Redwood Marina, the 60-slip boatyard at 40 Redwood Road on Sag Harbor Cove, now belongs to the public. The Town of Southampton closed on a $7.5 million purchase of the marina and celebrated it with the Village of Sag Harbor on Monday, November 2, and the slips will now be offered at affordable rates to people who live and own property in the town and the village.

Slips for locals

Under the partnership between the town and the village, the marina's 60 boat slips will give priority to affordable dockage for full-time residents and property owners of Southampton Town and Sag Harbor Village.

The town has not yet posted a rate sheet or a sign-up process for the slips. Residents interested in a slip should watch the Town of Southampton's news page, where the acquisition was announced, for details as they are set.

A home for bay science

The marina will also become a permanent base for the Marine Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Back to the Bays initiative. The town says the program will use the site for marine education, water quality testing, eelgrass restoration and shellfish restoration aimed at protecting Sag Harbor Cove.

Cornell Cooperative Extension's Marine Program has been part of the Suffolk organization since 1985. Back to the Bays is the public-facing side of that work, offering youth and adult programs and volunteer opportunities, including its Marine Meadows eelgrass planting program and a network of volunteers who monitor horseshoe crabs. A waterfront home on the cove puts that work, and the classes and volunteer days that go with it, in the middle of Sag Harbor.

An owner who chose the community

The marina had been run for more than 30 years by Gerald Schwenk. According to the town, he chose to keep the property in community use rather than accept higher offers from private developers.

The purchase was made through the town's Community Preservation Fund, the voter-approved program that uses a share of the real estate transfer tax in the five East End towns to buy open space, farmland, historic sites and waterfront access. The town credited the Town Board, Sag Harbor Mayor Tom Gardella, Trustee Jean Kane, the Village Board, CPF Director Jacquie Fenlon, CPF attorney Dan McCormick, and Kimberly Barbour and her team at Cornell Cooperative Extension with putting the deal together.

Where it is

Redwood Marina is at 40 Redwood Road on Sag Harbor Cove. Sag Harbor Village straddles the line between the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which is why both the town and the village were part of the purchase.

What happens next

Boaters who want a slip should keep an eye on the Town of Southampton's announcements for rates and how to apply. Anyone interested in the bay restoration work, including volunteer days for eelgrass planting and shellfish projects, can reach the Back to the Bays team through Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County at 631-461-5294.

Sources