The deadline to bid on the Marineland Dolphin Adventure property in St. Augustine is Oct. 6 with an Oct. 13 auction to follow.
The sale follows the March 31 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the park’s parent company, The Dolphin Co.
About 19 miles south of downtown St. Augustine, Marineland sits on about 6 acres of oceanfront and Intracoastal Waterway land with 23,648 square feet of improvements. Greenhill & Co. of New York City is the investment bank advising on the sale of the closed park for The Dolphin Co., on behalf of parent Leisure Investment Holdings LLC.
Keen-Summit Capital Partners LLC is overseeing the auction.
According to Greenhill, the auction is accepting stalking horse offers — initial bids in a bankruptcy sale that set a minimum price and encourage competition. Greenhill declined to comment on an asking price.
The Dolphin Co. of Cancun, Mexico, owns the property through Marineland Leisure Inc., according to the Flagler County Property Appraiser. The county clerk website says it was purchased in it 2019 from Georgia Aquarium Inc. for about $3 million.
The Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation issued a stop-work order April 24 to the park, saying Dolphin Co. failed to provide workers’ compensation coverage.
Marineland opened June 23, 1938, as Marine Studios, the world’s first underwater film studio and dolphin training facility.
The Dolphin Co. says it operates 30 parks and dolphin habitats in eight countries.
Other properties for sale at auction in the Dolphin Co. portfolio are Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach and the Miami Seaquarium.
The company also operates Dolphin Connection in Duck Key, according to its website.