Citing insurmountable debt, the owners of ONE°15 Brooklyn Marina in New York have filed for Chapter 11.
The marina includes more than 100 slips, for a variety of boats and yachts to 250 feet (76 meters). It also has a community dock offering free and low-cost boating programs to the public. These include a sailing school, kids’ programs, kayaking lessons, and a sailing membership club. The owners of the marina additionally own the sailing club and its boats, plus a restaurant on site. Both the club and the restaurant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, too.
According to the court filing from September 26, the holding companies behind the marina, the club, and the restaurant owe a variety of debts. These include more than $500,000 in rent.
The financial difficulties date back to the construction of ONE°15 Brooklyn Marina in 2014. In court documents, the owners reveal that development and budget issues delayed its intended grand opening in 2016. “The result of these issues was a development price tag of nearly double the budgeted cost and a three-year delay in opening from 2017 to 2020,” the filing indicates. Although government assistance helped keep the businesses viable during the pandemic, operating losses subsequently continued. Investors backed out last fall, which the owners say led to the challenges in paying rent and meeting other expenses.
Notably, the owners of ONE°15 Brooklyn Marina and its related businesses state that they actively sought an acquisition partner. Although “extensive negotiations followed” discussions with multiple parties, “several hurdles and complexities arose.” These prevented the owners from proceeding, and therefore they fell further behind in paying rent.
The marina, restaurant, and sailing club are remaining as separate entities and plan to negotiate with creditors to map out a reorganization plan. They requested, and received, approval for joint administration of the bankruptcy cases, for procedural purposes.
ONE°15 Brooklyn Marina one15brooklynmarina.com
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