Heath Freeman has been called a “hedge fund vampire,” but his interest now does not seem especially macabre: East End marinas.
Freeman’s EHP Hospitality snapped up three more marinas out east on Long Island, Behind the Hedges reported. The prices weren’t disclosed, but the company plans on upgrading the properties. How exactly, the company hasn’t said.
But it would continue a trend of investors buying dated or run-down North Fork and Hamptons properties and spiffing them up to draw higher-spending visitors.
Two of the marinas were acquired in October on the North Fork — fresh territory for EHP — and the third this month in the more familiar Hamptons. The purchases extend EHP’s trajectory toward being one of Long Island’s largest marina owners. It boasts nearly 500 slips and counting.
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In the Hamptons, EHP acquired five-acre Prime Marina, rebranding it Shagwong Marina–Southampton. The Hampton Bays marina at 6 Tepee Street has approximately 175 slips, offseason storage for 125 boats, and a yoga studio.
On the North Fork, the hospitality group acquired the New Suffolk Shipyard at 6775 New Suffolk Road, renaming it Shagwong Marina–New Suffolk. The marina includes 60 slips on Cutchogue Harbor across more than two acres.
About a mile north, it acquired New Suffolk Shipyard–Cutchogue Harbor on Wickham Creek. The four-acre marina at 3350 West Creek Avenue has more than 100 slips, along with a ship store, fueling dock and storage. Freeman rechristened it Shagwong Marina–Cutchogue.
Freeman’s group boasts a collection of marinas, resorts and restaurants out on the East End. The hospitality group launched only three years ago, starting with the EHP Resort & Marina in East Hampton and Shagwong Boat Club on Three Mile Harbor.
The hospitality group also manages a number of East End restaurants and plans to open two more next year. This year in Southampton Village it purchased the shuttered home of the former Red Bar Brasserie. The venue will debut next year as a modern, French-inspired bistro.
— Holden Walter-Warner