.

“Our most immediate plans are to stabilize the current the infrastructure,” he said. “We’ll be removing the old docks, because they are not safe. We will be remediating some environmental damage due to a fuel tank and starting to plan for the new amenities, including all new docks, utilities, boat ramp and fuel dock.”

DNR will hold a series of public meetings to solicit input about improvements, according to the department.

The DNR and the RBAW are working on a memorandum of agreement that will define how the organizations will work together to complete the restoration, Wise said.

“There a lot of details left to be worked out,” he said. “Right now, we’re all just taking a deep breath after getting the acquisition done. That was the hard part.”

Wise said the ultimate goal is to turn the property over to the state Parks and Recreation Commission to operate as part of a network of Puget Sound marine parks, including Blake Island, Maury Island, McMicken Island, Eagle Island and Hope Island parks.

A landmark for decades

The historic marina has been a landmark on the Key Peninsula since the 1880s when it was a timber-loading dock, a stop for the famed “mosquito fleet” of small steamers, and later an egg warehouse. It was added to the Pierce County Register of Historic Places in 2019.

“It’s just such a cool place,” said Wise, who has visited several times. “It’s got this vibe from the 1940s and 1950s, like you’ve walked into a whole different decade.”

From a boater’s point of view, “the great thing about Lakebay is that it is so close to Seattle and Tacoma, where there are so few amenities for boaters, yet it is quiet and isolated. You would never know that Tacoma is just around the corner.”

The cove and its narrow estuary is “a great place for swimming, sitting on the beach, launching kayaks and paddleboards,” Wise said. “As our shoreline gets more and more built up, preserving public access to water is becoming important.”

On-again, off-again

The sale is a big payday for the former owner, Mark Scott, who had struggled with maintenance and numerous regulatory problems since acquiring the property in 2013. Electrical and structural problems dogged 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.

Scott did not immediately return an email requesting comment.

The sale has been on-again, off-again, as Scott and the RBAW negotiated.

In December 2019, the boater’s association agreed to pay $1.24 million for the property, which includes the pier, a warehouse and cafe, and five parcels of land surrounding Mayo Cove. But the coronavirus pandemic slowed fundraising, and the association asked for a one-year extension. Scott countered by raising his price to $3.135 million.

But Scott relented, and in September 2021 agreed to a price of $1.6 million.

“Mark is a funny guy, but his heart was always in the right place,” Wise said. “He wanted to preserve that marina and its history, and in the end, that’s what he did.”

This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM.