Catching Up with Carl: March 2015

Progress and a step back, but progress nonetheless.

At Seahorse Beach Club, on the Gulf Coast outside of Houston, we've decided to focus on lot and home sales this summer and hold off on the PRC. We are not moving away from the PRC, but need to have the money 'in our pockets' to really re-launch and do it right. Should we know better? Sure, but that's life. This is a big step for us as we see Seahorse as a true mixed-use resort, whole and PRC, but it made sense to restock our bank, so to speak, and then do the PRC right.

Also at Seahorse, we have decided to re-position our club as an event venue and conference center in addition to a club for owner use, and to finance it as a stand-alone entity versus being solely paid for and supported by property owners, as we had originally envisioned. We can get multiple resources from Houston for management and marketing.

True developer decisions based on market realities. Congrats to us!

Marathon Key, Florida, our Crystal Resort with mixed-use whole and fraction, is in the final stage of construction financing. With about $16 million of equity the construction financing should not be difficult. Our plans are to begin pre-sales (yes, against some odds we are engaging in pre-sales due to the very hot Keys market) next winter and deliver inventory late spring 2016.

The other Marathon Key deal, Florida Keys Resort, is drifting away, or so it seems.

Wells, Maine, is progressing well. The big hurdle is to finance the golf course, which is not easy, but then again, with more than $8 million in equity that is quite do-able. The project has six elements to it: [1] golf course management, [2] lot sales both single family and duplex, [3] spec homes by Conner Homes of Middlebury, VT, a terrific operation, [4] PRC in homes and duplexes, and then [5] lodging, hospitality with a deck of B and Bs and the club facility, and finally, [6] the acquisition and management of an existing B and B on the Beach at Wells.

So, a six-fold operation, but it covers the necessary bases for success. My partner, Duane Gerenser, has the overall vision, and will lead the execution of it all.

New Orleans? We've placed that on the back burner until we get the financing to bed for Marathon Key and Wells, Maine.

Next week, I'm off to Big Bear Lake outside of LA to see a 'ready to go' deal, and then the following week to LA and a Sunset Boulevard deal. It's a long shot, but who knows?

More as it comes to pass…