Ahoy! Would You Retire Here?

By Andy Piper

TH staff writer

A St. Paul, Minn., man was in Dubuque on Tuesday pitching his idea for the Marquette, which would be the "biggest rivercraft in the world." It would house 350 residents.

Artist's rendering of a floating condominium community. A St. Paul, Minn., man was in Dubuque on Tuesday pitching his idea for the Marquette, which would be the "biggest rivercraft in the world." It would house 350 residents.

Dave Nelson has been a citizen of the Mississippi River for about 20 years, living aboard his boat with his wife in St. Paul, Minn.

But his vision of a broader river community began taking shape about 14 years ago in a St. Paul barge yard while working on his boat.

"I had barges all around me and a friend showed me a map of all the United States' waterways that are associated with the Mississippi River," Nelson said. "I thought, 'Man, there has got to be a way to put these two things together.' It took me a long time, but that's when I got the vision for the Marquette. It's just an idea that wouldn't stop."

The Marquette is Nelson's concept of a floating condominium community that is 600 feet long by 108 feet wide that would house 350 owner/residents who would travel the Mississippi and many of its tributaries year-round. It would make stops in places like Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Pensacola, Fla. Its home base would be in Houston, since Texas doesn't have a state tax and full-time condo owners would be considered residents.

For more information, visit www.rivercitiescondos.com

"It will be the biggest rivercraft in the world, and the idea is to follow the sun," Nelson said.

Beginning in Houston in January, the Marquette would take its residents to Port Isabel, Texas, and then back up the intercoastal waterway to New Orleans and would arrive in Pensacola in late March. It would travel the Tennessee, Cumberland, Ohio, Illinois, Black Warrior, Arkansas, Red and Atchafalaya rivers and the length of the Mississippi from St. Paul and back to New Orleans.

That's 10,700 miles with stops in 18 states, all in one year, and all from the comfort of a condo.

"The beauty is that the way the schedule works out, the average high temperature for each of the stops on route is 75 and the average low is 54," Nelson said. "We hope to be in Dubuque sometime in July, and I think it's a real win-win situation ... People will want to come down and see the big boat, just like the old days when people came to see the steamboats and paddleboats."

The floating condos expect to have a grocery, eateries, lounge, pool and full workout facilities. It also would feature an above-deck chipping and putting golf course. Residents would have access to smaller boats for fishing and personal outings, plus vehicles available to visit inland destinations.

"That's our vision," Nelson said.

The adventurer's lifestyle comes at a price, with condo packages running from a two-month per year offer at about $55,000 to an upscale year-round residency at $1.8 million. Nelson plans to live aboard.

He said the preliminary design has been approved by the U.S. Coast Guard, but construction won't start until 90 percent of the right-side residences are sold. Nelson hopes construction can be completed in 2010. So far, the Marquette has 21 reservations equivalent to 15 full-time units. Residents also would be charged a monthly fee that pays for utilities and other operating costs.

Steve Hyland, sales manager, said commitments have come from Australia, Denver and Anchorage, Alaska.

"I really think it will be a great benefit to the communities on the route," Hyland said. "We'll have 350 residents pulling up to Dubuque twice a year."