Grand Mariner sells for $9.5 million

The tumultuous history of the Grand Mariner condominium includes a five-year legal battle, delays and a foreclosure judgment of more than $26 million. But the embattled project is about to open a new door — make that 14 of them.

The development sold for $9.5 million Tuesday, April 12, according to Reid Murphy, of Developers Realty Inc., who handled the transaction. Murphy declined to disclose the buyers’ names, which were not immediately available through Manatee County records, although he confirmed that he will be the sales agent for the project on Dream Island Road.

“I am very excited to have 14 condos and (20) deep-water boat slips coming onto the market,” said Murphy, who is also a Dream Island resident.

Murphy said that the project’s past problems were the result of multiple factors, including a lawsuit that delayed completion of the project until 2007, after the real-estate market began to decline.
“If the lawsuit had not taken place, they would have sold out the development,” Murphy said.

Arrested development
In September 2002, Dream Island LLC submitted a site plan for Grand Mariner at the 1.9-acre site that was previously the home of the Buccaneer Inn. The town approved the plan the following January.

But, one month later, Dream Island Road resident Accursio Sclafani, and his wife, Doreen Erickson, filed the first of four lawsuits against the project, claiming it was in violation of the town’s ordinances and comprehensive plan. In court filings, the couple stated that the project would loom over their nearby residence and take away their privacy. Sclafani and Erickson withdrew their fourth lawsuit in August 2007, around the time that Grand Mariner’s units hit the market, priced between $2 million and $3.4 million.

At the time, Tom Hires, the local investor behind the project, told the Longboat Observer that the project could have been completed in 2004 without the legal delays.

Over the next year, seven of the development’s 14 units went under contract. But in August 2008, LaSalle Bank National Association, which was bought by Bank of America in 2007, filed a foreclosure suit, claiming that Dream Island LLC had defaulted on $22.5 million in loans.

The following year, Bank of America received a foreclosure judgment of more than $26 million. The property has remained vacant since then.

What’s next?
Murphy said that the three-bedroom, three-bathroom units could be on the market next season. Although prices have not been set, Murphy said that they would be lower than past listing prices of the units. Also to be determined is whether the 20 boat slips will be sold separately from units.

Amenities on-site in the gated community include a pool, Jacuzzi, tennis courts, an 80-foot guest dock, a small boat-launching ramp, a common area in the building with a large gathering room that overlooks the pool and a full workout room that overlooks the lagoon.

“It’s a beautiful place to live,” Murphy said. “It’s a boater’s paradise.”

Hires didn’t dispute the amount owed but said that the default was the direct result of failed assurances from LaSalle Bank officials, who wrote a letter to Dream Island LLC stating the monies would be available to him until the project’s completion.

“Negotiations assured all parties that the final funding would be available,” Hires told the Longboat Observer in August 2008.

Conact Robin Hartill at [email protected]

What’s next for this pirate’s life?
According to Reid Murphy, the property’s new owners want to keep the pirate statue in its current location, where it has stood since 1957, originally welcoming diners at the historic Buccaneer Restaurant. Murphy said that the new owners plan to repaint and renovate the statue.

Timeline
September 2002 — Dream Island LLC purchased the 1.9-acre site that was home to the old Buccaneer Inn and submitted a site plan for the Grand Mariner.

February 2003 — Dream Island Road residents Accursio Sclafani, and his wife, Doreen Erickson, filed a petition against the project.

April 2004 — Sclafani and Erickson appealed after a Manatee County judge denied their petition.

September 2005 — The town agreed to extend the building permit until February 2007. Sclafani and Erickson appealed.

October 2005 — The building permit was pulled after a judge ruled in favor of Sclafani and Erickson for the first time.

December 2005 — Dream Island received site-plan approval again, which Sclafani and Erickson appealed.

February 2006 — Construction began on the project.

June 2007 — A judge upheld the project and ruled against the residents’ appeal. Sclafani and Erickson made a fourth appeal.

August 2007 — Sclafani and Erickson withdrew their fourth and final appeal.

August 2008 — LaSalle Bank, a subsidiary of Bank of America, initiated foreclosure proceedings against Dream Island LLC.

August 2009 — Bank of America received a foreclosure judgment of more than $26 million against Dream Island LLC and other defendants.

April 12, 2011 — Grand Mariner sold for $9.5 million.