Klauber says developers need his approval

Colony Beach & Tennis Resort owner Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber appeared pleased and laughed in delight Tuesday morning when he heard that representatives of Club Holdings Ventures LLC wanted to create the ambience of “casual elegance” at a newly redeveloped Colony.

“Those are my words,” he said, smiling.

But that was the only thing that pleased Klauber.

Told that the Colony Association (unit owners) and Club Holdings Ventures representatives are talking of redeveloping the Colony even if they don’t get control of Klauber’s three acres of the resort property, Klauber said: “They can’t move forward.”

Then he showed a copy of a letter he sent Monday to Longboat Key Town Manager David Bullock. It stated Klauber doesn’t consent to a redevelopment as proposed by the Colony Association (the unit owners) and that, according to town codes, the association could not proceed with a redevelopment without Klauber’s signature or an affidavit acknowledging his consent.

Klauber’s letter also specifies 14 individual pieces of property Klauber or one of his companies owns within the Colony’s confines. Among them are three acres of land crucial to any redeveloped Colony — including the tennis courts, swimming pool, the Colony Restaurant and portions of the mid-rise hotel building.

One of Klauber’s specific objections to a tentative association redevelopment plan involves the relocation of the six-story mid-rise. If approved by unit owners, proposed plans would move the mid-rise closer to Gulf of Mexico Drive.

“I own two-thirds of the top two floors, I own the second floor and a portion of the first floor,” Klauber said. “They can’t move me out of there.”

What’s more, Charles Bartlett, a partner at the Sarasota law firm of Icard Merrill Cullis Timm Furen & Ginsburg P.A. and Klauber’s lawyer, says the notion the Colony can be redeveloped without the concurrence of the three acres Klauber owns is “a complete pipedream.”

To begin with, Bartlett said, “Once the unit owners understand the legal issues involved, they would not vote for that proposal. Two, it’s unfinanceable. As it stands, there is real possibility the court will order the association to turn the units back to the partnership.”

(A bankruptcy judge dissolved the partnership between one of Klauber’s companies and the association, but that ruling was subsequently overturned. That latter ruling is on appeal.)

“As long as that is a possibility” — that the partnership could be reinstated — “I don’t believe there is a lender who would finance that deal,” Bartlett said.

“Three, even if the owners OK the Club Holdings plan and it is financeable, I don’t believe (redevelopment plans) would satisfy issues of the town of Longboat Key without the concurrence of the three acres.”

Jay Yablon, president of the Colony Association, said: “We will address legal issues in the courts, not in the press. Two, Club Holdings’ lender is aware of the whole situation and is prepared to move forward. Three, we’ll let the town make those decisions.”

Klauber said he is amenable to moving forward with a redevelopment of the Colony irrespective of settling all of the outstanding legal issues. “I’m OK with that,” he said, “provided they present a plan I’m proud of for this island. I want to protect the people I’m responsible for — those 232 unit owners who invested money here and have lost it all.”

And provided, he said, he is offered “a decent buyout.” He declined to say what that is.

Meantime, the deadline for Klauber and the association reaching an agreement through mediation is 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15. If the mediator declares an impasse, the two sides apparently will have another opportunity to reach a settlement in a second mediation. The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta on Monday ordered another mediation.

Added Bartlett: “I am not personally optimistic mediation will be successful.”