Yablon proposes selling Colony land at auction

Colony Beach & Tennis Resort Association President Jay Yablon believes the 237 unit owners of the resort should consider dissolving their condo association and selling their 15 acres to the highest bidder.

In an Oct. 27 email to unit owners, Yablon explained that his proposal, which he says he is putting forth as a unit owner and not as president of the association, is the best option that would yield the highest maximum price for unit owners.

“I can see the jockeying to grab cash already materializing, so I need to call it out for what it is so that nobody can hide behind the rationalization that it is otherwise: a potential intramural feeding frenzy over money that can be extremely dangerous to all of us,” wrote Yablon in his email.

To make an auction of the land fair, Yablon proposes the following:

•  Half of the sale of the land would be split among unit owners equally;

•  The other half of the sale would be distributed through an appraisal funding mechanism that recognizes some owners purchased units with premium views and larger units.

Using a $50 million auction sale price for the 15 acres of land as an example, Yablon said “each of the 237 unit owners would get north of $105,000 from the one unit-one dollar split of the first $25 million, and the remaining $25 million would be split based on the unit value appraisal methodology that needs to be agreed upon.”

Yablon also proposes that any owner who still wants to have a unit at the new Colony “can opt to leave their money in the pot with the winning bidder of the auction.”

“I can see the jockeying to grab cash already materializing..."

— Colony Beach & Tennis Resort President Jay Yablon

He suggests any owner who has agreed to invest in the new Colony must be allowed to purchase his unit at a price “that lists substantially below like offerings to the general public not already at the Colony.”

The beachfront units, which can’t be rebuilt under today’s building codes, Yablon says, should remain and be renovated.

To sell the 15 acres at auction, at least 80% of unit owners would need to vote in favor of dissolving  the condo association.

Yablon told the Longboat Observer Monday the association is still debating the proposal as bankruptcy matters continue and appeals of estate acquisitions the association purchased in September are pending.

In the meantime, the association board is up for re-election in six weeks. Yablon said the new board must approve the proposal before any vote to dissolve the association goes before owners.