Mediterra Naples Florida Real Estate

The Club At Mediterra Is Officially Owned By The Members!

2009-12-04T07:01:00.005-05:00

The dream has been realized! The Club at Mediterra is now formally and officially owned by the 386 golf members, 88 sport members, and 162 social members who live in the Mediterra community. The closing transaction was completed late Thursday, December 3, 2009.

The unselfish response and wide spread support of the Mediterra Community made it possible for us to overcome the challenging crisis we all faced this past year. What we have been able to achieve as a community has been truly remarkable. Few thought we could survive, much less emerge as one of the most financially secure premier clubs in SW Florida. The demand for real estate in Mediterra has already begun to reflect this reality.

Now our future will be defined by our member/owners and our Club Management Team and employees acting in concert. We are indeed fortunate that Michael Seabrook, the former General Manager of the old club, has agreed to accept the position of Chief Executive of the new Club at Mediterra. Michael will report to the Board of Governors of the Club, and together with his management team will have the fundamental responsibility for the overall success of our Club in every dimension. In the near future he will be communicating directly to all of you, introducing his management team, and presenting the mission and vision that will drive his team.

We have begun the process of forming a Nominating Committee to guide us through the process of electing the Board of Governors for our new Club. We hope to have that process complete by early spring. In the meantime the Advisory Board members will serve in that capacity temporarily until the election process is complete. We will shortly send out another communication to describe this process in more detail.

We have also scheduled a members' meeting for January 7, 2010 at the Club, so please mark your calendar. We plan to give a reasonably comprehensive presentation of our Club profile, including financial condition, membership profile, near term outlook, and other matters of interest.

The excitement among our new owners is palpable. In anticipation of our successful closing, Friday night dinner at the Club, and Saturday night dinner at the Beach Club are already sold out. The Club is making immediate plans to add dining evenings so we can accommodate everyone.

We want to extend a particularly warm welcome to all of our new Social members. We look forward to having you join the warm and open experience of our Club culture. We are also particularly grateful for your support during our hour of need.

The New Club is open for business to all new members starting today, Friday, December 4. For all charter members, you will keep your existing membership number. For all new members, we have a New Membership Kit available for you to pick up at Reception in the Main Clubhouse. Friday night dinner at the Club and Saturday night dinner at the Beach are already full. This is great news as we look into opening up on additional nights to serve all our members. Both are available, however, for lunch. For security purposes, we ask that new members please keep their membership cards with them when using the Club until the staff gets to know you.
Thank you.

The Advisory Board for the Members of the Club at Mediterra

Jon Conahan
Barbara jay
Dick Ludwig
Lance Primis
Rich Schmidt
Bruce Soderholm
Jay Taylor
Irwin Teich

Member & Resident Update Nov. 19, 2009

2009-11-19T14:05:00.001-05:00

We are very pleased to report that membership in our New Club has continued to rise steadily. We now have 381 golf members, 88 Sport Members (a reduction from the last reporting due to upgrades to golf), and 157 Social Members. This is a powerful statement about the cohesion and mutual support among the Mediterra members and residents who have made all this happen. This message has not been lost on the Real Estate markets. There has been a sharp spike in demand for Mediterra properties ever since we made the announcement that we had agreed to a deal. This is precisely the effect that we hoped we could have on the property values and liquidity of real estate in our community. Just since our last update to you describing the options ahead for those who had not yet joined, we have had a spate of new joiners and rejoiners. Our challenge now is to turn our attention to the serious business of re-establishing and operating one of the finest private clubs in Florida. There are many gifted and talented people in our community with valuable experience who could help us attain this goal. There is much work ahead of us, and important committee assignments to fill, and we hope you will give some serious thought to lending us your time and talent to make Mediterra the club we all want it to be. (source: advisory board members for Mediterra, 11-19-2009)

Judge says Mediterra golf club member owed his $180,000 deposit

2009-11-19T08:40:00.001-05:00

A Collier County Circuit judge has sided with a golf club member at Mediterra, saying he should get his deposit back.
On Tuesday, Collier County Circuit Court Judge Hugh Hayes granted a summary judgment against Long Bay Partners in a case brought by Glenn Bolles, a resigned member who never lived in Mediterra.
Bolles has been seeking to recover his $180,000 membership deposit. His Naples attorney had no comment.
Similar cases are pending against Long Bay Partners and its affiliate Bonita Bay Group over lost deposits.
Last year, Bonita Bay Group abruptly stopped honoring its policy to refund deposits to resigning members within 30 days. The financially strapped developer made that decision after seeing a surge of resignations and a “run on the bank” by members seeking refunds at its golf clubs, including Mediterra.
The judge’s order is not yet signed. Bonita Bay Group will fight the decision. The developer has argued that it had the legal right to modify its membership agreement.
“Although the circumstances in the Bolles case are different from those in the other cases concerning the refund of membership deposits, we believe the court misperceived the law and we will vigorously appeal the ruling. Unfortunately, the appeals process will necessarily prolong the dispute well into 2010,” said Brian Lucas, vice chairman of Bonita Bay Group.
Some think the judge’s decision — if upheld — will set the stage for other resigned members who haven’t received their money to get a refund.
“It’s a precedent,” said Michael Lissack, a Mediterra resident who has resigned from the club. “It they appeal it in the appellate court and the appellate court upholds it, it’s a binding precedent.”
“All of the rest of the cases are in front of the same judge,” he said. “Do you think he’s going to rule in a different way?”
Lucas sees it another way. He said the contract with Bolles is different from what most members at Mediterra and other clubs signed because he didn’t live in a Bonita Bay community.
“This case is different from other pending matters because the membership contract included specific and unique language that appeared only in a very limited number of membership contracts,” he said.
In a motion for summary judgment, Bolles’ attorney argued that his client was entitled to get his refund “as a matter of law.”
In his lawsuit, Bolles claimed the developer had breached its contract because it had agreed to “unconditionally repay” him within 30 days of his resignation.
According to the suit, Glenn Bolles and his wife Carole are Minnesota residents who also have a home in Naples. He said they were solicited by the membership sales director at Mediterra to join the club in the spring of 2008. At that time, they were told about the 30-day refund policy, which was presented as a feature that differentiated the Mediterra Club from others in the area. Without that policy, the Bolles claim they would have never become members.
The Bolles resigned from the club on Nov. 20, 2008, and never received any of their money back, according to the lawsuit.
Some are concerned the judge’s ruling could derail agreements members have struck to buy their clubs from the developer.
Bonita Bay Group has negotiated deals to sell the Mediterra Club and the Shadow Wood and Commons clubs — both in The Brooks — to their members.
Dave English, president of the Shadow Wood Country Club in Estero, said his advisory board and its attorneys will study the ruling.
“Obviously it’s of concern,” he said.
Earlier this week, the community held town hall meetings about the planned turnover of the golf club. More than 1,000 people attended. So far, 227 people have signed up to join the new member-owned club. That’s about 20 percent of what’s needed to make it viable, English said.
“That is going very well,” he said of signing up members for the new club.
Members have agreed to purchase the Shadow Wood and Commons clubs — and their assets — for $8.25 million in cash.
Bonita Bay Group has agreed to keep the liability, but, in turn, it will collect the joining fees from new members to offset that cost.
There is a concern that if members think they can get their deposits back no matter what they’ll be less likely to join the new club.
“We are going to keep pushing ahead because we believe we are better off taking over the clubs before potential bankruptcy,” English said.
Lissack said he doesn’t think the judge’s decision will affect the deal the developer has reached to sell the Mediterra Club to its members. Members have offered to pay $6.8 million cash for their club and to assume $15 million in debt for a Community Development District that helped pay for roads, sewer hookups and other shared needs as Mediterra got off the ground.
Ninety-five percent of the current members — or more than 470 residents — have agreed to join the new club. Another 150 residents, who aren’t members, will become either golf, sports or social members.
“Mediterra is a done deal,” Lissack said. “It’s closing. It will go through.”(source: naples news 11-19-09)

London Bay Homes and Bonita Bay Group sign agreement for Mediterra purchase

2009-11-16T09:02:00.001-05:00

Bonita Bay Group and Naples-based luxury builder London Bay Homes have signed a definitive agreement for the sale and purchase of the remaining 50 single-family home and villa lots in Mediterra, a private upscale golf community in North Naples.
This announcement follows last week’s milestone agreement for the members of The Club at Mediterra to purchase the club assets, including its two golf courses, golf learning center, clubhouse, beach club and sports club.
London Bay President Mark Wilson, whose company will assume the sales and marketing operations at Mediterra, said the agreement to acquire the lots brings further clarity to the future of the Mediterra community.
“Mediterra has always been one of the premier golf communities in Naples and this agreement, coupled with the golf club agreement, should serve to give prospective home buyers great confidence that they are buying into a financially strong community and club,” he said in a statement. Wilson did not disclose the terms of the purchase, but indicated that the deal is expected to close in December.
Once closed, London Bay will own about 100 home sites in Mediterra.
London Bay is currently building custom homes and its signature villa and estate homes in two Mediterra neighborhoods – Cortile and Lucarno.
“London Bay Homes shares our vision for Mediterra and we are confident that they will protect the legacy of the community for its current and future residents,” said Gary Dumas, vice president of Bonita Bay Group.
Mediterra has been named Community of the Year by the Collier Building Association five times, received the Award of Excellence for Open Spaces from the Florida Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and has been honored with the Environmental Leader in Golf Award from Golf Digest.
London Bay has operated in the Naples market since 1990 and has built custom homes in many of the area’s most exclusive neighborhoods and communities.
In 2008, the company was one of two companies that earned recognition as “America’s Best Builder” from the industry’s leading publication, Builder Magazine.
“Bonita Bay Group created a beautiful community at Mediterra. We look forward to building, carrying on this tradition and completing one of Naples’ most prestigious communities in a manner in which everyone will be proud,” Wilson said.
Mediterra includes two Tom Fazio-designed golf courses, a 25,000-square-foot clubhouse, sports club and beach club located along the Gulf of Mexico.(source: naples news 11-13-09)

Bonita Bay reaches agreement with members of Shadow Wood, The Brooks

2009-11-03T09:02:00.001-05:00

Bonita Bay Group has reached an agreement in principle for the members of the Shadow Wood Country Club and The Brooks Commons Club to purchase the clubs’ combined assets for $8.25 million in cash, Bonita Bay announced today.

