Luxury Hotel that never was

Another part finished luxury golf development is facing financial issues. Harbor Station in Virginia. All I can say is it is about time the Federal reserve printed some more money or we are going to see more of these things collapse.  A few county authorities sensibly refused to allow golf courses to be built until after the residential development was completed, but Prince William County apparently needed the backsheesh and the first part completed was the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course which was to be followed by 4,000+ McMansions and the usual conference center, luxury hotel etc.

Work on Harbor station has now come to a standstill, with one of the entrance roads blocked with a decrepit speedboat and metal piping.  Although - according to Inside Nova, the local county supervisor, Corey Stewart, remains “optimistic,” despite the fact that no homes have been built and the golf course has sat idle for two years now. Contractors in Virginia, North Carolina and Florida have filed millions of dollars worth of liens against  the current owners, Lee Carolina, which has canceled or delayed most of it’s projects until the Fed turns the presses back on. The main $100 million loan is in default, so I suspect the county will have another golf course to look after in the not too distant future.

Entertainingly, Prince William County’s department of economic development still has their sales pitch up on the county website which states,  This planned facility will provide support to tourism, economic development, and revitalization of the Potomac Communities,” said Sean T. Connaughton, Board Chairman. “This complex will not only be a first of its kind in Prince William County, but a truly unique blend of luxury hotel, premier golf, and quality conference space not seen in Northern Virginia.” Website.

Probably time to take it down now? Interestingly, the only golf developments going ahead at the moment seem to be the mafia-sponsored ones. I was invited recently to visit the Isla Viveros development in Panama. After the scathing write-up I gave them? No thanks - I do not want to end up with a concrete overcoat.

The Cliffs, a luxury golf development near in High Carolina near Asheville is suffering from the slowdown in golf community sales. We have covered a number of similar developments recently and many are running into difficulties, including the Cherokee Run Country Club in Georgia, and the Laurel Cove in Tennessee. Relatively speaking, I feel The Cliffs is one of the stronger developments, but they are still facing the same issue as the rest of the industry.

At the release back in November last year, CEO Jim Anthony claimed they had sold more than 50 units at a sale price of more than $40 million. According to the County property records office, only 25 sales have actually gone through - with a total sales value of $25 million. Hopefully, this will be sufficient to keep the lenders at bay until such times as the market returns to a more positive outlook. I suspect that, like many developers, their potential customers are having trouble raising financing or selling existing properties. Tiger Woods did the course design - his first in the USA. Mr. Woods seems pretty prolific recently, although I suspect that trend will not continue. The Tiger Woods Dubai is still unfinished, and a number of surrounding developments in Dubai have been canceled although the developers still claim smooth sailing.

Concierge Auctions will conduct a luxury real estate auction of a 5,590 square-foot home in the exclusive golf and country club community of Isleworth near Orlando, Florida on April 4.

Located at 9815 Laurel Valley Drive, the property was originally listed for $3.495 million and then reduced to $1.75 million, but has failed to sell. The two-story, Mediterranean-style home contains five bedrooms and five baths. It includes an elegant foyer with marble flooring, two bedroom suites, a theater, pool, sauna and outdoor lanai, as well as a library and wine storage area. There is also a detached guest suite with a private garage entrance.

The listing is being offered by Alice Schultz of Isleworth Realty, an exclusive affiliate of Christie’s Great Estates. This will be the first luxury real estate auction conducted for Isleworth Realty.

“This attractive property will benefit from the exposure created by the Concierge Auctions platform, which offers an accelerated marketing process that obtains fair market value for properties in a determined time frame,” stated Stuart Mattison, Director of Sales for Concierge Auctions.

Isleworth was developed by a group of investors headed by Arnold Palmer, who created his dream community around one of his signature golf courses. Widely recognized as one of the nation’s premier country club communities, Isleworth is home to a number of famed sports stars and other celebrities.

