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55 West


Tim3167

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OK, a new twist. So, Im sitting at home and my doorbell rings around 6 pm (in New York). This guy is standing there with a crap load (like 2000 pages) of papers asking me if I am me. I say yes. Turns out he's a process server I have been sued by the bank that took over the project. They are (as we already knew) foreclosing on the buidling AND they are laying a claim to my deposit!!!!!! WTF?!?!?!?!?! Now me and the other 33 holdouts need to hire lawyers to answer this suit within 20 days. A pox on these people and their family.

Sounds like they are trying to scare you guys into rescinding your contracts so they can move forward. I don't see where they have a claim to your deposits...I'd look at a counter suit for specific performance.

Edited by FLheat
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I never put a deposit down there, so I don't have an opinion about them in that manner;

I just want two things for now:

1) hotel (thanks for the update, jack)

2) the retail to open so I can play there.

the City can really get DT to stay on track for good now entertainment wise. from the Arena down Church to 55W and PTP as "hubs", then north on Orange, with auxilliary corridors on Pine and Central, with Wall St. as the other "hub".

if they devote resources to promote development and fill in the vacancy gaps this zone can become more unheralded. they need to start with 55W retail along Church and Pine, fill in the lot at Pine & Orange where the sub shop burned down, finish out PTP, and lease out the rest of the Exchange. The Firehouse will add aesthetics on Pine & Central, and 55W looks first class at the sidewalk level along Pine.

SODO will have "24 Hr. Fitness". Maybe they should try to sign them for the Exchange as well. wouldn't that be something.

As for the rest of downtown, the Central corridor near Thornton Park and Paramount I think is secure from failure now once Publix opens. If Montage gets built, add those residents to the mix as well. If they lease out 101 Eola, that will help Sanctuary's retail too. Tijuana Flats I hear is going gangbusters in TPC.

But, 55W is the key- or rather a major piece of the puzzle. PTP is the other-- the eateries and bars are good, but the 2nd level upstairs is dead-- it needs life. there is a plan in the works for the cinema.

I wonder what the odds are of OVAL moving their film screenings over there. Might at least be worth a discussion.

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  • 3 weeks later...

well, this project is very much in a moving forward phase. they are courting two hoteliers right now. once they sign one, they'll do the buildout on the hotel floors, finish the east side of the pool deck, and build out the lobby space at the base, which looks to be sizeable. but, in the meantime, nothing will open until they get their C/O, which won't be given until all of the above takes place. however, now, there's just the construction fence along Church which doesn't look too bad. I just wish this would get moving quicker.

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well, this project is very much in a moving forward phase. they are courting two hoteliers right now. once they sign one, they'll do the buildout on the hotel floors, finish the east side of the pool deck, and build out the lobby space at the base, which looks to be sizeable. but, in the meantime, nothing will open until they get their C/O, which won't be given until all of the above takes place. however, now, there's just the construction fence along Church which doesn't look too bad. I just wish this would get moving quicker.

As per the e-mail I received and posted from the sales office over a month ago, they said they will have an announcement in August regarding which hotel company is going to go in. It is now September. The bank building this project foreclosed on this project in a "friendly" foreclosure which became nasty in August. They included the remaining 33 holdout buyers in the new foreclosure suit they filed in August, trying to seize control and ownership of the deposit accounts. Speaking to my attorney, he explained that this was done as a scare tactic to get the remaining holdouts to ask for their deposits back and they cannot seize the accounts. I could have responded to the suit and tried to keep my unit, but, at this point I am exhausted with this. So now 55 West is almost complete and empty. I got my deposit back (thankfully with interest) on Monday. The sales office asked if I wanted to be notified when the building goes back on sale (yeah, right) told them not to hold their breath. They also said that the bank is thinking of making it a rental building and that the negotiations are not going well with the hotels due to the current economy.

This is the second time this building has given back deposits because they want to raise the prices, if they decide to sell the units. I really have a bad feeling about this and think that it may remain a ghost/empty building for a while. I cannot see anyone paying $600K for a 1200 square foot 2/2 downtown in the foreseeable future. Shame, it could have been a great building.

Edited by FrigginGr8est
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This is the second time this building has given back deposits because they want to raise the prices, if they decide to sell the units. I really have a bad feeling about this and think that it may remain a ghost/empty building for a while. I cannot see anyone paying $600K for a 1200 square foot 2/2 downtown in the foreseeable future. Shame, it could have been a great building.

Personally I couldn't care less about all that "inside baseball" business.

Although it would add to the liveliness of the area to have people living there, as long as they take down the fence & open up the retail space on the bottom one or two floors, the rest of the place can sit mostly empty for all I care. Not my problem.

Maybe it'll begin to fill up gradually.

That wouldn't be so bad.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Personally I couldn't care less about all that "inside baseball" business.

Although it would add to the liveliness of the area to have people living there, as long as they take down the fence & open up the retail space on the bottom one or two floors, the rest of the place can sit mostly empty for all I care. Not my problem.

Maybe it'll begin to fill up gradually.

That wouldn't be so bad.

I agree, but they won't do anything until they know if they are signing the hotel or not. then, just to open the retail level(s), they would have to have a C/O, which means they would have to build out the hotel portion completely. this will stay closed off for at least a year is my prediction-- which is a shame b/c it is pretty, and Church St. can use the extra retail magnets now.

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I agree, but they won't do anything until they know if they are signing the hotel or not. then, just to open the retail level(s), they would have to have a C/O, which means they would have to build out the hotel portion completely. this will stay closed off for at least a year is my prediction-- which is a shame b/c it is pretty, and Church St. can use the extra retail magnets now.

They can get partial C/O's for the completed floors. They could finalize the first couple floors and have tenants before the upper floors were built out.

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They can get partial C/O's for the completed floors. They could finalize the first couple floors and have tenants before the upper floors were built out.

they told me they couldn't get partial C/O's; I asked; maybe the lady told it to me wrong... same with PTP, though. they got the C/O for the building before Urban Flats started building out... but, who knows.

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Um, did you say $500 a square foot?

Now what I know about real estate you could fit in a shoebox and have room left over for the shoes...but are these Dutch lenders confusing Orlando with Amsterdam?

Wow, at this rate, my home, with an actual yard, and 2 parking spaces, is worth half a million also. And here I was thinking the value had gone down a little. Silly me!

Now you know how it feels to live in San Francisco or God forbid New York where the average sales price per square foot is $1,400. $500 is nothing. The delta between 14 and 5 is driven largely by land. I'm sure that the superior location and unique product will generate the revenue necessary to justify this project.

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cant they get a certificate of completion and then the retail can get their CO as they finish build out?

I thought that they could. but from what they said, no. which sucks, b/c they can stay in negotiations with a hotel indefinitely...

but, again, the issue is lobby and meeting room space, which will partly come from the first two levels facing Church St., which is where retail is supposed to go.

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