Yacht Company Buys Port of Egypt Marine On North Fork

A premier luxury yacht firm acquired a family-owned marina on the North Fork, adding to the region’s rapid ascent.

Hinckley closed a deal on Tuesday to purchase the Port of Egypt Marine in Southold, according to the company. The deal marks the yacht builder, servicer and seller’s first outpost in New York.

CEO Gavin McClintock declined to share the sale price. He added that the company zeroed in on the location, which will serve primarily as a service station, to “close a gap” among its other properties in the Northeast with customers in the Hamptons and other parts of Long Island. The firm’s next closest locations are in Stamford, Connecticut, and Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

When asked whether the firm plans to outfit the marina to accommodate larger vessels, McClintock said the plans would “fit the natural environment.” He said the company doesn’t plan to knock down existing structures and described changes to the property as elevating it “to the Hinckley standard.”

“We are a boatyard at the end of the day,” McClintock said. “We understand how to steward heritage, but you also have to renovate and upgrade.”

The previous owners of the 132-slip marina and dealership notified shareholders of the sale earlier this month, including that the property’s showroom would no longer sell Grady-White boats. Instead, the brand is partnering with Strong’s Marine to sell its products on the North Fork, Riverhead News-Review reported last week.

Yvonne Lieblein, who serves as one of Port of Egypt’s general managers along with her cousin, Will Lieblein, declined to comment on the sale outside of any statements issued by Hinckley.

The Lieblein family has owned and operated Port of Egypt since 1946, after brothers William and Herman Lieblein bought what was then a fishing station. Aside from the docks and dealership, its services include a fuel station, pool, dockside restaurant and shop, according to its website.

The deal for Port of Egypt builds on years of consolidation in the marina sector, with private equity and other investment firms buying up waterfront properties and the companies that control them.

What the deal means

The deal follows a flow of money to the North Fork, which has absorbed overflowing interest from the inventory-constrained Hamptons in recent years. With wealthier buyers have come high-end retail businesses and hotels, along with record prices.

Prices in the North Fork skyrocketed after pandemic-era demand sapped supply across Long Island’s East End. Last quarter, the median sale price in the area hit just under $1 million, a 6 percent annual increase and the region’s second highest on record, according to data from appraiser Jonathan Miller. The share of deals above $2 million also reached a record high during the period.

The area has attracted significant purchases in recent years. In February, Apollo Global Management CEO Mark Rowan paid $23.5 million for 110 acres on the waterfront in East Marion, marking the region’s priciest ever deal.

Some high-end spec developers are also betting on the North Fork, including the team behind a luxury new build in Southold, designed by Danish architect Thomas Juul-Hansen, which the developers are contemplating offering for $10 million, the team told The Real Deal last year.

Hinckley’s deal for Port of Egypt Marine could have some resounding effects on real estate values across the North Fork, according to Kristopher Piles, founder of North Fork Commercial. For one, a company like Hinckley moving to town could be a magnet for other luxury brands, including those typically more drawn to the neighboring hamlets to the south.

“It’s the same thing as when Whole Foods comes into a shopping center,” Piles said of the deal. “It attracts other high-end brands.”

He added that the deal could also contribute to rising demand for waterfront properties in the North Fork, particularly those with docks already built. If Hinckley raises prices or transforms some of its existing slips to accommodate larger boats instead of the crop of vessels it currently serves, Piles suspects those boaters might soon be on the hunt for a more permanent, private option.

Hinckley’s CEO McClintock said any significant changes to the marina would be completed over time and that the company does not currently have any plans to buy more property surrounding the marina or on the North Fork.

Another executive with the company told the Suffolk Times that the firm isn’t changing pricing at the marina.