The tentative agreement is with the Shadow Wood Country Club Member Board and The Brooks Commons Club Transition Team, according to the Bonita Bay release.
The sales agreement includes Shadow Wood Country Club and its two 18-hole golf courses, the Shadow Wood Preserve club and golf course, and the amenities at The Brooks Commons Club including a fitness center, restaurant and beach club, the release states.
Bonita Bay Group, based in Bonita Springs, is the developer of six planned communities in Lee and Collier counties.
This is the second Bonita Bay community to reach a resolution on club ownership.
Members of the Club at Mediterra reached an agreement with Bonita Bay Group to purchase the club's assets for $6.8 million in cash, the company announced Oct. 23.
The agreement calls for the club members to assume the community's $15 million debt to the bondholders of a community development district set up to build Mediterra's infrastructure.
Mediterra straddles the Lee and Collier County line, just south of Bonita Beach Road between old U.S. 41 and Livingston Road.(source: newspress 11-3-2009)

MEMBERS BUY CLUB AT MEDITERRA!

2009-10-23T17:22:00.002-04:00

95 Percent of Mediterra Members & Residents Support New Club

NAPLES, Fla. (Oct. 23, 2009) – The Mediterra Members’ Advisory Board and Bonita Bay Group today announced an agreement for the members of the New Club at Mediterra to purchase the combined club assets for $6.8 million in cash and assume the $15 million Community Development District (CDD) debt. The agreement received strong support from the residents and members of Mediterra with 95 percent of former members and an additional 150 residents, who were not previously members, joining the New Club as golf, sports or social members.
“We are deeply appreciative of the overwhelming support of our Mediterra residents and club members who together seized this opportunity to control the destiny of our club and community,” said Richard Schmidt, chairman of the Mediterra Members’ Advisory Board. “This agreement puts our club on firm financial footing and restores Mediterra’s position as Naples’ premier private club community with recreational amenities that are second to none.”
The sales agreement includes The Club at Mediterra and its two Tom Fazio-designed championship golf courses, an 1,800-square-foot golf learning center with short-game practice area, a 25,000-square-foot clubhouse, named best clubhouse twice by the Collier Building Industry Association, and a Sports Club with five Har-Tru tennis courts, an outdoor pool, three spa rooms and a recently expanded fitness center. It also includes the private Mediterra Beach Club on the Gulf of Mexico with an elevated swimming pool, expansive sundeck and indoor and al fresco dining overlooking 200 feet of shoreline.
“While this has been an incredibly difficult process for everyone involved, it has created a unity and bond among all the residents and members in Mediterra that sets our community apart as a very special place to live,” said Schmidt.
“Today’s agreement represents a significant step toward resolving the financial challenges facing our company due to the global economic crisis and the dramatic downturn in the Southwest Florida real estate market,” said David Lucas, chairman of Bonita Bay Group. “We sincerely appreciate the dedicated and professional leadership of the Mediterra Members’ Advisory Board throughout this process and hope to be successful working with the members of other clubs to achieve the best possible resolution to the mutual challenges we face.”
Lucas said the agreement at Mediterra is consistent with the company’s restructuring plan and amended credit facility with its senior lending group. The company remains committed to continuing negotiations with the advisory boards of its other membership clubs in Southwest Florida to achieve mutually beneficial agreements.
Mediterra is a 1,697-acre community that has been named Community of the Year by the Collier Building Industry Association five times, received the Award of Excellence for Open Spaces from the Florida Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and has been honored with the Environmental Leaders in Golf Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and Golf Digest magazine in the private course category. It has been named by Golf Magazine as one of The 50 Best Golf Communities in America and by Travel & Leisure Golf as one of the top 100 golf communities in America for four consecutive years. It was the first-ever 36-hole course to earn Audubon International’s Silver Signature Sanctuary status.

Source: Jennifer Laderer, Director of Marketing, 239.390.1199, JenniferL@BonitaBayGroup.com

Naples Real Estate 29070 MARCELLO WAY Mediterra

2009-10-21T12:18:00.003-04:00

More details for this Mediterra home at http://www.29070marcello.com/

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Message from Mediterra Advisory Board

2009-09-30T15:17:00.001-04:00

From the Mediterra Advisory Board:
We are reaching numbers far in excess of even our most optimistic projections. Golf Members 359
Sport Members 89
Social Members 150
We continue to encourage all members to stay current on your dues. It is only through this continued cash flow that BBG will continue to keep the Club operating at its current level until we complete a transaction. Assuming we reach a final agreement with BBG, it will still take a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks to complete the legal closing of a transaction
We are already well over the number of members needed to make the New Club successful. However, we still have work to do, so we are extending the September 15 deadline that you all voted on at our meeting in August to September 25, next Friday. As you know, BBG has required that we obtain a very high percentage of signed Liability Waivers before they will agree to a deal. We already have waivers from all of the rejoining members, and very many of those who for one reason or another chose not to rejoin as Golf or Sport but are continuing as Social. We are optimistic that by allowing ourselves until September 25 to complete this task, we will be very close to where we need to be.
September 25 will be a firm and final date. We will then go to BBG with our proposal to acquire the Club based on what we have been able to accomplish with member signups and signed liability waivers. If any of you are still considering a final decision, we encourage you to do so before that date.
Once again we owe you all a great debt of gratitude for your enduring patience, your marvelous support of our proposal to become owners of the New Club, and our shared hope for a very special Club experience in our future. There will no doubt still be bumps in the road, but we have already dealt with some huge challenges, and we will drive to the finish line.

Imperial's Lee has first-round lead at SFPGA Professional Championship

2009-09-30T10:27:00.003-04:00

Imperial Golf Club’s John Lee shot a 6-under-par 66 and has the first-round lead at the South Florida PGA Professional Championship at Fiddlesticks in Fort Myers.
J.D. Murray of Cedar Hammock, and Derek Niszczak of The Golf and Racquet Country Club are one stroke back.
The tournament, which wraps up today, serves as a qualifier for the 43rd annual PGA Professional National Championship in June 2010 at French Lick Resort in Indiana.
The SFPGA Section was awarded 11 qualifying spots, plus one for Lee Rinker of Jupiter, who is exempt from qualifying.
Brian Lee of Loxahatchee Club is fourth after a 68. Mark Doss of Gulf Harbour, Ryan Garrity of Dye Preserve, and Chris Czaja of Boca West Club are tied for fifth with 69s. Andy Zullo of Shadow Wood is tied for eighth after a 70.
Gene Fieger of Hideout, Dennis Meyer of Dennis Meyer’s Golf School, Jared Blocker of Pelican Bay, and Bob Byrnes of Mediterra are part of an 11-way tie for 10th.(source: naples news 9-29-09)

Teed-Off Residents Drive Developer to Brink of Ruin

2009-09-24T10:04:00.004-04:00

NAPLES, Fla. -- It's not easy living on a golf course.
Bonita Bay Group, once a premier developer of upper-crust golf communities in this upper-crust town, is on the verge of collapse. The company says it will be forced to file for bankruptcy if it has to refund $245 million in golf-club membership fees some homeowners are demanding, in a battle that's pitting residents against each other and against the company that sold them lavish dream homes during the height of the boom.
Through the 1990s and the earlier part of this decade, Bonita Bay was regarded as one of the leading developers in the Naples area, which has the highest per capita income of any locale in the country except Stamford-Greenwich, Conn. Bonita Bay launched seven Naples-area communities where houses sold for up to $12 million and came with access to exclusive golf clubs with restaurants, tennis courts and pools. Its homeowners have included Richard Schulze, the billionaire chairman of Best Buy Corp., opera diva Kiri Te Kanawa and New Jersey Nets President Rod Thorn.
Mediterra is Bonita Bay's most opulent community. The development also has a Mediterranean-themed park.
Today, like many other Sunbelt developers, Bonita Bay is being squeezed by debt and plunging sales. But its biggest problem is a dispute over the deposits homeowners plunked down for memberships in the golf clubs, a marina and other clubs. Many members want to quit the clubs and get their money back for reasons ranging from cheaper golf elsewhere to the desire for ready cash. Their membership agreements say the deposits -- up to $185,000 per member -- are refundable on demand, a relatively unusual stipulation homeowners say was a big part of the appeal of joining.
Yet Bonita Bay says the agreements also stipulate that the rules "may be amended from time to time," thus allowing it to cancel the refund policy at its discretion -- and that at any rate, it can't pay the money.
Angry residents have filed at least 15 lawsuits against Bonita Bay seeking the return of their deposits and accusing the company of civil fraud. They say the right to amend the rules doesn't apply to the refund policy. The Florida attorney general, responding to a citizen complaint, is investigating Bonita Bay to see whether the way it sold and refunded membership deposits was a Ponzi scheme. One Bonita Bay resident and former Wall Street executive, Michael Lissack, has filed a whistle-blower's complaint against the company with the Internal Revenue Service, saying it owes back taxes on profits it made by holding the deposits.

