Redwood Anchorage Marina in Sag Harbor has changed hands, but not to a developer with grand plans, but rather the Town of Southampton to ensure it remains as it has been for the last 60 years.
Using the Community Preservation Fund, the town closed on the sale of the 1.7-acre marina at 40 South Redwood Road, directly on Sag Harbor Cove, last week for $7.5 million. Brown Harris Stevens helped put the off-market deal together.
“The Marina was owned and operated by Gerald Schwenk for 30-plus years,” says Jane Holden of Brown Harris Stevens, who represented the town, while fellow Brown Harris Stevens agents Anthony Cerio and Mitchel Natter represented the marina.
“He wanted to allow local families to afford the rental expenses for a boat slip and therefore sold to the Southampton Community Preservation Fund rather than a private group. From start to finish, the sale of this property took 18 months.”
Redwood, an enclave removed from the village’s busier areas, has been a highly sought-after and much-developed neighborhood over the last two decades. Newly done homes sell for upwards of $5 million.
Holden continues, “He was raised with a deep sense of responsibility to give back to the community. For him, selling to Southampton’s Community Preservation Fund was never just a financial decision. He was concerned that if the marina were sold to a private buyer, boat slips would eventually become unaffordable or unavailable to local families who have long relied on them. He chose to sell to the Town through Southampton’s Community Preservation Fund because it ensured the marina would remain accessible, affordable, and community-focused for generations to come.”
She notes he turned down two other, higher offers and chose to sell to the Town through Southampton’s Community Preservation Fund.
According to the terms of the deal, the 60-slip marina will become a public facility managed by Sag Harbor Village. Slips will only be leased to anyone living within Sag Harbor Village or the Town of Southampton.
Schwenk and his father, the late Ralph Schwenk, who founded Ship Ashore Marina in 1971, purchased the neighboring property in 1992, then called Redwood Boat Basin, which had been created in the 1960s.
Their partner, Rick Pickering, took over Ship Ashore Marina in 1998, and Schwenk has been operating Redwood Anchorage ever since.
Schwenk continues to live locally. “He recently purchased a beautiful three-acre property on Shelter Island that includes a home, a two-story barn, and scenic views overlooking a pond,” says Holden. “The purchase reflects his ongoing connection to the area and his commitment to remaining part of the local community.”
He will have no role in the day-to-day operations or management of the marina, she adds.
The town board officially approved the acquisition in November.
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