Isleworth is surrounded by a series of picturesque lakes, providing more than 7 miles of shoreline and over 10 miles of protected waterway. The Isleworth Country Club features an 18-hole golf course, a mix of clay and hard professional quality tennis courts, and a full-service 89,000-square-foot clubhouse.

The auction will be held at 11am on Saturday, April 4. The property is available for preview daily from 1pm to 4pm through April 3. For more information, visit www.conciergeauctions.com or call Concierge Auctions at 888-966-4759.

NB - One thing to note with this property is that a $1,500 application fee to Isleworth Community Association will be applied - presumably acceptance is guaranteed.

The Tiger Woods Dubai today announced that it has successfully completed bulk earth works at the 55 million sq. ft. golf community development, enabling the project to progress to the next phase of construction. All remaining bulk earth works are now complete on the road network, commercial buildings, residential plots and Al Ruwaya Golf Course. This is Tiger Woods Design’s first project, and is quite staggering in scale, although some (myself included) wonder at the sustainability of creating a fake environment of this scale in the desert.  I imagine working in sand has made the earth moving process a little easier and they have managed to achieve some dramatic typography, with elevations reaching 78 meters above sea level, including a difference of 29 meters between the lowest point, the lakes, and the highest point.

Abdulla Al Gurg, Project Director, The Tiger Woods Dubai, said: ” We are optimistic the course designed by ace golfer Tiger Woods will offer a unique experience for golfers of all proficiency levels.”

The plant nursery at the massive golf community development already boasts over 60 acres of grass - the equivalent of nine holes - and houses nearly 4,500 trees and a wide variety of shrubs that have been imported from all over the world.  The nursery features a reverse osmosis (RO) plant that purifies 5,000m3/day of treated sewage effluent (TSE) water to specified standards.

Located at Dubailand, The Tiger Woods Dubai will eventually include a professionally-staffed golf academy; a 139,000 sq. ft. clubhouse; a high-end destination spa; 22 palaces; 75 mansions, and 100 luxury villas and community service facilities.

Photo copyright - Choppershoot Dubai. Pay them a visit for a collection of pretty stunning aerial photographs of Dubai.

Who is getting fired next year?

It seems as though Donald Trump’s heavily disputed golf development in the Scottish wilderness may now be in some doubt. Despite claims from the Trump camp that financing is not an issue, problems in several other areas of Mr. Trump’s business interests may have an effect.

Trump was finally given permission to build what he described as “The Greatest Golf Course in the World,” after battling environmentalists and the local council for the right to do so. Against the wishes of both these groups, the Scottish government stepped in and declared that any detrimental effects on the local environment was outweighed by “social and economic benefits.” But things have taken a slight turn for the worse financially-speaking since this decision was made, which begs the question as to the likely impact on the Aberdeenshire course’s short term future.

The Trump Hotel and Tower in Dubai has been canceled, or at least “delayed,” for the foreseeable future.

The gaming industry is suffering a far larger downturn that was expected, with visitor levels falling in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and predictions that this will continue, with a recovery not likely before 2010. Trump Entertainment Resorts defaulted on a $53 million interest payment last week, although this was apparently in the interests of “maintaining sufficient liquidity.” Last time I checked, not paying your bills was not the best way to do this, and I expect to see lawsuits flying soon.

Speaking of lawsuits, Mr. Trump recently fired off one of his own at Deutsche bank, accusing the bank of wrongly refusing to extend the loan on the Trump International Hotel and  Tower in Chicago, which is also in default. The somewhat tenuous basis for this suit is the fact that the economic downturn is an “act of god,” and that Deutsche bank was in some way responsible for the current economic crisis, and should pay damages. Much as I may agree with that sentiment, there is a long list to be added to this bank. Needless to say, Deutsche bank are seeking to have this lawsuit dismissed and are demanding Mr. Trump pays the $40 million personal guarantee related to the construction loan. At least 2009 will offer some entertaining legal battles. Part of me is hoping he wins, if only for the gumption shown.

