florida real estate development

Trump Hollywood Project Foreclosed

It's time for me to eat my words. Back in March I referred to the Trump Hollywood project in Hollywood, Florida as the "only Trump project thriving in South Florida." I was wrong on two counts: the first being that it was yet another Trump-licensed project rather than a direct Donald Trump build and the second, on the building's overall health. Bloomberg reports this week that lenders foreclosed on Trump Hollywood ending a protracted restructuring battle by developer Jorge Perez's Related Group of Florida.

The project opened in 2009 and the 41-story tower includes 200 condos at current prices from $900,000 to $7 million. The $225 million mortgage on the project was part of $2 billion in troubled loans at Related Group as of early last year.

According to the Bloomberg article, sales have closed on just 25 units. Given what we've seen on other similar projects, I'm predicting we'll see a condo auction to raise interest and quick cash on units not already spoken for by buyers. Trump is facing lawsuits on other licensed projects including his failed Baja Mexico project and the Fort Lauderdale project that until recently bore his name, it's not clear if Trump Hollywood has any disgruntled buyers yet.

Tags: donald trump, florida real estate, florida real estate development, hollywood florida, trump hollywood

Amelia Island Plantation Sold To Omni

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Omni Hotels & Resorts has picked up the Amelia Island Plantation, a luxury resort located 29 miles north of Jacksonville, Florida. The brand bid $67.1 million for the resort at an auction held on August 23 (beating out other bidders including Starwood Capital). Amelia Island Company filed Chapter 11 late last year. Omni Hotels & Resorts expects to take over ownership and operation of the luxury resort sometime this fall. It has big plans for the resort planning to add approximately 125 additional guest rooms and suites and a new 16,000 square foot ballroom.

The luxury destination island resort is on 1,350 acres surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, green marshlands and the Intracoastal Waterway. The secluded location is designated as a sanctuary by Audubon International as well as a certified Green Lodging Destination. The resort includes the Amelia Inn, with 249 ocean view guest rooms and the Villas of Amelia offering one, two and three bedroom villas. There are 54 holes of golf, a tennis center, spa, pools, a shopping village, fitness center and nine restaurants and bars.

Tags: amelia island plantation, chapter 11 bankruptcy, florida real estate development

Trump In Trouble Again Over Licensing Condo Projects

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

We recently looked at Donald Trump's troubles south of the border but he's not doing so well in South Florida either. The Sun-Sentinel has a piece taking a look at Trump's projects in the area and the news isn't good. The Trump International Hotel & Tower Fort Lauderdale beach is facing foreclosure. The South Florida Business Journal reported that the condo-hotel project was hit with a foreclosure action last week. The 298-unit project has already been hit with lawsuits from buyers seeking refunds. Like the Baja project we mentioned last week this is another of Trump's licensing deals and some buyers have said they were misled about Trump's role in the project.

Corus Construction Venture filed a foreclosure action March 11 against developer SB Hotel Associates over a $139 million mortgage issued in 2006 by Corus Bank, which failed in 2009. We heard about Corus Construction Venture in January when we learned that one of Phoenix's tallest towers, 44 Monroe is facing a trustee's sale in April and owes Corus Construction Venture $86.8 million. Last year Corus Bank collapsed and was taken over by the FDIC. It owns a 60 percent stake in Corus Construction Venture and the rest is owned by private equity consortium led by Starwood Capital Group an investment firm run by Barry Sternlicht, the founder of Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Construction started on the Fort Lauderdale project in 2005. The lavish project was designed by architect Michael Graves and was to include a health club, spa, restaurant and more. It was scheduled to open last year. Corus Construction will have the option of either holding onto the project until the market is better or possibly trying to make more immediate money by converting it into a regular hotel and buying out the existing condo unit owners.

Another project in Fort Lauderdale, the 95-unit Trump Las Olas which we wrote about in 2006 never even got off the ground. The only Trump project thriving in South Florida is the Trump Hollywood in Hollywood, Florida. The project opened last year and the 41-story tower includes 200 condos at prices starting at $1.3 million.

Tags: donald trump, florida real estate, florida real estate development, south florida real estate, trump fort lauderdale, trump hollywood, trump las olas, trump licensing

Resort At Singer Island Sold, Rebranded

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Real Estate Developments

Way back in 2006 I wrote about the plans for The Resort at Singer Island, a Starwood Hotels project. Now the Florida resort will no longer be a Starwood property. The Resort at Singer Island was sold to Urgo Hotels recently for $7.1 million. A presss release states that condos in this oceanfront tower were sold 78 percent under opening day prices in a bulk sale. The operator of the 239-suite hotel was changed from Starwood to Marriott. The new name is now officially the Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort and Spa. The hotel is on six acres of beachfront with 300-foot frontage on the Atlantic Ocean in Palm Beach County.

WCI Communities, the owner of the property and a luxury homebuilder based in Bonita Springs, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over a year ago. It announced on September 3, 2009 that it emerged from Chapter 11 as a newly reorganized, private company, eliminating more than $2 billion in debt and liabilities. It spent $210 million to build the oceanfront Resort at Singer Island, a project that comprises 66 condo residences, 239 hotel/condos, a restaurant and a spa. Urgo Hotels paid $4 million for four three-bedroom residence condos, $2.1 million for 14 hotel/condos and $1 million for the hotel operating agreement, the spa, the restaurant and the common areas.

Tags: florida, florida real estate development, FloridaRealEstateDevelopment, resort at singer island, ResortAtSingerIsland, urgo hotels, UrgoHotels