TOP STORY, DEC.: Colony developers not waiting for settlement

Throughout the holiday week, YourObserver.com will be counting down the top 12 stories of 2011 (one from each month) from our Longboat, East County and Sarasota Observers and the Pelican Press. Check back each day for a reprinting — along with any relevant updates — of the biggest news items of the year.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED DEC. 13, 2011

Two years and $84 million.

Legal battles, zoning issues and infighting aside, that is what it will take before guests and unit owners can check in at a redeveloped Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.

So says Glenn Miller, one of the principals of Club Holdings Ventures LLC, the entity chosen by the Colony Association board to rejuvenate the shuttered Longboat Key icon.

Ben Addoms, founder and chief marketing officer of the Broomfield, Colo.,-based Club Holdings LLC, doesn’t seem deterred by all of the obstacles. In his more than 20-year career, Addoms says, nothing worthwhile has come about on the first try.

Nor is Scott Anderson, also of Club Holdings, deterred. He points out all that is good about the Colony is often lost in discussions of the negativity: the history, the culture and, of course, the location.

“You just can’t replace 18 acres on the beach,” Anderson said.

Miller, Addoms and Anderson were among five representatives of Club Holdings who discussed the company’s plans and vision for a new Colony Monday during a 90-minute session in the library at the Longboat Key Club’s Inn on the Beach.

Monday marked the start of a series of meetings this week Club Holdings and the Colony Association board arranged with Longboat Key town commissioners individually, members of the Longboat Key Revitalization Committee and Colony unit owners to preview Club Holdings’ vision for a new Colony.

Jay Yablon, president of the Colony Association, made the groups’ intentions clear, repeating the theme: “We’re going to move forward with the 15 acres we have,” he said. “Having urban blight on Longboat Key is simply not an option.”

Last year, Club Holdings, parent company of three vacation networks, partnered with Miller, president of Miller Development Group and an original Colony owner, along with his daughter, Stacy Miller, president of LaunchPad Development Inc., to form Club Holdings Ventures LLC to develop a plan to restore the Colony. In September, the Colony Association board voted unanimously to recommend Club Holdings as the firm to redevelop and operate the resort.

On Monday, when they described their vision, they used a familiar term — “casual elegance” — a description that longtime Colony owner Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber has often invoked.

Addoms added: “barefoot elegance.” He said his group still wants to attract family weddings on the beach where men and women are in tuxes and gowns but barefoot.

Club Holdings representatives also hope that when guests check-in to a rebuilt Colony, it will have a new pool, restaurant with a Monkey Bar-like experience, world-class tennis program, spa and fitness program and enhanced conference space — which, according to Anderson, will be key to boosting occupancy off-season.

The group is still finalizing plans, but its representatives think it’s likely that guests and unit owners will someday check into a property that consists of mostly new units in a campus-style similar to the style of the old buildings. According to Club Holdings reps, the mid-rise unit, which includes Klauber’s living quarters, would be relocated to maximize the views of the Gulf and Sarasota Bay.

They hope the new Colony will consist of 17 acres, although they intend to proceed with the 14 acres currently controlled by the association if they can’t reach an agreement with Klauber and other entities for the remaining three acres.

Status quo must change
Meanwhile, 16 months have passed since the last guests and unit owners checked out of the Colony, and Club Holdings representatives and Yablon believe that must change soon.

“The status quo at 1620 cannot remain as it is,” said Yablon, referring to the property’s address on Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Yablon credits the Club Holdings team for its willingness to deal with the complexities of the Colony. And it has received valuable insight on the property from Miller.

Miller smiled slightly and shook his head when asked why he chose to get involved in the Colony. “I have no idea,” he said. “I never wanted to get involved.”

Miller’s relationship with the Colony goes back to 1974, when he was involved as an appraiser in the original financing for the Colony. He purchased a unit there in 1974. His daughter, Stacy Miller, was one of the so-called “Colony kids.”