Bonita Bay's bind is one of the strongest signs yet that putting up houses around fairways -- a hallmark of the real-estate boom -- has lost its cachet. Several other developers of golf communities have already entered bankruptcy proceedings, including the high-end Winchester Country Club in Auburn, Calif., and Promontory in Park City, Utah.
In an interview, Bonita Bay Chairman David Lucas scoffed at the idea that the company is running a Ponzi scheme -- in which investors are paid returns from money that comes from later investors -- or doing anything else that is wrong. Mr. Lucas says the deposits were used to meet operating costs, and aren't taxable. He says the developer is simply in a financial bind as a result of bad land purchases combined with the real-estate downturn, and that members of his wife's family, which owns the closely held company, have poured in funds to keep Bonita Bay going. He says losses in the past three years have "completely wiped out" prior profits.
Bonita Bay has already closed the golf club at Twin Eagles, its latest development, where most of the lots are unsold and weeds are sprouting from the bunkers. In addition to threatening a bankruptcy filing if it has to refund deposits at the other clubs, the developer says it might have to shut down the clubs entirely unless residents come up with millions of dollars to buy them -- a prospect that has homeowners doubly steamed.
Golf-community developers typically sell golf clubs -- courses and all -- to members once the developments are completed, and convert membership deposits into equity stakes. But Bonita Bay is trying to do so at a time when many members want out.
Jason Henry for The Wall Street Journal
A Bonita Bay club recently closed amid a crunch for golf communities.
Living amid the swaying palms and bougainvillea, many well-heeled residents of Bonita Bay's developments say they feel burned and trapped. Few are eager to pour fresh money into the golf clubs -- but many believe that allowing them to close would take away the central attraction of the communities and further erode house values on the Bonita Bay sites. Local real-estate agents say prices are off by more than the 36% average decline that Naples-area housing has suffered since 2006.
Morris Shepard, a former Northeastern University professor who sold an Internet company he started in the 1990s and moved to a Bonita Bay community, says he stopped paying dues to his fitness and beach clubs this year "because I don't deal with crooks," referring to the fact that company has refused to give people their money back. Mr. Shepard says he is opposed to giving any more money to Bonita Bay -- to buy the golf clubs or for anything else.
"There have been severe cutbacks in services and in the condition of the facilities," says Mr. Schulze, the Best Buy chairman, who hasn't asked for his deposit back but also doesn't want to pony up more money to buy the club at Bonita Bay, the developer's oldest community. "Mold is growing in the bag rooms" where players store golf clubs, he says. Bonita Bay acknowledges it has cut maintenance to hold down costs but it says the clubs "will be in excellent shape for the [winter] season," when most members hit the links.
Above, from top, Bonita Bay's property owners have included New Jersey Nets General Manager Rod Thorn, Best Buy CEO Richard Schulze and opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa.
Some residents say the issue of buying the clubs has created bitterness between the wealthiest homeowners, who often have golf memberships, and less wealthy residents who enjoy the landscaping but resent pressure to contribute to the purchase of the clubs. At Bonita Bay's Mediterra community, a committee of golf-club members initially proposed pushing nonmembers to join the club on a social basis and pay $2,500 or more to help fund the purchase. They were told if they didn't join, no future buyers of their homes would be allowed to become golf members. A number of residents called the plan extortion, and the committee eventually dropped its demand.
Richard Schmidt, who lives in Mediterra, where many homes have colonnaded porticos, four-car garages and wine cellars, is part of a group of residents trying to buy the golf club. Bonita Bay, he says, was once "the platinum standard" among developers, and he'd like to preserve the community he lives in. The former chief of water utility Aquarion Co. says not buying the club opens it to the uncertainty of bankruptcy and a sale to others or opening it to the public.
The family-owned company was started by David Shakarian, who founded vitamin retailer GNC Corp. In 1985, it broke ground on the first of its developments, the Bonita Bay Club, which sported a marina on the Gulf of Mexico, three golf courses, homes that went for $3 million and condominium towers. Over the years, the company added six more developments. Its communities now cover 16 square miles of southwest Florida with 12,096 dwellings. Mr. Shakarian died in 1984, just before the first development went up, and the company has been run ever since by his son-in-law, Mr. Lucas, now 62.
Mr. Lucas says that the first sign of trouble for Bonita Bay started with Hurricane Wilma, which hit Naples hard in 2005 and scared away potential land buyers -- many of them contractors who build homes for buyers. Then Florida real estate began to crater, and the mortgage crisis hit. Bonita Bay's land sales are expected to fall to $1.9 million this year from $343 million in 2005.
The company appeared to be getting by with revenue from the clubs and property management and maintenance fees, until a surge of requests for membership refunds began last fall. "It was like a run on the bank," Mr. Lucas says.
In November 2008, the company told homeowners who had paid $245 million in club deposits that it would no longer redeem the fees on demand. The company says it had returned $77 million in such fees over the prior three years.
The first resident suit against Bonita was filed in December. Mr. Lucas acknowledges that Bonita Bay had promised refunds on demand in its membership agreements, but says that members also signed documents that disclosed that terms could be changed at any time. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit say that the terms that could be changed were limited and didn't cover refunds.
Bonita Bay now says that in the future it will refund a deposit to one member for every three new members who join.
As the membership furor was unfolding, Bonita Bay was being forced to renegotiate its loans from Cleveland-based KeyCorp bank. With new lending from the Shakarian family, it cut KeyCorp debt to $74 million from $105 million, but the bank is tightly limiting further loans. Mr. Lucas says Bonita Bay also has $41 million in liabilities in community-development bonds. KeyCorp declined to comment, except to say it hasn't tried to seize Bonita Bay.
Mr. Lucas says he tried to negotiate deals with residents to partially repay the golf deposits -- but KeyCorp refused to lend funds for that. In April, Bonita Bay hired Tim Boates, of Alabama-based RAS Management Advisors, as "chief restructuring officer." Mr. Boates set about cutting cash-draining operations and reducing staff. "Frankly, we needed help," says Mr. Lucas. "We cut headquarters staff 60%."
Bonita Bay began closing beach clubs, slashing hours at restaurants and cutting back on maintenance. Earlier this summer it closed the courses at its Twin Eagles development, which were designed by golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
On Aug. 12, Mr. Boates, the new restructuring officer, sent a letter to the remaining five clubs' 3,000 members saying the clubs would close unless members agreed to buy them by Sep. 30.
But with only one tentative agreement in place so far, the company recently dropped its Sept. 30 deadline, and says as long as members continue to pay their dues and to negotiate a purchase of the clubs in good faith, it will keep them open. However, a spokeswoman for Bonita Bay Group says, the company still needs the members to agree to buy the clubs at most of its communities, and it could close them otherwise.
The battle at Bonita Bay has already had a ripple effect on house values, local real-estate agents say. One of them, Mr. Lissack, who filed the whistle-blower's complaint, says that one of his clients has been trying to sell his Bonita Bay Club residence and guesthouse since early this year. Mr. Lissack says that in another Naples development a comparable property would sell for $4 million. His client's property is priced at $2.5 million and hasn't had any takers.
Although property sales in the Naples area have increased this year, they are down at the Bonita Bay communities, according to Mr. Lissack's tally. He says that only 15 residences have sold at Mediterra since last November, down from 38 in the same time period a year earlier; and in the larger Bonita Bay Club area, 67 homes have sold, down from 148. A Bonita spokeswoman says sales of low-end properties in Naples are up, and that sales declines in Bonita Bay communities are in line with sales in Naples's comparably high-end communities.
Some residents say they'd rather see Bonita Bay Group file for bankruptcy, because they think they could buy the clubs more cheaply then. Tom Melancon, a former Burberry Co. executive who was one of the first residents of Mediterra, says Mr. Boates "is trying to bully people and that's not going to work."(source: wall street journal, 9-24-09)

Naples Real Estate 325 EGRET AVE Vanderbilt Beach

2009-09-15T12:18:00.000-04:00

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Bonita Bay Group, club members return to negotiations to hammer out a deal

