CECIL COUNTY, MD-CNL Lifestyle Properties, a lifestyle properties REIT, has made inroads in the Mid-Atlantic region with the acquisition of two marinas on the Maryland side of the Chesapeake. CNL acquired the marinas from Covenant Cove Marine for $7 million, boosting the company’s marinas portfolio to 21.

The assets are Bohemia Vista Yacht Basin and Hack’s Point Marina, located on the water in Cecil County. CNL also entered into a partnership with Aqua Marine Partners, to operate the properties under long-term triple net leases.

These transactions are smaller than what the REIT typically acquires, Byron Carlock, president and CEO of CNL Lifestyle Properties, tells GlobeSt.com. However, they are important because they represent a toehold for the REIT in the Chesapeake area and they led to a relationship with a new marina operating partner, he says. "We are a net lease landlord and this transaction gives us a new tenant relationship."

CNL expects to make between $300 to $400 million in acquisitions across all asset types in its portfolio this year. It recently acquired four marinas in California: Anacapa Isle Marina in Oxnard; Ventura Isle Marina in Ventura; Ballena Isle Marina in Alameda, near San Jose; and Cabrillo Isle Marina in San Diego.