OKEECHOBEE --  Miller Construction has begun site work for a 26,509-square-foot Lake and Trail USA boat dealership, retail store and service garage for owner Bassin Bobby Enterprises on a site along the north shore of Lake Okeechobee, at 1253 Highway 78.

Bassin Bobby Enterprises recently built a storage facility across the highway from the site.  The new facility will be a freshwater boat dealership, including sales, service, parts, along with a full convenience store with live bait, tackle, and fuel islands that can accommodate trucks/trailers for fisherman of all types.

Construction began Sept. 1, with a groundbreaking event last week. The slab on grade was poured on Oct. 18 and Miller expects to be “tilting” the tilt wall panels in early November.

 Completion is expected in June, 2022.

 Located across Highway 78 from the same owner’s existing, state-of-the-art Lake and Trail Self-Storage center, the new facility will create a full-service boating complex less than four miles from the Scott Driver Boat Ramp.

 Miller will construct the turnkey project, which includes the dealership for new and pre-owned boats by Falcon Bass Boats and Excel Bass Boats, plus the adjacent store, maintenance and service garage and an on-site fueling station. The dealership will also be a Mercury, Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda Certified Service Center.

 Miller will provide the structure’s shell and build out the interior with features including storefront windows, powered roll-up doors, millwork, epoxy flooring and stained-concrete flooring. The contractor ordered and procured steel and roofing materials months before the September project start, to streamline a nine-month construction schedule despite the pandemic’s global supply-chain delays, according to Miller Construction President Brian Sudduth.

 “We’re partnering with Lake and Trail to create a one-stop center that’s geared to making boating on Lake Okeechobee and nearby waterways more enjoyable and convenient,” Sudduth said. 

In addition to buying a boat or having it serviced, boaters will be able to pick up fishing gear, bait, and refreshments, and fill up a boat and a vehicle with fuel. If storage is needed, Lake and Trail’s 508-unit self-storage facility includes both interior and exterior climate-controlled areas to handle customers’ needs.

 Designed by Barranco Gonzalez Architecture of Fort Lauderdale, the new boat dealership will have wave-like features on the exterior’s southwest face for an organic look, along with concrete panel reveals that resemble local lake grasses.

 Additional project team members are Bryntesen Structural Engineers of Fort Lauderdale, Kamm Consulting Engineers of Deerfield Beach (MEP) and Sumner Engineering & Consulting of Okeechobee (civil).

 Founded in 1973, Miller Construction is a prominent Florida design/builder and construction services firm serving commercial, industrial, retail, automotive, hospitality, healthcare and educational markets. For more information, visit the website at  www.millerconstruction.com.