2009-09-02T10:47:00.001-04:00

BONITA SPRINGS — Talks are back on.
A committee trying to reach a deal to buy the Bonita Bay Club for members is at work again.
The developer, Bonita Bay Group, has returned to the table after talks appeared to break down more than a week ago.
“Negotiations appear to be back on as lawsuits continue,” said Art Herman, a Bonita Bay club member, in an e-mail to the Daily News. “There is growing sentiment that, while we may have to write a check eventually, it will be more acceptable if (Bonita Bay Group) was in bankruptcy.”
One of the major disagreements has been over the developer’s asking price of $20 million. It’s not clear whether Bonita Bay Group is considering budging on that price, but company representatives have talked to the Turnover Committee at least three times since Aug. 24. A face-to-face meeting was planned for this week, according to the committee’s latest report sent to members on Friday.
“Your committee would like to assure the members that it has always been and remains willing to conduct serious negotiations to acquire the club from (Bonita Bay) Group,” it wrote.
“We believe that we have a duty to the members to try to negotiate a purchase on terms which are fair to the members, not just to do any deal to resolve the current problems as quickly as possible.”
The committee went on to say that it’s not willing to overpay for the club, which would only cause problems in the long-term. It noted that to do a deal at least 85 percent of the golf members would have to approve it and support the new club.
“It takes two sides to negotiate and we are not willing to negotiate against ourselves,” the committee said. “To date, (Bonita Bay) Group has appeared to be in no hurry to conclude a deal since they have been enjoying a positive cash flow from the club. We are optimistic that this will change in the coming weeks.”
The committee warned that members might not hear from it again for “some time” if “meaningful negotiations” take place.
“We ask for your patience,” the committee said.
In the meantime, it is continuing to move ahead with a legal strategy it has undertaken as a back up in case a deal can’t be reached. The committee is supporting several lawsuits, including a class-action with claims of fraud and breaches of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Practices Act.
Last year, the cash-strapped developer stopped honoring its policy of refunding deposits to resigning members, despite giving them promissory notes. Since then some members at various clubs have filed a flurry of lawsuits. The members say they want their money back.
In a letter to members of the Bonita Bay Club last week, Tim Boates, Bonita Bay Group’s restructuring officer, said that starting today there would be a new policy for refunding deposits. It’s not clear whether the policy is just for Bonita Bay Club members.
According to Boates’ e-mail, the developer will refund one membership deposit for every three new members who join Bonita Bay Club. Members would get refunds in the order they were placed on the resign list, he explained.
The committee estimates that $8 million in refunds is currently owed. It doesn’t expect much to change with the new policy. The club is not attracting many new members because of a bad market and the bad publicity generated by the developer’s financial woes.
“It is a joke,” Herman said of the new refund policy.
In his letter, Boates told members that the asking price for the club was “substantially lower” than the price the developer is entitled to under terms spelled out in membership documents. Those terms, he said, would require members to pay an additional $17,000 each and surrender their promissory notes to become equity members, or owners. That would equate to $25 million.
The turnover committee said the analysis by Boates is unfair because the membership documents allow for people who don’t want an equity membership to get a refund. It appears the developer is unwilling or unable to do that.
In his e-mail to Bonita Bay Club members last week, Boates said as long as they continue paying their dues the developer will continue to operate their club. He said Bonita Bay Group remains committed to the sale of the club to members, but there are others waiting in the wings that it will pursue if it appears members don’t want to acquire their club.
“These remain challenging times,” Boates said. “Nevertheless, (Bonita Bay Group) continues to pursue rational and appropriate terms as to the sale of its various clubs to the members of those clubs. We are fortunate that we have made some progress in this area, but much remains to be accomplished.” The developer is looking to sell all of its recreational clubs in a fight to avoid bankruptcy. It owes more than $70 million to a group of lenders, led by Key Bank.
So far, Bonita Bay Group has only been able to strike a deal with members in The Brooks, who have agreed to pay $8.3 million for the Shadow Wood Country Club and The Commons Club and waive the developer’s responsibility for refunding membership deposits.
Over the weekend, Mediterra members and other residents met to consider a proposal by their advisory committee to purchase their golf and beach clubs. Hundreds attended in person or by phone.
Mediterra member Michael Lissack said there’s still a lot of disagreement over the plan. While it’s widely supported by golf members, nonmembers and sports members aren’t so happy with it.
The cost of sports memberships in the new club would be expensive at $8,000, Lissack said. Access to the beach club would be more restricted for residents who aren’t golf members, he said.
Under the advisory board’s plan, members could buy their beach club for $6.8 million in cash or $8 million if it’s financed through Key Bank. A “zero value” has been put on the golf club, which operates at a deficit.
Members would assume $15 million in debt for a community development district, created to build the community’s roads and provide other basic services.
Mediterra has about 360 golf members, including some on the resignation list. About 200 golf members have shown support for the advisory board’s plan and have actually written a check, Lissack said.
“They need a lot more than that,” he said. “It’s like early returns in an election. It doesn’t tell you much of anything.”(source: naples news 8-31-09)

London Bay agrees to buy remaining Mediterra vacant lots

2009-08-29T12:09:00.001-04:00

London Bay Homes wants more of Mediterra.
On Friday, the Naples-based luxury builder said it has reached a tentative agreement to buy 50 single-family and villa home sites in the master-planned golf community off Livingston Road.
The announcement comes as members are looking to finalize a deal to buy their golf and beach clubs from Mediterra’s original developer, Bonita Bay Group.
Financially strapped, Bonita Bay is looking to sell off all of its recreational clubs to members in a fight to avoid bankruptcy. It owes more than $70 million to a group of lenders, led by Key Bank.
Mediterra members are meeting over the weekend to discuss plans for taking over their two clubs. Meetings began Friday.
A Mediterra advisory board that has been handling negotiations for members has reached what it describes as an agreement in principle for the purchase of the clubs from Bonita Bay. Unhappy with the proposal, some members have pushed for an alternative plan, or “plan B.”
In a statement, London Bay President Mark Wilson said the purchase will solidify his company’s presence at Mediterra where it continues to build custom homes and build out its Cortile and Lucarno neighborhoods.
“Mediterra is a premier luxury community and we believe the opportunity to expand our presence here is the perfect complement to our activities in the region,” Wilson said.
The purchase price or other terms of the land sale were not disclosed.
“Bonita Bay Group is pleased to have reached this agreement with London Bay Homes,” said Gary Dumas, Bonita Bay’s vice president for community implementation, in a statement.
“We believe that upon closing the proposed transaction, both Bonita Bay Group and London Bay Homes will have demonstrated a shared commitment to the current residents of Mediterra, and the future of the community, to provide for ongoing development within Mediterra without the legacy of recent unfortunate events and concerns.”
The purchase by London Bay make sense for several reasons, said Ken Plonski, the builder’s marketing director.
“We are the largest builder/property owner in the community,” he said.
“We’ve had a good deal of success there over the years.”
He said Bonita Bay’s lenders still must approve the deal.
“It needs to be reviewed and signed off on and then it can move forward to closing,” Plonski said.
Bonita Bay will keep the remaining 28 condominium home sites in Mediterra for now.
It’s not clear if the proposed sale will affect the ongoing negotiations with members looking to purchase their recreational clubs and other amenities. Plonski said he doesn’t think it will.
But it does mean an alternative plan, or Plan B, floated in the last few days to acquire the clubs won’t work, said Mediterra member Michael Lissack, who helped craft it with a few other neighborhood representatives. Under that plan, the homeowners association would have purchased the clubs for $8 million, and the deal would have included all of the undeveloped lots.
“We are redoing it,” Lissack said. “The proposal that was written does not work anymore.”
He said one of the biggest issues to still be addressed is who will own the clubs. He thinks the homeowners association should.
Under the advisory board’s plan, the clubs would be owned by members, which could make fees much more expensive and would make them more exclusive, Lissack said.
He said the advisory board has agreed to drop a controversial part of its plan that would have prevented new homeowners in Mediterra from joining the new club if the previous owners didn’t pay for memberships.
“That went away,” Lissack said. “You could join later or a new owner could join later.”
This weekend members are meeting down the street at Bentley Village off U.S. 41 N. because so many plan to attend.
“We exceeded the fire capacity at Mediterra,” Lissack said.
“More than 400 members are expected to fly in.”(source: naples news 8-29-09)

