Construction of a new boat storage facility is currently underway at Gulf Star Marina in Ft Meyers

Carroll Properties in the US has broken ground on a new state-of-the-art boat storage facility at Gulf Star Marina in Ft Meyers, Florida.

When completed, Gulf Star Marina will become the first ‘smart marina’ in southwest Florida and the first in the world to feature A.S.A.R., Automated Storage and Retrieval. This technology replaces the forklift traditionally used in dry dock storage marinas with a railed solution, allowing for consistent rack-to-water vessel delivery in just seven minutes.

Designed by LTW and provided nationally by GCM Contracting Solutions, A.S.A.R. is also being used by companies such as Mercedes and Ikea to optimise storage and reduce risks of damage.

“Boat owners are challenged with finding dry boat storage in this area and concerned with protecting their boats from environmental damages such as diesel soot from forklifts and from the sun, if kept outside,” says Todd Carroll, owner of Carroll Properties and Gulf Star Marina.

“Owning a boat is a big investment, and this new technology at Gulf Star Marina greatly minimises those risks and the associated maintenance costs,” he adds. “There’s also a huge convenience factor because with the push of a button, your boat is in the water and ready for a day of boating, in a matter of minutes.”

Gulf Star Marina is located on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach. In addition to dry storage for boats up to 40ft, the marina will offer concierge services including indoor valet parking, boat fueling and cleaning.

Additionally, public access to the marina includes 20 wet slips, a fuelling station, a ship store, and access to Doc Ford’s restaurant, located next door.

GCM Contracting Solutions will construct the 29,000sq ft structure using tilt-up concrete construction, which offers supreme sturdiness, fire safety protection and hurricane resistance in addition to a quicker construction timeline.

“The previous facility on the Gulf Star Marina property was built in the 1950s and had metal siding, which kept boats dry but didn’t offer much protection from tropical storms and hurricanes,” said Robert Brown, owner and president of GCM Contracting Solutions. “The new storage facility is designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 200mph – a Category 5 hurricane.”

GCM Contracting Solutions has selected MHK Architecture & Planning of Naples to provide architectural services for the marina project. The project has an estimated completion date of May 2019.