Briny Breezes, Fla. – The would-be millionaires of Briny Breezes trailer park may have lost their big chance.
Owners of the town’s 488 trailers nestled along the Atlantic Ocean overwhelmingly approved the sale of their community in January to Boca Raton-based Ocean Land Investments for more than $510 million. Nearly each owner would have made more than $1 million, a tidy profit considering some bought their properties a decade ago for less than $40,000.
But Ocean Land now says the contract is off after the town’s board of directors refused to extend an August deadline for the company to review plans to convert Briny Breezes into a wealthier community.
Logan Pierson, Ocean Land’s vice president of acquisitions, said the extension would have allowed the company to confer with neighboring communities: “We’ve already spent about $5 million in terms of outright expenses, research, land-use attorneys and engineers, not including our lost opportunity time. Frankly, if you were in our office today, it looks like there’s a funeral.”
LOS ANGELES
Colo. ranked No. 2 in foreclosure rates
Colorado’s foreclosure rate ranked second in the nation after Nevada during the first half of the year, according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac Inc.
But Colorado foreclosures for the first half of the year were up 9 percent from a year ago, a much slower pace than the 58 percent increase measured nationally, according to RealtyTrac.
In all, 573,397 properties across the nation reported some sort of foreclosure activity in the first half of this year, including receiving notices of default, auction-sale notices or being repossessed by lenders, the company said.
There were 19,411 “unique” properties in Colorado that had foreclosure activity during the first six months.
BOULDER
Restaurant sues mall, alleges $1 million loss
Boulder Italian restaurant Laudisio is suing its landlord, the Twenty Ninth Street mall, according to a report in the Boulder Daily Camera.
The suit reportedly alleges that Twenty Ninth Street’s management misrepresented the amount of foot traffic it expected to see, causing Laudisio to lose $1 million since last fall.
Twenty Ninth Street, which includes a mix of boutique and big-box retailers, opened last October. It has reportedly not seen as much foot traffic as expected because of the indefinite delay of a Wild Oats nearby and the year-long delay of a Century Theater in the mall. The theater is slated to open Aug. 17.
DENVER
BaseCamp teams to buy housing company
Denver-based BaseCamp Capital LLC and Stockbridge Real Estate Funds are teaming up to buy CMH Parks, which includes 65 manufactured housing communities in 11 states.
BaseCamp plans to continue operating the 18,000 homesites included in the purchase.
BaseCamp is a private equity group focused on specialty real-estate transactions, particularly manufactured housing.
SUPERIOR
$250,000 donated to CU business school
Key Equipment Finance, KeyBank’s Colorado District and the Key Foundation announced Monday a joint contribution of $250,000 to the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business.
The contribution was made in support of the school’s Building Campaign and the newly created Leeds School of Business Key Leadership in College program.
DENVER
ALPS selected to service new fund
Denver-based ALPS Fund Services Inc., a provider of outsourcing services for the mutual-fund industry, announced Monday that it was selected by Dividend Capital Investments LLC to service the new Dividend Capital Strategic Global Realty Fund.
Under the agreement, ALPS will provide accounting and tax services and will share administrative services with Dividend Capital Investments. Dividend Capital Investments is an affiliate of Dividend Capital Group, a Denver-based real-estate investment-management company.
CHICAGO
1,000 apply to United for pilot positions
More than 1,000 pilots have applied for jobs at United Airlines, the company said Monday. The company started accepting online applications July 16 to fill 100 positions for experienced pilots by the end of the year.
It is the first time United has hired new pilots since 2001. New pilots will be trained at the United Flight Training Center in Denver starting around October.
WASHINGTON
Paulson urges more borrowing authority
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Monday said the United States may be unable to pay its bills this fall unless Congress raises the government’s borrowing authority, now capped at $8.965 trillion.
Paulson, in a letter to lawmakers, estimated the government is likely to bump into the statutory debt limit in early October.
PORTLAND, Ore.
Nike settles race-bias suit for $7.6 million
Nike Inc. has reached a $7.6 million settlement in a class-action race-discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of 400 black employees of the company’s Chicago Niketown store, the company said Monday.
The lawsuit, filed in 2003, claimed managers at the retail store used racial slurs to refer to black workers and customers. They also said the store segregated black employees into lower-paying jobs as stockroom workers and cashiers rather than giving them lucrative sales jobs.
MINNEAPOLIS
Lacking pilots, airline cancels 8% of flights
Northwest Airlines Corp. said it canceled 8 percent of its flights Monday as disruptions due to a pilot shortage extended to a fourth day.
Northwest isn’t disclosing how many flights were affected, spokesman Roman Blahoski said. Airline data-tracker FlightStats, which includes cargo service in its totals, said Northwest scrubbed 119 flights, or more than 8 percent of its schedule, as of 4:35 p.m. MDT.
NEW YORK
Monster Worldwide plans to cut 800 jobs
Job-site operator Monster Worldwide Inc. lowered its full-year sales outlook on Monday and said it plans to slash 800 jobs in the wake of swelling legal expenses.
Monster, which has been grappling with an investigation into its stock-option-grants practices, said second-quarter operating expenses swelled by 34 percent.
