Nationwide boat dealer Marine Max will be relocating to the Beaches.
The Arlington location, a former auto dealership, has proven challenging as to general location, building condition and property characteristics.
Marine Max initially leased the property and then purchased- the decision to locate at Arlington and outright purchase had been a point of contention within some Marine Max management circles due to declining Arlington environment, although at the time of the purchase all seemed upbeat/pre bubble,Marine Max was then in aggressive expansion mode.
Arlington once also featured iconic local boat dealer Pete Loftin Outboard,Inc. With Pete's passing the company was sold, relocated to another Arlington location and eventually relocated to Orange Park.
Horrible decision. Not to relocate, but to relocate to the beaches. Most boat owners live in Arlington, south side and Mandarin.
Quote from: coredumped on March 24, 2016, 07:58:55 PM
Horrible decision. Not to relocate, but to relocate to the beaches. Most boat owners live in Arlington, south side and Mandarin.
What information is that based on?
Good news. Having spent many teen years growing up at our family Marina in Daytona Beach the coastal rivers, inlets and islands are underserved. I once had to baby a crippled yacht from New Smyrna to downtown Daytona at night! That was the longest, darkest, most helpless feeling trip in my life, 20 miles without so much as a light bulb. Even locally there are long segments where services might be needed and just don't exist. Pleasure boat guys who have never been inside the industry might also be shocked at how much interchange goes on in little local marinas from big commercial shipping and law enforcement interests. "So you've got the little skiff we're looking for, well my guy from Matson will be right over!"
Science! Just kidding. But drive around or look on Google maps and you'll see far less boats for beaches residents.
You can also check boat ramps and see how busy ones are at goodbys or Mandarin or charter point, vs the one at the beach.