Bonita Bay Group CEO speaks out, defends company

2009-08-26T11:48:00.001-04:00

Naples— David Lucas wants to set the record straight.
After months of silence, the chairman of Bonita Bay Group is speaking out in hopes of dispelling allegations of fraud involving the deposits his company collected from members of its golf and other recreational clubs in five communities — Bonita Bay, Verandah, TwinEagles, Shadow Wood at the Brooks and Mediterra.
He’s talking to the media and he’s sent a letter to club members and residents to give them “the facts” behind a decision last year to stop refunding deposits to members who resign.
On Nov. 7 last year, the developer decided to no longer honor its 30-day refund policy. Fuming members have alleged a Ponzi-style scheme and taken their complaints all the way to the Florida Attorney General’s Office, which is now investigating.
Bonita Bay Group has done nothing unethical or illegal _ and there is no Ponzi scheme, Lucas said in an interview Tuesday at the company’s headquarters off Coconut Road in Estero.
“We invested over $200 million more in the clubs than we collected in deposits,” he said.
His financial report shows the company put $447.7 million into the seven clubs, which it is now trying to sell to members in a fight to avoid bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, the company collected $243.2 million in membership deposits for the clubs, excluding refunds, Lucas said. The company spent more than $340 million to build the clubs and has covered $106 million in operating losses since 1985, he said.
“There is $342 million dollars worth of stuff in the ground,” Lucas said.
“To call this a Ponzi scheme is really an irresponsible thing to do. It’s not true.”
A Ponzi scheme is an investment scam that pays investors back with their own money or the money of new investors. Usually, no real profits are generated.
Lucas said he hasn’t had any discussions with investigators at the State Attorney’s Office yet. They’ve only requested information from the company.
“We look forward to talking to them and getting this resolved as soon as possible,” Lucas said.
He explained how the refund policy came about. A few years after opening the first club at Bonita Bay in 1985, Lucas said he was asked about developing a plan for refunding deposits. He decided members should get their money back immediately if they resigned, rather than having to wait for one or two new members to join, as is the case at many other clubs.
“I just sort of did it,” he said. “I was naive. I didn’t want a member to be in the club if they didn’t want to be in the club. That worked for 23 years.”
Bonita Bay Group was forced to stop the policy because it couldn’t afford it anymore, Lucas said. A bad economy brought a surge of resignations and created a “run on the bank” by members seeking refunds, he said.
Golf members who resigned between Jan. 1, 2005, and Nov. 7, 2008, received about $77 million in refunds, Lucas said.
In 2008 alone, the developer gave back $21 million in deposits, he said.
There are three sources of money to pay for refunds: land sales, new memberships and new investments or bank financing. All of them have dried up in a bad economy, Lucas said.
In 2006, the developer had more than $90 million in land sales. This year, it expects to have $2.2 million, a 97 percent decrease.
If it did not change its policy, the company would have had to pay out at least another $18.9 million in refunds based on a current list of resignations, Lucas said.
“Frankly, if we had honored all those requests we would not have been able to remain in business,” he said.
Some members have questioned how much the Lucas and Ukleja families, who own Bonita Bay Group, have profited from the company.
“We’ve put more money in than we’ve taken out,” Lucas said.
Over the last three years alone, the families have invested $115 million into the business to keep it going, he said. They have decided not to give anymore.
“At some point you have to say, ‘It’s as far as I can go,’” Lucas said.
He pointed out that members have never had to pay a special assessment to cover operating deficits at the clubs. He said membership documents do not require the developer to put the deposit money in escrow accounts and it can be spent elsewhere.
“Money comes in and money goes out,” he said.
In fact, he said, the contract with members makes it clear that they will have to put up additional money to purchase their clubs. The developer is seeking cash payments as high as $20 million for its clubs, in addition to wanting members to waive the liability of their deposits.
The developer is looking to sell off all of its clubs as quickly as possible. It owes $74 million to its lenders, led by Key Bank, that it can’t repay, Lucas said.
“The losses incurred by Bonita Bay Group over the last three years have wiped out the cumulative profit of the company since inception,” he said.
Attacks on his family and the company have been hard to take. The company has been known for its high ethical standards and its desire to “do the right thing” for the community and the environment.
The developer is also facing a handful of lawsuits brought by members who want their deposits back. Claims include fraud, violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and breach of contract.
“I’ve tried to do the best I can,” Lucas said. “I think we’re a victim of the economic situation."(source: naples news 8-25-09)

