Huizenga family borrows $65M against its Rybovich superyacht marina in West Palm

The Huizenga family just took out $65 million in refinancing for its sprawling Rybovich mega-yacht marina in West Palm Beach, replacing a loan of the same size with long-term debt.

Florida Community Bank was the lender. The funds cover Huizenga’s 32-acre marina and yacht repair facility at 4200 Flagler Drive, which the wealthy family acquired in 2004 and has since sought to expand with a neighboring mixed-use development.

Commercial brokerage HFF, which arranged the loan for Huizenga, said in a release Monday that the funds were given under a fixed-rate, 15-year mortgage that was based off the marina’s cash flow.

The new funds replace an existing $65 million loan from Wells Fargo that had a floating rate and less flexibility, according to HFF Director Scott Wadler. He told The Real Deal via email that many borrowers are locking in their loans now ahead of rising rates, especially for investors who hold their properties over generations like the Huizenga family.

While a host of traditional lenders have taken a more conservative stance on real estate in recent months, Florida Community Bank just financed the $89 million purchase of a two-tower rental community in Miami’s Little Havana by Greystar. The bank had also funded the project’s construction.

The Huizenga family, which owns the marina through its Huizenga Holdings investment arm, is now looking at an 1,800-square-foot expansion of the facility’s north dock, Wadler said. That would give Rybovich room for another six vessels measuring up to 350 feet long.

Approvals from the city, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Army Corp. of Engineers are already in place, though the expansion’s start date is yet to be announced. The project won’t be funded with the $65 million, Wadler said, though the plans helped Huizenga score its loan from Florida Community Bank.

Huizenga has also partnered with the Related Group to build a massive 19-acre project next to the facility called Marina Village that would house six residential towers when completed. Related’s Steve Patterson said in July that groundbreaking is set for the end of this year.