A new sale of Marineland Dolphin Adventure has been approved in court, this one appearing to allow the dolphins to stay in place. Apex Associates, a company based out of Green Cove Springs in Clay County, is buying the park for $6.5 million. Closing on the sale is set for December 5th.
The winning bid was filed by dolphin researcher Jack Kassewitz with financial support from Apex Associates’ Barbara and Jon Rubel. Kassewitz has made clear his intention to work closely with Felicia Cook, a former director of Marineland who’s been a part of the fight to prevent the facility’s sale to an entity which may do away with the park.
Currently owning Marineland and now selling it is The Dolphin Company, an entertainment entity which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. They, along with over a dozen other groups, are owned by the Mexican-owned Leisure Investments Holdings. The Dolphin Company was founded and owned in part by Donna Kassewitz, wife of new buyer Jack Kassewitz.
A different sale was initially all but finalized until being halted by a bankruptcy judge far from Florida. Texas’s Delightful Development, LLC had entered a bid of $7.1 million, raising concerns about the future of the marine tourist park and the welfare of the animals presently housed there. Marineland town officials (the park exists in a micro-municipality of the same name) said the would-be buyer hadn’t reached out to them as fears grew that they’d change the identity of the area forever.
Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein, a bankruptcy judge in Delaware, halted the sale in late October amid protests from Apex’s group that they’d been improperly excluded from the bidding process. The auction was subsequently reopened. Once again Apex was outbid by Delightful Development, but a judgment was made that Delightful’s costly plan to dismantle the theme park allowed Apex a clearer and more viable financial future as owners.
If the sale to Apex fails to close by its projected date, Marineland could still go to Delightful Developments. If that too fails, it’ll go to the St. Augustine-based Hutson Companies.
Chris Gollon is a Flagler County resident since 2004, as well as a staple of the local independent music scene and avid observer of Central Florida politics, arts, and recreation.
