Davis Islands Yacht Club, 1315 Severn Ave

The original plans for a yacht club section on Davis Islands never materialized. Developer D.P. Davis set aside a parcel of the development for the club, but the Florida land boom collapsed, and it was never built.

In the 1930s, several residents formed the Tampa Sailing Squadron, which later became the Davis Islands Yacht Club. In the 1950s, members began looking for a permanent home and tried to secure the former Art Deco Peter O. Knight Airport terminal building at the south end of the islands for their operations, but were denied. The building deteriorated and was eventually demolished.

Then came a deal that, viewed through today's real-estate values, looks extraordinary.

In 1955, the City of Tampa received permission from Florida's Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund to lease property at the outermost tip of what was then the Peter O. Knight seaplane basin to the Davis Islands Yacht Club.

In 2001, the club signed a new 40-year lease with the City of Tampa for $1.00. Subsequent revisions have allowed the club to expand and improve the property, including leasing submerged lands, without increasing the stated rent.

But the City doesn't get nothing in return.

The lease requires the club to perform public service. It does so by operating educational programs, sailing events, and sailing regattas with public participation. The club fulfills that sailing-oriented mission through races, regattas, and educational activities, including youth sailing through the Davis Island Youth Sailing Foundation.

That public-benefit requirement is an important part of the bargain. The City isn't simply turning over valuable waterfront property for a dollar without expecting anything in return. But it seems more self-serving than public service.

There’s another important distinction: limited public participation in sailing programs and events isn't the same as public access to that beautiful location.

The Davis Islands Yacht Club remains a private membership organization. The general public does not have unrestricted access to the clubhouse, pool, restaurant, bars, beach, or other members-only facilities. And not just anyone can join. Prospective members must be sponsored by two current members and pay an initiation fee plus annual dues.

And what a club it has become.

The clubhouse has grown from what looked like a double-wide trailer in the 1950s into a member-funded, two-story waterfront pavilion with a pool, restaurant, indoor and outdoor bars, and a second-story wraparound deck offering nearly 360-degree views of spectacular sunsets and sailboat races.

The property also includes a private beach. Its marina has expanded from zero slips to approximately 150 revenue-generating wet slips, plus about 50 dry-storage spaces. A new dock is under construction following damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

It's quite a private oasis—especially when you look at the numbers.

They bring in a lot of dough. According to public records, the Yacht Club is organized as a 501(c)(7) social club, reports approximately $1.1 million in annual revenue and $5.268 million in net assets, and occupies City-owned waterfront property with an assessed parcel value of approximately $6.4 million.

The City owns the land, and the club has funded substantial improvements. As a tax-exempt social club, however, qualifying member-generated income is generally exempt from federal income tax, and because the City owns the underlying land, the club does not pay property taxes on that land as though it owned the parcel.

And the stated rent under the 2001 lease? One dollar.

So the question isn't whether the Yacht Club provides a public benefit. It does. But do the educational programs, regattas, and sailing events with limited public participation constitute a reasonable return for the long-term private use of some exceptionally valuable City-owned waterfront property?

A private waterfront club. A pool, restaurant, and bars. A private beach. Roughly 200 wet and dry boat spaces. Millions of dollars in assets. And millions of dollars' worth of City-owned waterfront beneath it for a buck.

Gimme some of that. Sweetheart deal indeed.  

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved