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September 2, 2010 |
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| March 26, 2007 |
By: Review staff |
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Robert Given and Robert Taylor
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Dealmakers: Brokers Jay Massirman, Robert Given and Robert Taylor
Dealing with the buyer’s bankruptcy during the sale of Holiday Isle, the legendary Florida Keys party destination, was all in a day’s work for CB Richard Ellis brokers.
The bankruptcy was timed to give Ceebraid Acquisition time to seek financing for the purchase of the 13-acre oceanfront playground in Islamorada. Brokers Robert Taylor, Robert Given and Jay Massirman represented seller Celentano Properties.
Ceebraid, which filed for bankruptcy in February 2006, was the buying arm of a partnership formed by West Palm Beach developer Ceebraid-Signal.
Ceebraid Acquisition came out of bankruptcy to pay $98.25 million last April for the property that includes 151 hotel rooms, the Tiki and Rumrunner bars, a marina and other amenities.
The sellers, including resort principal Vincent Celentano, began assembling land to expand Holiday Isle in 1976 when they paid $4.3 million for 17 buildings on 10 acres. At least $3.36 million was spent to expand the resort to its current size.
More than 240 development groups requested offering memos, 23 offers were submitted for the property, and there were three backup contracts, guaranteeing the resort would be sold to someone.
“Although this was a beauty contest toward the end of the marketing period, the highest bidder was not awarded the property,” said Given, who noted some offers were for more than $100 million.
“Ceebraid-Signal sought early meetings with the seller and presented a compelling argument that it was the best-suited developer based on the amount of due diligence completed, which included pricing construction materials and presenting a strong handle on the redevelopment rights and markets conditions,” Given said.
Ceebraid is considering demolition of an assortment of hotel buildings and has rights to build a condo-hotel with the same number of units, the developer said. Taylor said the units would likely be priced at an average of nearly $1.5 million.
The resort will stay open for another few months before the new plans take shape, but the bars will be a part of Keys history after redevelopment.
The CBRE multifamily team closed on 25 deals in 2006 totaling $1.92 billion and 57 deals in 2005 totaling $2.69 billion.
 Massirman, who used to lead the team, launched his own real estate firm last year, the Massirman Group. He was succeeded by Given.
The Taylor-led hotel and resorts team closed on more than $200 million in sales since
2005.
FINALIST
Attorneys invoke treaty to sidestep hefty tax bill in Aruba hotel deal
 Dealmakers: Attorneys Martin A. Schwartz and Michelle A. Kahn
Attorneys Martin A. Schwartz and Michelle A. Kahn utilized an international treaty to close a client’s $230 million sale of the Wyndham Aruba Resort without paying hefty taxes.
Schwartz, a partner at Miami-based Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod, and Kahn, represented the seller, Aruba Hotel Enterprises, and negotiated between the two buyers and eight other parties on the seller’s side. Attorneys from 11 law firms were involved in the sale.
Schwartz spent more than a year working on the deal, beginning in April 2005. He was assisted by Kahn, an associate who later left the firm.
The buyers were Belfonti Capital Partners and Starwood Hotels affiliate SVD International Holdings, which was brought in to purchase neighboring undeveloped land slated for time-share construction.
A land swap created a larger parcel for the time-share land transaction. The hotel also transferred two parcels of undeveloped land to the government of Aruba. In exchange, the government combined the two parcels with an adjacent piece of public land and agreed to lease the larger assemblage.
The deal hit a snag with Aruba’s 1.3 percent foreign exchange tax on funds moved out of the country. Aruba Hotel Enterprises would have to pay almost $3 million to transfer proceeds from the sale to the United States. The idea of invoking the treaty developed after Schwartz talked with hotel accountants.
“It actually changed the deal in midstream,” Schwartz said.
A treaty between the Netherlands Antilles and former member Aruba exempted taxes on transfers between the islands. Aruba seceded in 1986.
“The reason it worked was that Aruba and Curacao were originally part of the Netherlands Antilles,” Schwartz said. Curacao also was the home of one of the sellers’ affiliates.
Through a chain of entities, the funds were transferred to Aruba Hotel Enterprises’ Curacao-based parent, which moved the funds to Miami without a tax bill. Between the hotel and time-share transactions, about 10 commonly owned entities were involved in the deal, Schwartz said.
The transaction also involved two simultaneous closings May 3 — the financing in New York and the title transfer in Aruba.
Schwartz and Kahn also negotiated a hotel management transfer from Wyndham to Westin within three months of the sale, and the 481-room casino property now operates as the Westin Aruba Resort.
Schwartz and associate Javier A. Granda represented Mellon United National Bank last year in closing two acquisition loans totaling $88.7 million.
The loans were used by entities of Miami developer Allen Greenwald to buy apartment complexes in Palm Beach and Brevard counties.
The pair worked together again to secure $71.5 million in refinancing for the Ireland Cos., a Miami-based real estate investment and development company.
Schwartz also represented Mellon United in closing a $70 million construction loan in 2005 for 1040 Biscayne Associates for the construction Ten Museum Park in Miami.
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