Mediterra Advisory Board Letter 8-22-2009

2009-08-22T22:11:00.001-04:00

The Advisory Board for the Members of the Club at Mediterra
Mediterra Recommended Solution
Executive Summary
August 2009
The destiny of the Community and the Club at Mediterra is squarely in the hands of the residents and members. We have an excellent opportunity to restore our community and our Club to its status as a premier private Club community with recreational amenities second to none.
All we have to do is stand together and seize the moment. This can be a win / win opportunity with little or no risk to any of us, unless we fail to stay united.
The solution crafted by the Advisory Board is simple in concept, but a bit more complicated in the detail. But it is eminently doable and at a cost that we believe you will find to be lower than your expectations, with an upside that is better than your expectations.
Of the many components of the recommended solution, we are certain that virtually everyone will find at least one aspect that discomforts them. But we urge you to consider the impact of the strategy in the aggregate. We hope that you will find that the overall balance of the strategy truly maximizes value for everyone. It must balance the importance to the community of an attractive, premier, and financially viable Club, the costs to the community to preserve that amenity, the cost to members who join the New Club, the attractiveness of the Club and the Community to future buyers, and an overarching sense of fairness to all.
End Objectives
Restore the very special experience of being a resident in Mediterra and a member of The Club at Mediterra that so many of us have enjoyed.
Stabilize and drive up real estate values for all Mediterra residents
Restore liquidity for resales and new sales of Mediterra properties for all Mediterra residents.
Ensure the availability of a financially sound, premium Golf, Sports, and Beach Club in order to ensure the long term liquidity and value of our real estate investments in the Mediterra Community.
Major Principles of the Plan
Participation by all residents, members and non-members alike in our community, to ensure the availability of an attractive Club offering, that in turn supports real estate values and active buyer interest in our community.
Bank Financing for the Club on attractive terms sufficient to make the Plan affordable for everyone.
An opportunity for all residents in Mediterra to join the New Club on terms far more attractive than any competitive alternative.
BBG has offered to sell all of the club assets including the Beach Club for $6.8 million in cash or $8 financed and the assumption of $15 million of CDD debt. This is essentially the same as the original term sheet. The only difference is that we believe we are now able to arrange relatively robust financing with Key Bank because of the strategy we will describe below. Early in our discussion with BBG, it became evident that the opportunity to achieve a significant reduction in purchase price was unlikely. Other BBG Clubs had a similar experience. We then turned our attention to developing a resolution that could work for the entire community.
The New Club at Mediterra would be simply unable to achieve financial viability without a strategy to deal with the CDD debt burden that falls on the Club. We have developed a platform that enables the Club to deal with that burden, provides a basis for affordable financing, and allows us to present a competitive Club amenities program in the marketplace for new buyers in the Mediterra community.
We have crafted a strategy that ensures the long term viability of the Club in our community and creates the opportunity for bank financing on terms not otherwise available.
Involvement of All the Residents and Members in Mediterra
We are asking all the Residents of Mediterra, club members and non-members alike, to share the responsibility for preserving the availability of a premier Club amenity offering to all prospective buyers. We want to do this by offering to everyone a new category membership called Social Membership. This is a voluntary decision on everyone’s part, not a mandatory assessment as would be the case if this were done simply through an HOA authority. We hope that each person will evaluate the merits of this plan and see the benefits both to themselves and to the community.
We ask each Social Member to pay an annual Amenity Preservation Fee (APF). The amount would be $1900 for coach homes, $2400 for villa homes, and $2900 for single family homes. The amounts are in proportion to property value because the basic purpose of the APF is to preserve the value of our investments in Mediterra. Simply put, this is what it will cost us to have a community that can offer a premier Club amenity. Without this, the cost in lost real estate value and liquidity is far higher.
The decision to participate as a Social Member is an individual choice that we must each make. In addition to supporting our individual and collective real estate holdings, a Social Membership provides the following tangible benefits:
· Year round privileges in the Mediterra Clubhouse and restaurant and off-season Beach Club access and dining privileges.
· The ability to purchase a Golf or Sports membership including the Beach Club
· For current resident non-members, incentive prices that are available for a limited time and make the cost of membership more affordable than at any time in Mediterra’s history.
The decision to participate in the Social Membership / Amenities Preservation Program must be made now. It is irrevocable and applies to all future owners of the property. A decision to forgo a Social membership now means that the current and all future owners of the property will not be eligible for any membership. This restriction will be included in the by-laws of the new club.
Current club members who become Social Members will be required to sign a Liability Waiver releasing both the New Club and BBG of liability of claims for initiation deposits paid to BBG or any other claims. We believe the vast majority of such members will choose to sign the Liability Waiver once they understand all the implications.
(See “Liability Waivers” on the website for details.)
(See “Social Membership” on the website for benefits, rationale, why it works for everyone, and the three unique strategic elements that make it a powerful solution component.)
Remaining Unsold Lots in Mediterra
Given the critical importance of getting new members to join the New Club at Mediterra to ensure long term viability, we had to find a way to ensure that we would have many opportunities to convert new home buyers into Club members.
It is likely that BBG will continue to own those lots after we take over the Club, though a prominent builder / developer continues in negotiation with BBG to buy those lots. We have asked for and received agreement from both BBG and the builder / developer to pay the APF regardless of who ends up with that ownership. The builder / developer has already agreed to pay the APF on the lots they already own in Mediterra. Once sold, the new owners take on the APF responsibility for any of these lots.. Their agreement to pay the APF is crucial to making the whole deal work. It ensures that the APF is attached to all of the unsold lots in Mediterra.
The other important by-product of our partnership with them is that BBG has agreed to turn over the HOA to the residents even though they may still own property in Mediterra.
Control of the HOA, in turn, is critical to our strategy, not just because it gives the residents control of our own community. It also enables another component of our strategy that makes the APF “run with the land”. This means that all future homeowners will pay the APF as well. (See “Social Membership” on the website to understand more.) It is precisely because so many future homeowners in Mediterra will share the burden of the APF and enjoy the benefits of the community that the APF preserves, that the cost to us, the current homeowners, is as low as it is.
Club Membership
Once the availability of the Club amenities in our community are assured on the basis of Social memberships and the Amenities Preservation Fee, we can now deal with the recapitalization, startup, and operation of a viable, financially sustainable Club offering to all.
Charter Members
Recapitalization Costs for current club members who join the New Club (i.e. Charter Members) are set out below.
Recap fee for Golf, including the Beach Club, is $19,000 refundable.
Recap fee for Sport, including the Beach Club, is $9,000 refundable.
Annual dues for golf will be $13,000 at 300 golf members or more in the New Club. If we get significantly fewer members, dues would have to go higher. We currently have about 360 golf members, including some on the resignation list
Annual dues for sports will be $5,900 if we get 90 sport members in the New Club. If we get significantly fewer members, dues would have to go higher. We currently have about 117 sport members, including some on the resignation list.
We have tried to keep dues close to where they have been but with inflation adjustment.
Social Membership is a prerequisite for any of the above categories.
Any member wishing to join the New Club in any category must pay to the New Club any dues in arrears and must pay up to $500 in support of the Advisory Board’s past expenses for legal and other fees if not already paid.
Current Non-Member Residents Who Become Social Members
(available for 30 days)
Fee Initiation Annual Dues
Golf $50,000 non-refundable same as Charter Members
Sport $20,000 non-refundable same as Charter Members
Dues will be same as for Charter Members above.
Social Membership is a prerequisite for any of the above categories
This 30 day offer is significantly less than the new joiner fees.
New Joiner Price Schedule (for 6 months)
Initiation Dues
· Refundable Golf Membership $110,000 $13,000
· Non-Refundable Golf Membership $70,000 $13,000
· Non-Refundable Sports Membership $30,000 $5,900
(Beach membership is included in both Golf and Sports Membership)
New Joiner Price Schedule after 6 months
Initiation Dues
· Refundable Golf Membership $135,000 $13,000
· Non-Refundable Golf Membership $85,000 $13,000
· Non-Refundable Sports Membership $40,000 $5,900
(Beach membership is included in both Golf and Sports Membership)
Refundability for New Joiners Paying Refundable Initiation Deposits
New joiners paying refundable initiation deposits will have a $20,000 capital contribution deducted from their initiation deposit. 70 % of the remaining balance will be refundable on a 3 in 1 out basis of future new joiners paying refundable initiation deposits.
Charter Members
We recognize that the majority of the Charter Members have paid as much as $180,000 in initiation deposits to BBG. We plan to return as much of that back to the Charter Members as possible.
Refundability occurs in two programs:
1. Refundability of Recapitalization Deposits **
All recapitalization fees for Charter Members will be refundable upon resignation, vesting in equal amounts over a 5 year period beginning after 2 years of membership.
2. Resignation Refunds **
All Charter Members who have made an initiation deposit to BBG and become at least a Social Member, will be entitled to some resignation refund, even if they resign immediately after signing up as a Social Member. See table below for refund amounts.
** Any Charter Member who paid little or no initiation deposit under a BBG “sales incentive program” will have no refundability.
It is important to understand that any and all refund payments for whatever reason are totally dependent on our ability to attract new members. It is only the initiation deposits of new joiners that will provide any funds to address the refundability program. So there are no guarantees whatsoever. It is important for you to review the “Financial Projections” document on the website to understand the assumptions underlying our expectations about future Club performance.
Charter Member Deposit Refund Resignation Program
Original Golf Deposit Original Sport Deposit
Year $180,000 140,000 120,000 35,000 25,000 20,000 15,000
2009,10 20,000 15,500 13,300 3,900 2,800 2,200 1,700
2011 23,000 17,900 15,300 4,500 3,200 2,600 1,900
2012 26,000 20,200 17,300 5,100 3,600 2,900 2,200
2013 29,000 22,600 19,300 5,600 4,000 3,200 2,400
2014 32,000 24,900 21,300 6,200 4,400 3,600 2,700
2015 35,000 27,200 23,300 6,800 4,900 3,900 2,900
2016 38,000 29,500 25,300 7,400 5,300 4,200 3,200
2017 40,000 31,000 26,500 7,800 5,500 4,500 3,500
Maximum Resignation Refund
Max 100,000 60,000 40,000 14,000 9,500 7,500 5,500
The table above works as follows:
The column headings refer to the original initiation deposit you paid to BBG.
The 2009,2010 row shows the refund amount you would be eligible for if you resign immediately after paying the APF and signing the liability waiver. Each row thereafter shows the refund amount you would be eligible for if you resign in that year.
These eligible refund amounts would be paid out 50 % within 90 days of resignation, and the other 50% would be paid at 10% a year for 5 years.
None of these intended refund payments is guaranteed in any way. It will all be dependent on the availability of capital derived primarily from the receipt of new member initiation deposits to fund the programs.
We know some of this may be difficult to follow and we plan to add a series of examples to the website in the days ahead to help you understand how refundability works.
Member to Charter Member Upgrades or Downgrades
Members who choose to downgrade from golf to sport when they rejoin the new Club as Charter Members will be asked to pay the $9,000 recapitalization fee for sport, and their refundability eligibility will be based on the $35,000 level of initial BBG deposit for Sport unless they paid less than $35,000 for a discounted golf membership.
Members who choose to upgrade from sport to golf when they rejoin the new Club as Charter Members will be asked to pay the refundable $19,000 recapitalization fee for golf and an additional $25,000 nonrefundable. Their refundability eligibility will be based on their original refundable initiation paid to BBG.
HOA
The HOA will be turned over to the residents of Mediterra.
Liability Waivers
It is a prerequisite of our deal with BBG that we get a very large % of our members to sign Liability Waivers. We have a very good plan to do exactly that.
The strategy we have put together to achieve this solves many challenges, including “Successor Liability” (see “Legal Issues” on the website). The strategy is crafted to incent a very high % of members, whether joining the New Club or not, to sign the Liability Waivers.
Those who don’t sign the Liability Waiver run the risks described on the website. (See “Liability Waiver Strategy” on the website.) We sincerely hope everyone will see that we have a great opportunity to restore every aspect of the Club life in Mediterra, and to create a unity and bond among all the residents and members in Mediterra that sets our community apart as a special place to live.
(See “Liability Waivers Strategy” on the website)
Definition of a Done Deal
In order to have this strategy become reality, we need to achieve the following:
- enough property owners committed to join as Social Members and sign up to pay the APF (Amenity Preservation Fee),
- enough people join the New Club to provide sufficient capital and cash flow to make the Club financially viable
- enough members signing the Liability Waivers to permit the deal to be done outside of bankruptcy.
We expect that something over 80% of current members rejoining will be enough to do the deal, but we will run the financial model to determine if we have enough to avoid a capital shortfall in the future.
We expect that we will need over 95 % of the Liability Waivers to be signed to do the deal pre-bankruptcy, rather than in bankruptcy.
We will notify everyone as soon as we have sufficient deal acceptance to get us across the goal line.
If we don’t get there, everyone who sent in their checks for whatever reason, APF or membership category, will get their money back from the lawyer’s escrow account.
Bank Financing
Because of the strategy described above, we are better able to negotiate bank financing. The banks believe that our strategy has in fact created a higher quality credit for them than a simple mortgage loan, which they would not be willing to do.
We are targeting a 6% loan with a 20 year amortization schedule and a 5 year balloon. We have negotiated with them using a promise that we will use that bank to hold our operating capital and accounts if we can obtain the loan on favorable terms
Although we believe that our efforts to secure debt financing from a bank are progressing well and likely to conclude positively in the next few weeks, this is not yet a done deal. So the possibility remains that we might come back to the members to determine who would be interested in providing a share of debt financing to the Club, secured by the Beach Club, at above market rates, for a defined term and in defined minimum principal amounts.
We don’t expect that but it is always good to have contingency plans.
Financial Projections
(See “Mediterra Model Key Assumptions” on the website)
Based on the key assumptions in the model, and the targeted recap fees, dues, and new joiner costs, we would expect the following:
· Our capital base would reach its low point of $3 million in 2011. This is an important parameter for the bank financing eligibility.
· Operational Income including new initiation fees goes positive in year 2.
These estimations could change depending on the final terms of debt financing.
Other Subjects of Importance
There are a number of other important subjects for you to understand in order to make an informed judgment as to joining the New Club at Mediterra. They are documented on the following website locations:
“Mediterra in Bankruptcy”
“Tax Issues”
“RCS” Resource Conservations Systems
“HOA”
“Legal Issues” including
- “Litigation Alternatives”
- “Spreader Lien”
- “Successor Liability”
- “Preference Risk”
- “Ponzi Scheme Outcome”
Other Solution Components Considered
We considered a number of other solution components.
(See “Other Solution Components Considered” on the website)
“Beach Club in the HOA”
“Negotiations with CDD Bondholders”
“Equity Financing”
“Other Member Proposals”
“Other Developer Ownership”
Voting
Voting “yes” to join the New Club at Mediterra will mean that a current member who wishes to become a Social, Sports, or Golf member does so by writing a check for the appropriate amount and signing the appropriate documents.
The check will include either $1900 for coach homes, $2400 for villas, or $2900 for single family homes as the first annual payment of the Amenities Preservation Fee (APF) and the associated document describing that ongoing agreement.
Those who wish to become Golf or Sport members must include the appropriate recapitalization fee for that category in the amount of the check.
For resident non-members it will mean either $1900 for coach homes, $2400 for villas, or $2900 for single family homes, as the first annual payment of the Amenities Preservation Fee (APF) and the associated document describing that ongoing agreement, plus the initiation fee for any category of membership in the Club available to them in the special 30 day window.
For members of the current Club at Mediterra, it will also mean signing the Liability Waiver. This is not required for non-member residents.
To close the deal, we will need the checks and the documents. Votes without these components won’t be enough to let us close the transaction or secure the Bank financing.
If you send in your check, and we do not get the deal done, your checks will have been deposited in an escrow account managed by the law firm, and will be returned to you in full.
Retrospective on The Advisory Board Guidelines
When the Advisory Board first took up the challenge of trying to restore our community to its rightful standing as a premier living experience in Florida, we asked many members for their thoughts on guidelines we should rely on as we tackled the problem. Here is what we heard:
* Resolve it quickly
* Preserve our lifestyle
* Include everyone, be fair
* Restore real estate values
* Trade off short term financial success for longer term financial stability (charge more recap or dues if necessary to get us going)
* Protect resident non member interests also
We hope we have been true to these guidelines.

