Treasure Island Enterprises (TIE) told the Treasure Island Development Authority board it has reached a joint-venture agreement with Suntex Marinas and is prepared to move forward with construction of a marina the developers have planned for years.

Jay Wallace, representing TIE, said the marina's design and slip count remain the same as previously approved. "It's still a 164, 168 slips," Wallace said, adding that Suntex "is fully capitalized, ready to spend the $25 plus million that is necessary to build the marina." The board heard that Suntex acquired the operations of Almar Marinas and brought experience and capital to the project.

Why it matters: The marina is a long-delayed piece of Treasure Island's waterfront activation. Board members described the marina as a gateway amenity that supports water access, non-motorized recreation and retail activation on the island and said the partnership strengthens the project's financial viability.

Hampus Idsator, introduced by Wallace as the Suntex representative based in California, told the board Suntex is the largest specialized owner/operator of recreational marinas in the United States with about 95 marinas managed or owned and 17 in California. "We found that this would be a perfect opportunity for Suntex to partner," Idsator said.

TIE said it is preparing permit-ready building permit plan sets and aims to be ready to commence in-water construction in the June'November window permitted by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). "We're working on our building permit plan set so we can get that approved so that next June, when they're allowed to build in the water, we're hopefully ready to do that," Wallace said.

Board questions focused on schedule and performance protections. Director Linda Richardson and others asked whether the TIE lease contains deadlines and performance milestones. Bob Beck, TIDA's executive director, said the marina premises are the subject of a master lease and that the lease includes performance schedules, although some deadlines previously were extended for COVID and other delays.

TIE said it expects to be in-water in June 2026 and that the development team will return to the board with schedule updates as permitting advances. The meeting record shows no formal action by the board on the marina at Tuesday's meeting; the item was presented as an update.