The legal battles do not end there though - Mr. Trump recently filed suit against the city of Rancho Palos Verdes in California, for forcing him to spend millions of dollars on “unnecessary environmental studies,” for structural developments around his “Trump National Golf Club.”

But wait, there’s more - on the 18th December, Mr. Trump also sued the Philadelphia state Gaming Control Board for unfairly denying him a casino license in that city, after the board decided that he was planning to lure gamblers to Atlantic City in an effort to improve numbers as the Atlantic City casinos emerged from bankrupcy. There are some suggestions that this is a delaying tactic aimed at slowing down the growth of any competition.

On top of all these, it looks as though Mr. Trump is on the verge of having to pay out $4.1 million to former investors in a past settlement filed by seventeen former Trump casino shareholders. An appeal was denied last month and the shareholders have requested a federal bankrupcy court to liquidate the three Trump casinos.

Managing Director of international development with the Trump Organization, George Sorial, says that there is no connection between the various projects, and there is no need for financing for the Scottish development. Mr Trump did manage to sell his Palm Beach Mansion for $100 million earlier this year, so perhaps this is the case? Far be it for me to suggest any connection between these various issues (I have no wish to end up in court),  but I would have thought that there will be no time to build a golf development in Scotland as it appears Mr. Trump will be spending most of 2009 in front of a judge. 

Jack Nicklaus on Isla Viveros

Grupo Viveros announced Tuesday that Jack Nicklaus will create a par-72 Signature Golf Course as the centerpiece of Isla Viveros, located in the Pacific Ocean, 45 miles from the Panamanian coast. It would appear that some golf developments are immune to the current economic climate, which is good to see, albeit one has to wonder how they manage it.

Isla Viveros will be a $300 million development featuring as many as two hotel properties, private runway, luxurious spa, shopping and fine dinning facilities, and a 300-slip yacht club and marina, along with 250 beachfront residential villas.

The development is billed as “eco-friendly,” which I find a little difficult to digest. Grupo Viveros, the consortium developing Isla Viveros, seems one step removed from the mafia. The consortium was recently fined for violating environmental laws and destroying several archaeological sites on Isla Viveros. And one of the principals, a Frenchman named Andre Beladina,  used to be a lawyer until he was convicted of embezzling from the Belgian bank where he worked. The main spokesperson for Grupo Viveros is one Gustavo De La Cruz, a Colombian who stated in La Prensa that if the SUNTRACS construction workers’ union wasn’t removed from the island, that people would be killed.

True to his word, the union’s leader, Osvaldo Lorenzo, was shot and killed at a picket line protesting the labor laws in Panama in 2007, and two others have since been killed by local “security,” firms. The National Police apparently do a “disappearing act,” at these times. There are legal proceedings being taken against a local labor Ministry official. The Panama News

One wouldn’t have thought a golfer of Mr. Nicklaus’ reputation would be prepared to get involved with a company of this ilk, but needs must I suspect. Or perhaps he is unaware of the recent turbulence surrounding the development. Mr. Nicklaus arrived on Monday in Panama and spent close to four hours on site at Viveros with his design team. Following the visit to the island, Mr. Nicklaus returned to the mainland for a press conference and reception.

“Viveros is honored to have Jack Nicklaus, a distinguished golf legend and the world’s preeminent course designer, on board to create and offer our residents and visitors a premier course that matches the uniqueness of the island,” said Maxime Navarre, CEO of Grupo Viveros.

“We’re excited about our first design visit to Viveros,” Nicklaus said. “The site has a lot of wonderful natural features. There are elevation changes up to 65 meters, lush vegetation, and with 35 kilometers of coastline, we have the opportunity for some spectacular oceanfront golf.

“We have been fortunate to have had a great deal of success designing throughout the Caribbean, and I hope we are able to create a golf experience that will only enhance what Viveros is trying to accomplish, and serve as a welcome addition to Panama’s fast-growing reputation as a global tourist destination.”