Bonita Bay Group set to close clubs on Sept. 30 if they're not sold

2009-08-18T18:22:00.002-04:00

NAPLES — The Bonita Bay Group will stop operating its golf courses and clubs after Sept. 30, according to a letter from Timothy Boates, the chief restructuring officer of Bonita Bay Group, to the Board of Directors of Verandah Club and Tennis Club.
Boates stated that Bonita Bay Group is committed to operating those clubs through Sept. 30 as long as members at each club continue to pay their monthly dues.
If clubs are unable to either take over ownership or transfer the ownership to a third party, it will result in the closure of club operations, Boates wrote in a letter dated Aug. 14.
He reiterated that there would be no exceptions.
This is not the first such deadline put to club owners.
Boates had told residents that clubs would be closed July 6 if dues weren't paid through July 1.
He told residents that Bonita Bay Group wanted to sell off its clubs by the end of August, earlier reports showed.
Michael Lissack, one of Mediterra's first club members, said the new deadline is a threat -- one the company may not want to make good on.
“If they actually go ahead and close the clubs they don't have anything left to threaten us with,” Lissack said. “They're between a rock and a hard place.”
Lissack, a former Wall Street whistleblower, has been a vocal opponent of Bonita Bay Group since it canceled its club membership refund policy in November.
The Bonita Springs-based development company is estimated to have collected about $225 million in membership deposits from about 8,000 members for its seven clubs. The company will not be returning those deposits and several lawsuits have been filed alleging breach of contract.
Bonita Bay Group had sold the memberships with a unique feature – residents would receive a full refund of their deposits within 30 days after a member quit the club. Those deposits ran as high as more than $180,000.
After the economy tumbled, the company began working toward avoiding bankruptcy. Bonita Bay Group owed its lenders, led by Key Bank, $109 million, reports said.
“By me, good, close the clubs,” Lissack said. “The sooner they go into bankruptcy the sooner this will get resolved.”
Lissack said Bonita Bay Group has rejected offers from at least four of the clubs.
“We're not going to buy the clubs on terms they like,” he said. “They want us all to forgive the debt. Why would we do that?”
Property values could take a hit in Bonita Bay Group communities without their clubs.
Amenities, such as golf clubs, can account for between 10 percent and 50 percent of property values, said Bill Barnes, chief executive officer of the Bonita Springs Estero Association of Realtors.
“When people come to Florida, they not only look for a house but they also look for a lifestyle,” Barnes said. “When they pay the price that they do pay for the property, it's not just bricks and mortar, it's friends, it's associations and that's what they buy. ... A new buyer coming in only sees the value in the brick and mortar because the lifestyle is no longer an option.”
TwinEagles Golf Club, the former home of the ACE Classic, has already closed operation on its club.
Here is a list of the golf courses once owned by Bonita Bay Group and the world-renown architects who designed them.
■ Bonita Bay West -- all three by Arthur Hills
■ Bonita Bay East -- two courses by Tom Fazio
■ Shadow Wood -- two courses by Bob Cupp
■ Shadow Wood Preserve -- one course by Hills
■ Spring Run -- one course
■ Copperleaf -- one course by Gordon Lewis
■ Mediterra -- two courses by Fazio
■ TwinEagles --- one course by Jack and Jack Nicklaus II, and one by Gary Player
■ Verandah -- two courses -- one by Bob Cupp, one by Jack and Jack Nicklaus II(source: naples news 8-18-2009)

Bonita Bay Group looks to lenders to avoid bankruptcy

2009-07-28T12:07:00.002-04:00

BONITA SPRINGS — Bonita Bay Group will get by with a little help from its lenders.
The financially strapped developer has reached a new agreement with its senior lenders, which will provide a line of credit to keep the company operating.
“Securing this amendment to our credit facility was a major component of our business plan,” said Tim Boates, the developer’s restructuring officer, in a statement.
“The liquidity available under the restructured facility will allow us to continue to implement our corporate restructuring plan.”
The company has been fighting bankruptcy. It owes its lenders, led by Key Bank, more than $100 million, with its clubs pledged as collateral.
The next step is to sell some or all of its golf, beach and marine clubs.
“Term sheets have been delivered to all clubs, and we are actively negotiating turnover of these clubs,” Boates said in a news release.
“I will continue leading discussions with the elected advisory boards to attempt to reach the best possible solution for all parties.”
The developer wouldn’t share any other information about the new agreement with its lenders, or the status of negotiations with club members in its communities, which include Verandah, Shadow Wood, Mediterra and its namesake Bonita Bay.
The club and golf courses at TwinEagles closed a few weeks ago after negotiations in the North Naples community hit a wall.
Bonita Bay Group didn’t disclose the amount of the line of credit.
The news of the new agreement with its lenders had some club members scratching their heads.
“I don’t know what to make of it. It raises more questions than it answers,” said Art Herman, a resident and club member at Bonita Bay.
Some fellow residents asked him whether it could mean there would be money to pay back member deposits. He doesn’t think so.
“They clearly stated they wouldn’t do that,” Herman said.
At one time, the developer offered a 30-day refund to resigning members. But it dropped the policy last year after seeing a surge in resignations.
He said it’s difficult to get any answers from the Bonita Bay Group.
“They are not talking to anybody,” he said.
Michael Lissack, a Mediterra resident and Wall Street whistleblower, said the new line of credit doesn’t mean the developer will definitely avoid bankruptcy.
“It means that BBG (Bonita Bay Group) is not going to run out of cash any time soon,” he wrote in an e-mail. “It also means that BBG will not make use of the bankruptcy courts to settle a cash flow problem.”
The developer could still be forced into bankruptcy by its members if they aren’t able to reach favorable agreements to buy their clubs.
“Bonita Bay is not the only party that can file a bankruptcy. Three or four creditors with non-contingent claims have the right to file an involuntary bankruptcy,” Lissack said.
The term sheets presented by the developers would all require members to put up cash, as well as assume all of their club’s liabilities and debts, including about $225 million it has collected in member deposits. Some members have sued to try to get their money back.
Members have balked at the developer’s terms for sale. Advisory committees have been working on counteroffers.
Bonita Bay Group has received at least one counteroffer, from Shadow Wood.
Lissack said he understood that the Bonita Bay community presented its counteroffer on Monday. Herman said he didn’t hear anything about it.
“Everyone is playing it pretty close,” he said.
Last week, the Florida Attorney General’s office announced it was investigating the Bonita Bay Group for allegations that it ran a Ponzi-style scheme with its member deposits.
On Monday, Lissack, one of the members who filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office, sent another one to the FBI asking for a separate criminal investigation.
He believes the civil investigation by the Attorney General’s office could keep members from reaching agreements to buy their clubs because of the issue over who would assume the liability of the deposits.
He said he’s not even sure whether there will be a counteroffer from Mediterra now. One was expected this week.
“It could derail everything,” Lissack said. “Why would you want to give up your opportunity to receive money?”(source: naples news 7/27/09)

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Bonita Bay Group offers terms for members to take over golf clubs

