From The Banner · Tim Prudente · · 2m
The Baltimore marina two rich men broke
A 278-slip Inner Harbor marina sits empty and rotting while its owners fight in court over fraud allegations.
In brief
A 278-slip Inner Harbor marina sits empty and rotting while its owners fight in court over fraud allegations. Harborview Marina will keep decaying until Maryland's appeals court decides whether the foreclosure auction that handed it to Selvin Passen stands. Originally reported by The Banner.
The docks are empty
Beyond a locked gate at Harborview Marina, the finger docks reach into the Inner Harbor with only birds on the pilings. The boats and the sailors are gone.
“The sailors are gone, and so are their boats.”
From gem to skeleton
It used to be a spot on the South Baltimore waterfront where you could stroll and have a drink on the water. Neighbors now call it an eyesore with docks falling apart.
“It's an eyesore. The docks are falling apart. There are no boats.”
Closed a year and a half ago
The 278-slip marina ordered every boat out and shut down abruptly, blaming the unstable concrete pier. Nothing has happened there since, and it gets shabbier by the day.
A doctor and a builder
Two wealthy Baltimore men owned it. Richard Swirnow built the Harborview development out of a shuttered Bethlehem Steel shipyard. Selvin Passen made his money in medical labs, then bought marinas.
A 60-40 deadlock
They partnered in 2009, with a Passen entity holding 60% and a Swirnow entity 40%. Both sides had to approve any sale, so when Passen wanted to sell off his empire, Swirnow blocked it.
The mortgage move
Passen and his partners bought the marina mortgages from Orrstown Bank, then missed the monthly payments. That default pushed the property to a foreclosure auction.
One bid, one buyer
Passen bought the marina at auction last year. His was the only bid. Swirnow filed a legal challenge immediately, calling it a scheme to depress the value and seize control.
“This was an intentional, knowing, rather sophisticated, minority-oppression squeeze-out.”
Passen's defense
His attorney told the appellate judges the case turns only on whether the bank debt was valid, not on who is doing the foreclosing.
“The real problem here is they don't like who is foreclosing.”
Now it's the court's mess
Maryland's appeals court can bless the auction and give Passen the marina, or toss the sale and send the fraud allegations back to the lower court. An opinion could take months.
Nobody is watching
Richard Swirnow died in October at 91, and his son David took over the case. Neighbors say the owners have gone silent and the marina has become a dumping ground for abandoned boats.
“We'd love to know if there is an actual plan here.”
What to remember
Harborview Marina will keep decaying until Maryland's appeals court decides whether the foreclosure auction that handed it to Selvin Passen stands.
