Cottonwood Creek Marina Completes Latest Slip Additions

Since its opening in 2003, Cottonwood Creek Marina has undertaken several expansions to meet a steadily increasing demand for slips. Located on Lake Lewisville in Cottonwood, Texas, near two of the fastest-growing counties in the U.S., the marina opened with 130 slips and in February completed an addition that has brought that number up to 339.

“The way we approach expansion is that we don’t do it until we feel the demand is there; we don’t want to pay for a bunch of empty slips just sitting around,” said Ryan Miller, the marina’s general manager. “We are excited about the demand that’s been there that has allowed us to do those extensions.”
Owner Ben Miller hired Meeco Sullivan to build the original marina, and the Miller family has continued to rely on the company for all its expansion work.

“The initial build they did for us had the aesthetic that we wanted; we were the first in the area to have the concrete floating docks and encapsulated foam,” Miller said. “We have a lot of anchors, and the docks have really held up in bad weather.” To protect boats against damage from hail and the strong Texas sun, all but 12 of the slips are covered.

The most recent addition of 88 slips took place over four years. In 2017 and 2018, Meeco Sullivan built a total of 48 slips, including lengths of 40 feet, 32 feet, 28 feet and 24 feet. In 2019, the company added six 28-feet by 13-feet slips to E Dock, and 22 slips, measuring 24 feet by 11 feet, to F Dock. In January 2020, Meeco built a dozen 32-feet by 14-feet slips on D Dock.

The increase in slips in the 24- to 28-foot range reflects the popularity of pontoon boats and wakeboard boats among the marina’s customers. “That’s where we see the highest growth,” Miller said. “When we first built the marina, I don’t think half of the slips were that size, but the demand has been strongest there, so that’s where we added more.”

Cottonwood Creek Marina primarily serves day boaters who come from within a 15-mile radius, Miller said. The marina offers a ship store, bathrooms and showers, and a fuel dock.

Although the uncertainty over the Covid-19 virus has slowed demand at present, Miller hopes the marina will soon resume normal operations. “We still have room to grow, and we hope to keep growing,” he said.