2009-07-15T10:49:00.002-04:00

It may not be the Fourth of July yet but fireworks are flying in Bonita Bay Group’s communities.
The developer has started to deliver “term sheets,” which explain what it may take for its golf members to own their clubs.
At least two communities have received buy-out terms from the cash-strapped developer — Mediterra in North Naples and Shadow Wood in Estero.
In both cases, Bonita Bay is asking members to put up cash in addition to what they’ve already paid in deposits and dues. They’re also being asked to assume all of the developer’s liabilities, including deposits owed to resigning members.
If members finance their purchase, the price tag for Mediterra’s club would be $8 million. Shadow Wood members would pay $6 million for their club.
“In the event the purchase is paid in cash, without financing from company lenders, a reduced purchase price will be considered,” the term sheets say.
The developer is looking to turn over its golf clubs quickly as it fights to avoid bankruptcy.
More than a few members are scoffing at the developer’s offers, saying they’re unreasonable, especially if they have to accept the liabilities involving deposits.
“I haven’t heard anyone yet that said they thought it was any good,” said Michael Lissack, a Mediterra resident. “I haven’t even heard anyone suggest that it’s a starting point.”
His own poll found at least 184 members out of 358 won’t agree to the offer.
At one time, Bonita Bay had a 30-day refund policy for deposits when members resigned. The developer stopped the policy abruptly last year after seeing a surge of resignations.
Deposits collected from 8,000 members at its seven clubs are estimated at $225 million.
At Mediterra about 60 members have resigned who didn’t get their deposits back, Lissack said. At $185,000 a piece,
that’s a liability of more than $11 million — on top of the asking price of $8 million.
“Those people are going to want their money,” Lissack said of the resigning members. “Now the membership is going to have
to give it to them.”
The deposit money collected by the developer is gone. Members aren’t sure where it all went.
Bonita Bay Group owes its lenders, led by Key Bank, more than $100 million. The clubs are pledged as collateral.
Members of Shadow Wood’s Advisory Board expressed doubt that members would accept Bonita Bay Group’s offer in a letter to
neighborhood representatives on July 1. A member survey found they were reluctant to pay any cash and the offer is higher
than one the developer made when Shadow Wood members pushed to buy their club a few months ago after services were cut.
“They made an offer to us before for $2 million. And now it’s up to $6 million. So it’s a little bit of a head scratcher. I thought that was kind of strange,” said Mike Kozlow, a resident and golf club member at Shadow Wood in The Brooks.
The offer is based on six times the club’s free cash flow, he said.
“But they haven’t spent any money at the club. So it’s not real,” Kozlow said.
The offers came through Tim Boates, Bonita Bay’s restructuring officer with RAS Management Advisors LLC. Boates has been unavailable for comment.
“Hopefully, Boates negotiates,” Kozlow said. “This can’t be a take it or leave it type deal.”
At the bottom of the term sheets are these words in all-capital letters “subject to material change – for
discussion purposes only.”
Members would prefer to own their own clubs. Bonita Bay has said it will look to sell the clubs to outsiders if it can’t reach a suitable agreement with members.
“I think our board is going to work this out and hopefully we can reach an agreement,” Kozlow said. “Everybody would
like to see something positive happen here and get this behind us.”
Bonita Bay is looking to sell seven golf clubs in all. Some of its communities did not receive the term sheets they expected on June 30, including its signature development — Bonita Bay — and Verandah in Fort Myers.
“I don’t see that we’ve gotten it yet,” said Jeff Jordan, a golf member and resident at Verandah, on Thursday afternoon.
He said a new board has been elected to handle the negotiations with Bonita Bay. “At this point, we’re just in kind of a holding pattern.”
At his club there are only about 300 members so there’s not as many people to share the cost if the offer comes with a hefty
price tag.
“The question is going to be can we afford it? We are a relatively new club,” Jordan said.
He said services at the club have been cut back more than usual this summer. That includes the restaurant closing.
Some Bonita Bay communities have seen even bigger cuts in services.
At TwinEagles, the Aerie golf course is shut down. Last week, residents filed a class-action lawsuit against the developer for breach of contract, seeking declaratory relief on dues owed, and permission to pay dues into the court registry — instead of giving the money to the developer.
TwinEagles members are also looking for injunctive relief to prohibit termination of their membership, which was threatened if they didn’t pay at least part their quarterly dues by July 1. They want an accounting of all their membership deposits.
Lissack said he didn’t know whether TwinEagles or Bonita Bay had received their term sheets yet.
It appears the Bonita Bay Group has collected enough dues from members to keep at least some of the golf clubs that remain
open operating through July, including the one at Shadow Wood.
Art Herman, a club member and resident at Bonita Bay, hasn’t seen a term sheet for his community yet. Whatever the offer
is he expects it to be difficult to get agreement between residents, the developer and its lenders. A turnover committee is “just trying to salvage the best deal possible, but I cannot see a deal that will make the extreme anger of the members subside,” he said.
“I fully expect to see a class-action suit,” he said.
Naples real estate broker Ross McIntosh said he doesn’t see any outside buyers stepping forward to buy any of the clubs if negotiations between members and the developer fall through.
“How would you like to own a golf course in a community where everyone was furious at you for having bought the club? You
are at their mercy,” he said.
It would be like jumping into a “hornet’s nest” and the return on the investment would be questionable because it’s
so costly to operate golf clubs, especially to the standards that Bonita Bay Group’s residents have come to expect, he said.
In this economy, most clubs have been forced to cut staff and services. Memberships have been lost — and members who have
stayed are eating less at the club, playing fewer rounds of golf and spending less in the pro shop.
“It’s a question in my mind on whether you can make a profit,” McIntosh said. “Every club in Collier County is struggling,
even those clubs that have happy members.”

Mediterra Naples Real Estate
(source: Naples News 7-2-09)

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Mediterra Fund distributes 95k to six area programs

2009-06-10T10:41:00.002-04:00

Mediterra Fund distributes $95,000 to six area programs

Mediterra Naples Country Club
Six Southwest Florida organizations that expand learning opportunities for local children are sharing $95,000 in grants awarded by the Mediterra Fund. The annual funding program benefits nonprofit agencies in Collier and Lee counties; the most recent round of grant distributions pushes the fund’s cumulative total to $645,000 since its inception.
The Mediterra Fund is financed by a portion of the resale of existing homes in Mediterra and is overseen by a committee of five residents.
The Literacy Council of Bonita Springs will use its $15,000 grant to buy books and supplies for its Moms and Tots program that teaches English to preschool children and their mothers. Learning alongside their youngsters gives mothers the skills to help their children with homework, says Susan Acuna, executive director of the Literacy Council, noting the Moms and Tots program has grown from an initial class of four at one site to 280 mothers and children.
Moms and Tots participants attend two weekly two-hour sessions yearround, and mothers receive a book each week to take home and start a library. The lessons often given the women the confidence to find a job after their children start school, Acuna says.
The Immokalee Foundation is also receiving a $15,000 grant for its Take Stock in Children program, which reaches out to more than 100 seventh through 12th-grade students in Immokalee. Take Stock in Children pairs students with mentors who often share their life experiences and show them “the other opportunities in the world,” says the program’s executive director, Ed Laudise. “They’re part archangel, part coach who sticks with them throughout middle school and high school.”
Four-year college scholarships are available to students who complete the program. Take Stock in Children is funded primarily by private dollars. “It costs us $1,800 a child per year,” Mr. Laudise says. “It’s not cheap but that’s the cost of changing a life.”
A $15,000 grant to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes also helps high school students in Immokalee. Last year’s contribution from the Mediterra Fund paid for high school football teams from Immokalee, Moore Haven and east Lee County to attend FCA football camp at Webber University. The Fellowship expects to use the newest grant to fund basketball team trips to its camp, including the junior varsity and varsity girls’ teams from Golden Gate.
Other agencies receiving $15,000 grants were the Scholars Club/Public Schools Enrichment Partnership at Florida Gulf Coast University and the Education Foundation of Collier County. The Gargiulo Education Center, run by Redlands Christian Migrant Association, will receive $20,000.
Mediterra, a development of Bonita Bay Group, has been named Community of the Year by the Collier Building Industry Association for five years and has received the Award of Excellence for Open Spaces from the Florida Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.(source: florida weekly 4/9/2009)

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Private Investor helps luxury builder in uncertain times

2009-06-02T14:54:00.004-04:00

NAPLES — In a tough market, London Bay Homes in Naples is placing its bets on Mediterra.

Mediterra Naples Florida Country Club
The luxury homebuilder has launched The Estates at Cortile, a single-family enclave within Bonita Bay Group’s Mediterra community, which straddles the Lee/Collier county line off Livingston Road.London Bay, named America’s Best Builder for 2008 by Builder Magazine, recently got a boost from a $17.35 million infusion of capital from a private investor.The investor, who is not being named, now has a 20 percent interest in the company. Most of the money is being directed at growth opportunities in Southwest Florida.The Estates at Cortile will have 46 home sites with 28 villas and 18 estate homes.
“This is one of the last best sites in Mediterra, if not the last best project in Mediterra,” said Mark Wilson, president of London Bay Homes.Mediterra, a master-planned community, spans 1,697 acres. At build out, it will have less than 950 homes.London Bay has built more than 50 homes in Mediterra as a preferred builder on individual lots over the years.The estate homes in Cortile will start at about $2.4 million, including the lot, a “terrific price,” Wilson said. Smaller villas start at $1.6 million.
“The nice thing that you’ve got is because of the market, our pricing is approximately 20 percent down from where it was previously,” Wilson said.Though prices are down, the builder is still offering the same type of floor plans and square footage.There are eight designs for the estate homes, and another seven for the villas, which are on smaller lots.The lots for the villas are 75 feet wide. The estate home sites are at least 150 feet wide.The villas will be less than 4,000 square feet, while the estate homes will be larger — up to 8,000 square feet.London Bay has worked to get the best possible prices from its contractors to keep labor and material costs lower, Wilson said.The builder contracted to purchase the land for the new community several years ago. It’s being bought in phases, and some of it has not yet been purchased.
“We just started marketing and are going through the platting process,” Wilson said.There are two models built for the villas. London Bay is still deciding whether to build another model for the estate homes.
“I think it’s a great project,” said John McGarvey, president of McGarvey Development in Fort Myers.His company also builds in Mediterra. He called Cortile “the last nice development” in the community.He described Mediterra as “choice sirloin” and the project as “aggressive.”“London Bay bought the whole street,” McGarvey said.There are other builders putting up homes in Mediterra too, even as new home construction has stalled in Collier County.
“People would be surprised if they went to play golf at Mediterra. There are quite a few homes being built,” said David Auston, a real estate agent with Amerivest Realty who specializes in Mediterra and lives in the community.Some of the money from London Bay’s private investment is going into Cortile, but London Bay is also using it to buy land in other locations to take advantage of a bad market that has driven land costs down.
“If you don’t have the capital to do it, you can’t do it,” Wilson said. “A whole lot of builders will probably be in that category.”
In recent months, London Bay has been doing national advertising and it has gotten a good response, with more than 500 inquiries coming in, said Ken Plonski, a company spokesman.More buyers around the country seem to be recognizing that Florida now offers better values than it has in years — both at the low end and the high end.“I myself have sold 4 properties this year,” Auston said. “I have three different people coming in this month specifically looking at Mediterra.”
Mediterra has about 400 golf members. There’s room for about 100 more, Auston said.Bonita Bay is offering $100,000 toward the $185,000 membership at the golf club with the purchase of a new home, which is also helping sales, he said.
“I think people are taking more time to buy the luxury property,” Auston said. “But there are still sales going on.”(source: naples news 4-6-2009)

The country club at Mediterra is currently owned by bonita bay group, but the bank is in negotiations with the owners of Mediterra to sell the club to them

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2009-05-27T13:21:00.002-04:00

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