The Saylorville Marina wasn’t much to look at when Dan and Tammy Stanbrough took over operation of the property in 2004.

“It was a junkyard,” Tammy Stanbrough said. “It had old wooden docks that were falling apart, junked boats that were abandoned and littered the whole area, and the buildings were dilapidated, to say the least.”

But nearly two years and $6.5 million worth of capital improvements later, Stanbrough said her dream of creating a first-class recreational area for Central Iowa is definitely getting closer to reality.

“My husband took one look at it and saw the potential,” she said. “This place was a diamond in the rough; it had just been neglected. It isn’t quite to what we want just yet, but we are getting there.”

Besides a new dock system, constructed out of steel with a stone surface that rises and falls along with the water level of the lake, the couple has revitalized the Harbor Grille Restaurant, which sits on the water adjacent to the docks, expanding the menu and improving the service. Service has also been improved in the marina’s banquet hall, which caters private parties throughout the summer. Twenty-nine parties have already been booked this year for the banquet hall, compared with just 22 all of last year.

“The big difference people will notice this year is how much better our customer service is,” Stanbrough said. “That was a problem in the past, so we changed our entire management staff this year. I’ve heard nothing but good things about how things are running since the change.”

Next to the Harbor Grille, a new boating store has opened, selling items such as batteries, towels, and T-shirts.

“We want to see how well that does, but most likely that will slowly be expanded,” Stanbrough said.

Dave’s Marine Service Center, which operates a store on Northwest Second Avenue in Des Moines, began handling all of the marina’s service needs in May. Stanbrough said boaters now have an experienced name they can rely on for any repairs. A child-care service is also provided on Fridays; with scheduled activities for kids while their parents enjoy the lake.

“We want to have everything they may need right here,” she said.

Before moving to Iowa six years ago, Stanbrough managed resorts in Florida. She said she hopes the marina can add “resort-style” amenities in the coming years, such as tennis courts, a pool and a hotel. The Stanbroughs also hope by next year to have an enclosed restaurant on the lake providing a fine-dining experience for their guests.

Conceptual drawings of a three-story hotel on the lake give them hope, but Stanbrough said that idea is on hold. This is because any construction on the land and harbor must be approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which owns land. The Stanbroughs are leasing it from the Corps. Stanbrough said getting approval for any project is a long, drawn-out process.

“We would love to see a hotel or, even better, condominiums on the site,” she said. “But the first thing we want to do is extend our lease. Right now, we have 23 years left on our lease. We tried to get that extended to 99 years because that would make building out here more feasible. It’s hard to put that kind of money into something if you don’t have the security of a longer lease. So, we’ll see if the extension goes through.”

Stanbrough said she and her husband have even considered allowing camping on the site, but liability costs, such as insurance, for a marina is already quite high, and adding campers might be a little too much too soon.

“Right now we are just stepping back and taking our time,” she said.

Stanbrough said she believes people in Central Iowa need a place for recreation like this, especially with gas prices being as high as they are now.

“This is a way to keep people recreating in Iowa,” she said. “This is just a great area.”

For Tim Hufford, the improvements mean a lot.

He had visited the lake several times in the past, but after hearing about the improvements made to the area last summer, he moved his boat to the marina.

“They have really fixed the place up,” said Hufford, president and CEO of O’Callaghan’s Inc in Urbandale and Ankeny. “Now it’s one of the nicest marinas I’ve been to.”

He said the facilities are clean, everything is run well and the atmosphere is great.

“You don’t even need a boat to enjoy it anymore,” he said. “You can just come out, enjoy the weather and try some great food. They have done a great job of fixing the place up.”

Stanbrough is excited about the future and hopes people will come out and see the improvements made at the lake. The marina holds almost 500 boats, and 74 people are on a waiting list to rent slips.

“We want to add more, around 50 to 200 more slips, but we don’t want the lake to get overcrowded,” she said. “This is just a great area. There’s still a long way to go, but we get a lot of positive feedback from our boaters.”