One Park developer calls bribe investigation a 'delay tactic'

The cancellation of a legislative public hearing before the city of Sarasota Planning Board regarding the continuing One Park saga has left the proposal in limbo until an investigation into an alleged inducement to a board member is completed.

The hearing was scheduled to be continued at the April 12 regular meeting of the Planning Board, but was canceled by City Manager Marlon Brown after he learned that board member Michael Halflants, an architect by trade, was contacted by one of the partners in the One Park condominium tower project, who was interviewing architecture firms for preliminary work on a different project. 

The two did not come to terms, and Halflants remained involved in the hearing process and reported the contact to the city attorney’s office the week prior, setting the wheels in motion for the hearing cancellation.

The hearing was over a requested amendment to the general development plan that would allow One Park to be built over Quay Commons with a breezeway above the street. The GDP agreement for The Quay was reached in 2016 between the city and GreenPointe Development of Jacksonville.

The investigation has since been referred by the Sarasota Police Department to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for “transparency and public confidence in the investigative process.”

Longtime Sarasota developer Jim Bridges, CEO of One Park investor Jebco Ventures, had included Halflants’ firm — Halflants + Pichette — among others he was interviewing for the unrelated project. Jebco Ventures put the lots in The Quay under contract, then turned the contract over to developer Property Markets Group of Miami.

In an April 6 email to other planning staff members from Senior Planner Tom Sacharski, he wrote, “I just heard from Mike Connolly that we will only have four members available for the Quay 1 and 9 (development agreement) on April 12th. Michael Haflants has entered into an agreement with one of the members of the development team and will not be able to vote. Mike said that (alternate) Doug Christy cannot vote as his wife is in real estate and will be part of closing for several buyers in the proposed One Park building. If it comes down to a two-two vote, Mike said that the application will move forward to CC without a recommendation.”

That elicited an email response from Halflants that read, “There’s clearly been some miscommunication here. I have no intention nor do I have any reason to recuse myself from participating in the upcoming Planning Board meeting.”

Halflants and Christy were still recused, which would have left open the door to a possible tie vote and advancement of the amendment request to the City Commission without recommendation.

One Park developer Kevin Maloney, founder and CEO of Property Markets Group of Miami, said the criminal inquiry into an alleged bribe, is only a delay tactic to keep the issue from going before the commission prior to expiration of his agreement to purchase Blocks 1 and 9 in The Quay.

"They want to delay the project and they want to try and damage us, and what they're doing is salacious,” Maloney said. “It's disgusting and inappropriate and salacious. It’s another delay tactic, but now it's really getting dirty and the city attorney's office is right in the middle of it.”

The city attorney’s office did not respond to requests to reply to Maloney’s charge. For his part, Halflants also did not offer comment. 

“It's a joke. It doesn't meet the standard for garbage,” Maloney said. “What they're saying then is you're not ever allowed to hire anyone who's sitting on that planning board or city commission because ultimately your project should go through the process and they may recuse themselves and it might be misconstrued that there is some connection there. It’s just a ridiculous, disgusting claim.”

Bridges has had no direct involvement in the One Park project other than as a passive minor investor, Maloney said, calling him a “tangential” partner. His total investment is slightly more than $1 million in the estimated $500 million project. Morgan Bentley, an attorney who represents residents of the Ritz Carlton Residences who oppose One Park — collectively known as Block 6 — said Bridges is more than that.

“The idea that Jim Bridges was some kind of minor partner really flies in the face of reality when he was on their visionary page of the One Park website up until (several) days ago,” Bentley said. “He has been the face of the local development, so I don't know why (Maloney) would try to portray him as a minor partner. He may be a minority owner, but he's the face of the organization.”

According two Levy Public Relations, which manages the One Park website, Bridges and Jebco Ventures were removed from the page on Feb. 21. Maloney said the intention was to remove any ambiguity over who was in charge of the project.

“There has never been a deal I’ve been involved where I haven’t been in charge,” he said. “Jim did the right thing because he needed an architect. Michael Halflants did the right thing. If you didn’t take (the job), don’t recuse yourself. I don't care if he's voting for me or not. It’s an advisory position. This will never rise to the occasion of a nothing sandwich. And then, of course, I'll be back in line again and they’ll try to put me back a period of time and screw up my project.”

Owners in the Ritz-Carlton Residences have been joined by future owners of a second The Quay condominium tower, Bayso, in opposing the One Park project. They have described the building as monolithic and charged the breezeway over Quay Commons violates the air rights ownership of the master association. The air rights dispute is scheduled to go before the 12th Judicial Circuit Court in June. 

Should One Park eventually receive comprehensive plan amendment approval that would allow it to span over two lots, the next step would be quasi-judicial hearings for the site plan approval before the Planning Board and then the City Commission.

Maloney said he plans to close on the lots later this year regardless of the current delay. By right, he said, PMG could erect two structures of even higher density than One Park, but that’s not his preference.

“The reason that the commissioners and the board members are so backed up is because they're being undermined by people within the city,” he said. “They want to get through this. They want to knock it out and they want to get past it. Vote for me or against me. I don’t care. I’m a big boy.”