Southwest Florida's first smart marina to open in Spring 2019

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Sept. 6, 2018 - PRLog -- Carroll Properties has broken ground on a new state-of-the-art boat storage facility on Fort Myers Beach. Gulf Star Marina is the region's first smart marina and the first in the world to feature A.S.A.R., Automated Storage and Retrieval. This technology replaces the forklift traditionally used in dry dock storage marinas with a railed solution, thereby allowing for consistent rack-to-water vessel delivery in just seven minutes. Designed by LTW and provided nationally by GCM Contracting Solutions, A.S.A.R. is also being used by companies such as Mercedes and Ikea to optimize storage and reduce risks of damage.

"Boat owners are challenged with finding dry boat storage in this area and concerned with protecting their boats from environmental damages such as diesel soot from forklifts and from the sun, if kept outside," said Todd Carroll, owner of Carroll Properties and Gulf Star Marina. "Owning a boat is a big investment, and this new technology at Gulf Star Marina greatly minimizes those risks and the associated maintenance costs. There's also a huge convenience factor because with the push of a button, your boat is in the water and ready for a day of boating, in a matter of minutes."

Gulf Star Marina is located at 708 Fisherman's Wharf on San Carlos Island in Fort Myers Beach. In addition to dry storage for boats up to 40 feet, Gulf Star Marina will offer concierge services including indoor valet parking, boat fueling and cleaning. Additionally, public access to the marina includes 20 wet slips, a fueling station, a ship store, and convenient access to Doc Ford's restaurant, located next door.

GCM Contracting Solutions, an industry leader in commercial construction and design-build services, will construct the 29,000-square-foot structure using tilt-up concrete construction, which offers supreme sturdiness, fire safety protection and hurricane resistance in addition to a quicker construction timeline.

"The previous facility on the Gulf Star Marina property was built in the 1950s and had metal siding, which kept boats dry but didn't offer much protection from tropical storms and hurricanes," said Robert Brown, owner and president of GCM Contracting Solutions. "The new storage facility is designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 200 m.p.h. – a Category 5 hurricane."

GCM Contracting Solutions has selected MHK Architecture & Planning of Naples to provide architectural services for the marina project.

The project has an estimated completion date of May 2019. Early reservations are now being accepted. For more information on Gulf Star Marina, visit www.gulfstarmarina.com.