Boston Whaler to move into former Sea Ray manufacturing site, add 300-400 jobs

Palm Coast Observer
News

Boston Whaler will move into the former Sea Ray Boats manufacturing plant off Colbert Lane in Palm Coast, bringing an estimated 300-400 jobs to the area over the next 18-24 months, according to news releases from the Palm Coast city government and from Brunswick Corporation.

Boats would start coming off the 225,000-square-foot Palm Coast site's production line in the second half of 2021, according to the city news release.

"On behalf of the city of Palm Coast, I am proud to welcome Brunswick and Boston Whaler to our community," Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland said in the city news release. "As a leader and legend in the boating industry, we are honored to be partnering with Boston Whaler as the home for their new manufacturing facility."

Both Boston Whaler and Sea Ray are owned by the Illinois-based Brunswick Corporation, and Boston Whaler already has a headquarters and manufacturing plant in Edgewater that employs more than 1,200 people, according to the city news release.

City plans programming, capital projects for 2021

Palm Coast's Aquatics Center pool is expected to reopen this April, and planning is underway for spring camp and summer camp for children (register at www.parksandrec.fun/camps).

The city is also planning transform its Tennis Center into a Regional Racquet Center and to develop its Arts District with programming such as a Chalk Art Fest scheduled for July, according to a city news release.

In capital projects this year, the city will complete road projects on Citation Boulevard and Old Kings Road, add streetlights along a stretch of Belle Terre Parkway, implement a new traffic coordination plan for the Palm Coast Parkway and Belle Terre Parkway corridors, replace aging FiberNET infrastructure and prepare for a third colocation facility, update its new Public Works facility with the replacement of some overhead doors, new lighting, a generator and a secure storage area.

The city will also begin construction on an administrative building at Wastewater Treatment Plant 1 and an expansion at Wastewater Treatment Plant 2, will start the design phase for a passive neighborhood eco-park along the London Waterway, and will complete the design phase for weir replacements on freshwater canals.

The reopening of the Palm Coast site would increase Boston Whaler's production an estimated 40%, according to a news release from Brunswick Corporation. Brunswick is also expanding its manufacturing of Bayliner, Heyday, Sea Ray and Lund fiberglass boats in Mexico and its manufacturing of Bayliner, Uttern and Quicksilver in Portugal, according to the news release.

The former Sea Ray facility in Palm Coast, on Roberts Road on the west side of the Intracoastal, employed about 400 people when it shut down in 2018 as Sea Ray discontinued its sport yacht and yacht models.

The closure had followed years of cycling hirings and layoffs.

"Expanding Boston Whaler production by reopening the Palm Coast facility provides immediate access to new capacity for a fraction of the cost of building a brand-new facility," Brunswick Corporation President Aine Denari saids, according to the city news release.

"It is a historic and exciting time for our city," Holland said, according to the city news release. "The addition of Boston Whaler to our community family, along with the other economic developments in education, healthcare, and technology, solidify the foundations Palm Coast has established for opportunity and job growth unlike we have seen before.

"I am proud that between AdventHealth, Jacksonville University, University of North Florida and the Gioia Sails expansion, we are on track to welcome approximately 1,000 new jobs to the city of Palm Coast this year."