The dog days of summer? Not on your life!
At Seahorse Beach Club, www.beachclubatseahorse.com, we
are in construction of Bay House #1 with Beach House #1 ready for FF&E and
OS&E delivery in early September. We look to close Beach House #1 this fall
with its six owners, and Bay #1 soon thereafter. The Beach Club membership
program has been slow to launch as we focus on realtor co-op programs.
Soon after closing, the City of Freeport should begin
annexation of our area, which will be a boon to our owners. Our Richard Korowicki continues to do a great job as sales
director.
September and October will be filled with events for local
real estate agents and their clients.
In New York City, all the timeshares, including The
Manhattan Club re-sales program, have been ordered to cease selling by the City
attorney's office. Some owner complaints about access on their very flexible
use plans have caused an election year blow-up. Plus, I am told that the folks
in the City attorney's office have not taken the time to understand timeshares
in general and use plans in particular. A sign of the times with the new
administration?
Yesterday was full of negotiations on some $70 million of
project financing for our Florida Keys project. To be candid, this level of
equity and debt goes over my head to some extent, but we have a terrific team
experienced in that type of transaction, and experienced in development. Marvin
Rappaport, Bill Meyer and Peter Rosasco are the champs... wonderful partners all.
New Orleans continues to be elusive. The approval process is
embedded in the mayor's office. On one hand, those with the right connections
can get approvals. On the other hand, a buyer [or his lender] has a need for
certainty, so this process, while it may appeal to insiders, is not what the
outsider wants to go through. Our team is moving to solidify the approval
process for the shared ownership and/or hotel uses for our listings.
No newsletter in September as I'll be hiking in England.
