Redevelopment Project on Times Square Faces Foreclosure

September 10th, 2008 | Tags: Foreclosure

The jumbo redevelopment project on Time Square on Fort Myers Beach now faces foreclosure. The plans were ambitious – 269 luxury hotels, 600 garages for parking, sophisticated retail outlets and three overhead pedestrian crossings. But a foreclosure suit has been filed recently in Lee County Circuit Court. Attorney Gregory McCoskey representing Fifth Third Bank notified all business concerns to send their rent dues to the aforesaid bank till further notification. The bank has had no option but to resort to foreclosure because of five unpaid loans amounting to $21.5 million.

McCoskey elaborated that the Fifth Third Bank is the primary lender to the body that was taking over all the Times Square estates for a “very ambitious real estate project.” But since the loans are in default and no satisfactory understanding has been reached with the borrower the “Fifth Third has filed a foreclosure case to foreclose on a number of the properties that make up this whole consolidation down there”.

Among those expected to make rental payments to the bank are Pier View Hotel, Seafarer’s Plaza that includes in it McDonald’s and Cabasca’s eateries. There are also residential houses and golf courses. There could be complications for the business entities. These business bodies are tenants that are being subjected to foreclosure together with the owner of the property.

He also said that it would quite some time before the bank actually took possession of the property in question. At the moment because of increase in pressure of work resulting from the surge in foreclosures it now takes minimum six months for a foreclosure suit to run its course. In this particular case the time might be much longer considering the number of parties involved. However if the owners managed to become current on their debts or a buyer was found for the property then the foreclosure process would come to an end. The best thing would be if some one bought off the unit and paid the mortgage dues.

The representative of the property owners, Dave Meyers declined to make any comments on the forthcoming foreclosure. The manager of Pier View Hotel, Judy Coleman also kept her silence on the matter and Fred Burns manager of Seafarer’s Plaze did not return phone calls. Only Nick Dakos of Beach Liquors in Seafarer’s said that he had mixed reactions to this foreclosure move because they had not been happy with their present landlord.