Endeavour Launches Galveston Marina to Land Larger Boats

Houston Business Journal, February 8, 2008,
by Jennifer Dawson

Well-heeled Houston mariners are buying bigger yachts, but finding safe harbor close to home is a problem. Large boat slips are in short supply.

Robin Parsley is floating a project to change all that. The president of Endeavour Holdings Inc. plans to develop a Galveston marina capable of accommodating the biggest yachts, possibly as large as 250 feet long.

"We're building a marina that will be one of the first destinations for mega-yachts in Texas," says Parsley.
Plans for the $110 million project also include retail space and condo units.

In boating circles, a "yacht" is typically longer than 50 feet, and a mega-yacht stretches beyond 100 feet. Then there are the monster yachts -- almost as long as a football field -- that do not come to Galveston.

"It's because they have no place to go," says Parsley.
He has a personal interest in the yacht-sized problem as owner of the 72-foot "Rock N Robin."
Parsley docks at the Lakewood Yacht Club, one of few in the area equipped to handle larger boats.

The Clear Lake club has about 10 slips for larger yachts, maybe in the 140-foot range. The ability to accommodate 250-foot yachts would make Endeavour's isle marina unique.
Gary Hare, manager of Texas Sportfishing Yacht Sales, says rising sales of larger yachts pose bigger challenges for local buyers.

"A lot of people don't keep them in this area," says Hare. "One reason is the larger slips are hard to come by."
Many Houston owners of mega-yachts ranging from $20 million and $60 million berth their seagoing swankiendas in Florida.
Hare, who works at a brokerage house near South Shore Harbor, says he sold an 86-footer last summer for $5 million. The yacht hasn't been to Texas yet because the new owner can't find a place with large enough dock space.
He says most marinas in Galveston and the Clear Lake area were not built to handle large yachts due to a lack of demand for larger boats.

But the tide seems to be turning.
"Bigger boats are selling pretty good right now," Hare says. "We have the money in the Houston area, and people can afford to buy the larger boats."

He thinks the Endeavour project might entice locals to purchase larger yachts and keep them nearby. He also points out that the Gulf of Mexico is only 15 to 20 minutes by boat from Endeavour's Offatts Bayou site, compared to about an hour from Clear Lake.
Says Hare: "I think the response would be great. It would definitely be a good thing."
Details before setting sail

Galveston is new anchorage for Endeavour, which recently opened the first high-rise condo tower ever built on Clear Lake.
Endeavour's island project is a mixed-used development that will include 176 condominiums, 30,000 square feet of retail space and the marina with 240 boat slips.
The marina will cover about 12 acres of water with an average depth of 17 feet, according to Parsley.
The 8.3-acre land development tract is on Offatts Bayou, just across the causeway.

The Endeavour site has 1,000 feet of frontage on Interstate 45, and 1,000 feet of waterfront property.
The $110 million project could break ground as early as third-quarter 2008, and take one year to complete.
The first phase will include 80 boat slips, 54 condos and half the retail space. The balance of the development is planned for phase two.

Endeavour and an unnamed equity partner pieced together the project site by acquiring separate tracts of land during the past few weeks.

Parsley has had three properties on Broadway Boulevard under contract for almost two years. He has closed on two and anticipates closing the final deal within days.
Some boat storage barns, a bait shop and a vacant church converted from an old restaurant are expected to be demolished on the site within the next three months.
The project won't fully set sail until Endeavour pre-sells a certain number of the midrise condos and pre-leases a certain amount of the retail space, which will likely be leased to marina-related businesses.
A permit for the first 80 boat slips has been approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Parsley says.

Endeavour had a preliminary meeting with the City of Galveston about the condominiums, but has not yet applied for a building permit. The developer has a schematic design by Morris Architects, but until the building design is completed, it cannot apply for a permit.

Initial plans include condos that range in size from 800 square feet to 3,000 square feet. Units are expected to cost $400 to $500 per square foot.
Says Parsley: "We're not a beach property, but we're still going to be very resort-oriented."