Suntex Marina Investors (Suntex) Acquires Marine Emporium Landing

Marine Emporium Landing is the longest standing family-owned asset in the Channel Islands Harbor and currently the most popular visitor-serving destination in the harbor. Now with a fresh redevelopment plan in place, Suntex has the capital resources and management to take the landing to yet another iteration of improvement, offering the best services and amenities to visitors and residents of Ventura County and beyond.

“It has always been about relationships and friendships,” said Steve Buenger, President of Buenger Commercial Real Estate and former owner of Marine Emporium Landing. “Our family has been fortunate to cultivate so many over the 60+ years living and working in the Channel Islands Harbor. Brick and mortar improvements come and go. Financial statements, balance sheets and rent rolls, no matter how hard you work, and how good things can be, are always subject to macro-economic influences.

“The real measurement of success is the number of lifelong friendships that have been forged along the way. We are fortunate to have been able to provide the venue that helped shape the lives of so many of our tenants, and positively impacted hundreds of thousands of visitors over the years. I am excited to see the next phase of improvement to the Landing with Suntex Marina Investors at the helm. I am confident that Suntex will not only continue, but improve on the legacy created by my parents and family over the past 60 years.”

An Illustrious History – The Evolution of Marine Emporium Landing

Fred Buenger made his foray into the Channel Islands Harbor as one of its first lessees in 1964, opening Coast Chandlery, a marine hardware store, in the location presently occupied by the Maritime Museum on the west side of the harbor. With a relatively small footprint in the newly dredged harbor, it didn’t take Buenger long to outgrow the initial location, and by 1973 he negotiated a ground lease with the County of Ventura on a property just up the road at 3600 South Harbor Blvd. He quickly developed the first building of the new Marine Emporium Landing complex in 1974.

High demand for boater services prompted an expansion of the leasehold in 1978 when he added another building at 3550 South Harbor Blvd. The center catered to boaters, providing everything they would need to outfit both their boats and them, for their ocean adventures. Approximately 20 tenants leased space from the landing, offering boating related services ranging from Buenger’s own Coast Chandlery, to an engine repair shop, rigging shop, sail loft, and a tackle and dive shop, to name a few.

Times were good until the Recession of the mid 1990’s. The Marine Emporium Landing was not immune to the negative effects of catering to a luxury market during lean times. Occupancy went down to 60 percent, and it was time for a change.

Having always been a family business, with Fred at the helm, his wife Nancy handling the books, daughter Jane working in the retail stores, and son Steve working in all aspects of the retail operations, it was now time that Steve Buenger (who had been working in the family business since the mid ‘70s) take over the operations, which would allow his parents to settle into retirement.

The family agreed that it was also critical to reorient the Marine Emporium Landing to visitor-serving activities, and no longer limit it to strictly boater services. Steve went to work lending his commercial real estate expertise to recruit key visitor-serving businesses including Island Packers, Channel Islands Kayak Center, Buenger’s own Gold Coast Sportfishing, a Dive Charter business, Sea Fresh Seafood restaurant, and a multitude of other businesses that complimented this new vision.

The plan worked, and by 1999 the Marine Emporium Landing was once again at 100% occupancy, now a vibrant recreational service center for all Harbor visitors. Life was good until the fateful day of October 2, 2005. A devastating fire broke out in the wee hours of the morning in the newer 3550 building. Fortunately, there were no injuries sustained to anyone. Oxnard Fire Department battled the blaze until daybreak, but to no avail the building was a loss. Being at 100% occupancy, this was a blow to ownership. By this time, Fred and Nancy had retired, Jane had moved to the LA area and was practicing law, and Steve and his wife Maria had to regroup to determine how to resurrect the Landing from the ashes.

They resolved quickly to restore visitor services as soon as possible, yet insurance proceeds covered less than 20% of the replacement cost of the building, but Steve’s commitment to his tenants and the Harbor made it a ‘quick decision’ for him to replace the building. Channeling his father’s entrepreneurial drive, Steve not only replaced the destroyed building, but added a third building on the leasehold, and he subsequently replaced the adjacent marina.

Fast forward 3 years, and the 3550 building was replaced, and the new 3500 building was under construction. But a second recession was looming, and by the end of 2008 it hit. Advised by the banks to abandon the 3500 building, Steve resisted and pressed forward with completion of the third building. The new Marine Emporium Landing was completed in June of 2009, just in time to ride the next wave of the recession, which was now in full force.

After 6 challenging years, the center was once again fully leased with over 32 tenants, and it had become the most popular visitor-serving destination in the harbor. Not without sacrifice, the Buenger family has endured the dark times and enjoyed the good in their 60 years in Channel Islands Harbor.

Today with a fresh redevelopment plan in place, the landing has been sold to Suntex Marina Investors, who have the capital resources and the management in place to take the landing to yet another iteration of improvement, offering the best services and amenities to visitors and residents of Ventura County and beyond.

Who is Suntex Marina Investors?

Based in Dallas, Texas, Suntex is the largest standalone owner and operator of marinas in the United States. The Suntex portfolio consists of close to 100 marinas in over 15 states and a total of approximately 25,000 boat slips. The key members of the Suntex executive management team have over 100 years of combined experience in marina operations, development, and investing.

The Suntex portfolio is weighted towards coastal assets, one of their key areas of expertise. Suntex benefits from having an in-house operations team with unmatched operational capabilities in the marina industry. The Suntex team has a demonstrated track record of implementing industry-leading operational standards and creating a high-quality “Suntex experience” at newly acquired marinas. 

For more information, call Visit Oxnard at 1-800-2-OXNARD.