New owners are at the tiller of Wabasha marina in the wake of $4.9M deal
Jan. 10—WABASHA — A southeastern Minnesota marina has new skippers at the helm in the wake of a $4.9 million deal.
Ben and Jennifer Millemon, of Meridian, Idaho, purchased the
Wabasha Marina & Boatyard
at 1009 Main St., Wabasha, on Dec. 17.
The long-time private marina stands on 22 acres and features 197 covered and uncovered slips for boats ranging from 14 feet to 60 feet in length.
The Millemons bought the marina under the name of Cervidae LLC from Connie's Properties LLC, led by Connie Kafka.
How does someone from Idaho end up buying a Minnesota marina?
"I'm actually working with a team of investors and they found the deal there. I was working with them on some other deals as well," explained Ben Millemon. "I'm kind of a first-time investor... So I needed someone to kind of walk me through it. I trusted the locals there in Rochester and the local bank thought it was a good deal as well."
One reason the property was attractive was that the Millemons are a self-described "boating family."
He added that they have hired a local manager to run the operation.
"It will be run locally. Everything's gonna stay operating exactly how it has been," said Millemon. "We're going to kind of watch it for at least a year, but we're obviously looking for ways to improve and make it better for the customers. Of course, if it's good for them, it's good for us."
Jeff Kiger tracks business action in Rochester and southeastern Minnesota every day in "Heard on the Street." Send tips to
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