Page 14 Friday, September 2, 2011 Longboat Key News

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What, at this point, bothers you most person-ally about the approval?

White: The lack of consideration for the Islandside property owners and for the codes that have governed that planned development for the past 30 years. I think we had a right to expect the town to uphold existing codes and not make massive changes to allow this over-developed project.

We are fortunate we have financial resources to make those arguments. Some other community would nor and would get just get steam-rolled.

IPOC has raised Loeb’s involvement with the default on Boston Renaissance Hotel financ-ing last month. Why is that not relevant to Longboat Key?

Welly: We are part of this community and Bob (White) has cast aspersions on the Key Club. He is not making accurate statements and we cannot just let it go uncor-rected. One major difference is Loeb outright owns the Key Club. It is a totally different animal in that it is owned outright and the redevelopment is to be built in phases.

What exactly happened at the Renaissance?Patterson: It was a new hotel completed in

2006/2007. There were two levels of financing: one $90

million loan with a prime lender, dekabank, then a mez-zanine loan in 2007 of $50 million.

You have to understand, Loeb did not own or control the hotel; it was owned by a limited liability company — a separate entity. Each of Loeb’s properties is owned by a separate entity in which there may be common investors. Loeb owned a 12.5 % interest in the Hotel. Also, Loeb did not operate the hotel, it was Marriot, and the whole issue had no impact on guest experiences or the day-to-day operations. It was not the operations of the hotel that could not be justified, it was the debt. In short, an llc, which Loeb had a 12.5% interest in, could not get financing in place and elected to allow the mez-zanine financing to take over.

Was there an option to renegotiate or refi-nance?

Patterson: Refinancing of the loan could not be concluded in August. The stock market dropped 600 points and at the last hour the lender said, “it did not make sense” and backed out. It was a serious disappoint-ment to Loeb. It was non-recourse financing. If you do anything to file suite, you lose your non-recourse status.

This is a complex issue. It’s unfortunate that it lost money and others have lost money in this, but Loeb is a $3 billion company,and its financial health and reputa-tion are unparalleled in the industry.

been accomplished.After Hurricane Irene, St. Denis and Assistant to the

Town Manager Susan Phillips penned a post-Irene wake up call press release. The release summed up the damage from Irene, a category one storm:

• at least 21 storm related deaths• power outages for over 5 million people• over 7 billion estimated property damage• massive transportation system shutdowns• several airports closed with over 11,000 cancelled

flights• storm surge reported in 10 coastal States• rivers exceeding flood stages in 12 States• over 2,500 people stranded on Hatteras Island due

to 5 breaches in the causeway• 5 confirmed tornadoes• over 27,000 people hosted in Red Cross Shelters on

Sunday night• mandatory evacuations ordered for threatened com-

munities of most Eastern Seaboard States• school closures• financial losses suffered by businesses that were

forced to close for days - some also experienced prop-

What lesson should Longboat Key take from the Renaissance Hotel loan default?

White: The default is relevant in that: 1. Loeb has promised a five star hotel a $400 million

project on Longboat Key and they defaulted on a lot less of an investment — they just walked away from it.

2. I think that this should be a major concern on Longboat; we need some financial assurance that this project will get built.

The question is who is going to finance it now? They defaulted on a major loan. It’s another deal of “What’s it exactly going to be?” Like the supposed 5-star hotel. They do not have any and have not developed any 5-star hotels. People feel that when all is said and done, Loeb will sell and throw a level of uncertainty and risk onto our island. That is what is so unfortunate and risky

What about financing the Islandside rede-velopment? Is the plan viable or have things changed over the past year?

Welly: How to finance the project has not been deter-mined because the market is always changing. In today’s market, a hotel is easier to finance than a condo. It is sort of up in the air. But, even a year after the approval, we are still good. We have marched the proposal before potential financing and we are told the project is the most viable for that site and our approach is the correct one.

erty damage• roadways and bridges to many coastal communities

were destroyed making it impossible for affected resi-dents to reach their homes to assess and begin repair to damaged property

Each year, local officials urge residents and business owners to re-evaluate their disaster plans to ensure preparedness if, and when, threatening weather events require immediate action. To assist in this effort, the Town of Longboat Key website has a hurricane pre-paredness page that contains information to assist you in preparing your home, family (including pets), and/or business disaster plans.

Your plan is developed based on the types of hazards likely to impact your area and should include where you’ll go if ordered to evacuate, what documentation you need, and what supplies should be in your disaster supply kit.

There are also links to aid individuals in important pre-disaster decisions as well as pre- and post-storm actions to minimize personal risk.

When severe weather threatens our area, specific storm information concerning Longboat Key is post-ed directly to the Town’s website and replaced as new information becomes available from the National

Hurricane Center, as well as Sarasota and Manatee County Emergency Operations Centers.

In addition, residents are encouraged to register phone contact numbers with CodeRed Emergency Notification System so you will be directly informed of of evacuation orders or other important emergency communications from local officials. The link for CodeRed is located on the front page of the Town’s website.

As part of Manatee and Sarasota Counties’ disas-ter preparation, the respective Office of Emergency Management maintains a “People with Special Needs” (PSN) Registration program. The Town encourages residents to review the PSN link to determine if regis-tration is appropriate. This ensures that transportation and adequate facilities are available for those residents who have medical needs requiring specialized care.

The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) link provides information for property owners on how to strengthen their home to mitigate damage from winds, water, and power outages.

Residents are encouraged to take the time to make preparations now to reduce the likelihood of experi-encing storm related impacts. Visit www.longboatkey.org to get started.

Key Club, from page 4

Hurricane, from page 1