The clock is running for the trust as it watches a Feb. 24 deadline to close on a $22-million purchase contract it has with majority park owners Larry Maxwell and William Reynolds. The trust is only buying 142 acres of the property to keep it from being sold to commercial developers, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.
As soon as the trust closes on the contract, it plans to re-sell the asset to a private developer who must promise to operate Cypress Gardens as a non-profit venture. To ensure that no commercial development will be started on the land, the trust also plans to sell the development rights on the entire property to the state for an undetermined amount.
Meanwhile, the trust has eliminated one of the undisclosed bidders because the submitted price was far below the $22 million the trust is committed to pay for the park, area land brokers in a position to know tell GlobeSt.com.
The second bidder, timeshare developer David A. Siegel, chairman, Central Florida Investments Inc. has told sources he also submitted a low bid. The trust is still considering Siegel's offer, brokers following the protracted negotiations tell GlobeSt.com.
Another bidder, Valdosta, GA theme-park owner Kent Buescher, has told the trust he remains interested in buying the property but wants clarification on the conservation easement terms that will be given to the state.
Cypress Garden owners closed the park in April after attendance fell to a level that kept them from operating the asset profitably, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