“I grew up in the kids’ program building sandcastles and drinking Shirley Temples on the beach,” Stacy Miller said.

Glenn Miller said he spoke with Klauber a couple of years ago about how to proceed with the issues surrounding the Colony. He wasn’t sure where the situation was headed and eventually consulted Club Holdings, of which he is a founding investor.

Addoms said that company representatives liked the idea of building long-term relationships with unit owners, whom the company would treat as customers.

According to Addoms, Club Holdings is not a party in the Colony’s legal disputes, although the company is looking for ways to mitigate risk. And although the company is a development partner in the resort, it seeks to keep the property owned by individual unit owners.

Within 30 days, according to Stacy Miller, Club Holdings could submit a visual representation for public viewing. Ultimately 75% of unit owners must approve any plan. Glenn Miller estimates that the permitting process will take six months, while construction would span a year-and-a-half.

Klauber opposes plan
Meantime, Klauber remains in steadfast opposition to the association’s proposed redevelopment plans without his consent.

In a letter Monday to Longboat Key Town Manager David Bullock, Klauber said town codes require the signature of every property owner on a development-plan application. Klauber said neither he nor any of the Colony entities he controls has signed any forms, applications or affidavits “joining in or consenting to any plan for redevelopment of the Colony.”

Added Klauber: “Approval by the town of any plan for redevelopment of the Colony to which I do not consent will result in substantial financial damages to me and the entities I control.”

Next chapter
As the association tries to move forward with Club Holdings, it is still trying to resolve several outstanding legal disputes with Klauber. A court-ordered mediation is expected to reach its deadline at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15. Charles Bartlett, Klauber’s lawyer, said Tuesday he was not optimistic the two sides would reach a settlement before the deadline.

Yablon said he can’t disclose specific offers that have been made in mediation. But he said the association is willing to offer Klauber “a dignity package that would more than account for his needs” while allowing him to have input in the resort’s future — provided that he is willing to settle the existing disputes.

“Nobody’s looking to have him eat crow,” Yablon said. “If he’s willing to settle the disputes, he could have a big role, though nobody is going to hand him back the keys.”

In response to Yablon’s comment about offering Klauber “a dignity package,” Klauber said: “I want a realistic deal from them. I don’t need dignity. I have dignity. They don’t.”

Said Yablon: “I’ve been involved in six years of legal warfare. I will never for a minute take credit away from Murf for what he has done at the Colony.”

But he said it’s crucial that the Colony redevelopment move forward.

“The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort is bigger than one person,” Yablon said.

Who’s who
Ben Addoms
Addoms is a board member, founder and chief marketing officer of Club Holdings LLC. Previously, he served as president of Excite@Home’s media-and-marketing services and managed its subsidiary, MatchLogic. He also served as vice president of Polk Co., one of the nation’s largest database marketing businesses.

Scott Anderson
Anderson founded Dream Catcher Retreats, a destination club that merged with Quintess in 2006. He will likely serve as the general manager of a redeveloped Colony.

Pete Estler
Estler is a board member, founder and CEO of Club Holdings LLC. He began his career at Bell Laboratories, specializing in telephony systems and systems architecture, and later joined EDS. He went on to found dbINTELLECT Technologies, a marketing information warehouse firm, and MatchLogic, an Internet advertising company. (Estler was not present for the Longboat Observer’s interview.)

Glenn Miller
Miller is president of Miller Group Development. He bought a Colony unit in 1974 and was involved as an appraiser in the initial financing for the Colony. He has more than 35 years’ experience as an owner and developer of investment properties. He will serve as the senior project leader, responsible for securing financing and overseeing project execution.

Stacy Miller
Miller is president of LaunchPad Development and will serve as the project manager and will be in charge of securing appropriate approvals and contracts and managing day-to-day project execution.

Chris Tivey
Tivey is founder and senior vice president of the Tour Club, one of three vacation networks owned by Club Holdings LLC. He brings an extensive background in fractional ownership.