http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-kuhn2408jan24,0,1997243.story
Cameron Kuhn, key downtown Orlando high-rise towers face foreclosure
Suits are filed against his home, The Plaza and a historic building.
Lenders have foreclosed on several properties owned by Orlando developer Cameron Kuhn, including his centerpiece tower project The Plaza, the largest redevelopment in downtown's history.
The mortgage-foreclosure lawsuit against The Plaza, a three-tower mixed-use complex on Orange Avenue between Pine and Church streets, is the latest setback for Kuhn and the second such action against a major downtown tower project in recent weeks.
Barclays Capital Real Estate, the investment-banking company that bankrolled the $140 million Plaza development, filed the suit last week in state Circuit Court.
The two other foreclosure suits against Kuhn were filed in late December by Illinois companies. One involves the mortgage on Kuhn's Lake Butler home in Windermere; the other involves property in downtown Orlando on which Kuhn once planned to build a mixed-use tower.
The trio of foreclosures raises questions about Kuhn's plans for Church Street Station, a once-popular but bankrupt entertainment complex he bought with great fanfare last year for $34 million. The first significant opening in the downtown complex, of the Cheyenne Saloon & Opera House, is scheduled for next month.
A representative in Kuhn's downtown Orlando office said Wednesday that the developer was out of the office and unavailable. His chief spokeswoman was also out and did not return a telephone call or e-mail seeking comment about the suits.
Joseph Foster, an Orlando lawyer representing Barclays, said he could not talk about the Plaza filing and said he would advise his lender client to say nothing about the suit as well.
That case, assigned to Judge R.A. Roche, was filed Jan. 16 against Kuhn and more than a dozen companies, including Brasfield & Gorrie, the general contractor, and TLC Engineering for Architecture, the local company that handled mechanical and electrical design work.
"Because this is a legal matter in court, we can't comment," said John Douglas Benz, chairman of TLC, a prominent Orlando architectural-engineering company. He said the case has "no effect" on his company's operations.
While The Plaza is substantially complete and has several commercial and residential owners and tenants living or working in the complex, the project still has a large amount of empty space, including a long-anticipated movie theater that has yet to open.
The two other foreclosure actions against Kuhn were filed Dec. 26: JDI Adams Street LLC holds a mortgage on Kuhn's lakefront residence in Windermere; the property had been used as collateral for at least one loan. JDI Cam LLC seeks to foreclose on property at Orange Avenue and Washington Street that contains a historic but dilapidated building and the former home of Scruffy Murphy's Pub.
The Plaza is less than a block east of another major Orlando condo tower, 55 West on the Esplanade, that was reclaimed by its lender in early January.
In that case, described as a "friendly foreclosure" because it was uncontested, Grosse Pointe Development Co. of Fort Myers was tapped by 55 West's European lender to complete the 34-story residential building on West Church Street, between The Plaza and Church Street Station.
Kuhn has been planning to revitalize Church Street Station, once a popular nighttime-entertainment destination. He brought back Bob Snow, the former attraction's original developer, to reopen the Cheyenne Saloon, and he has talked about bringing in new businesses and building a hotel.
Some of Kuhn's other development partners already had taken him to court for unpaid debt, early last fall, as the worldwide credit crunch began to hit real-estate developers and other highly leveraged borrowers.
More recent turmoil in U.S. and global stock markets and the rising prospects for an economic recession have stoked additional fears that consumers will pull back and add to the downward spiral in the nation's real-estate sectors.
Long-term prospects for the economy, especially in Florida and Orlando, remain strong, however, and the Federal Reserve's aggressive action this week to cut the cost of capital will help, said John F. "Jay" Ballard, a senior director based in Orlando with the commercial real-estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield of Florida.
"We have been through some downturns and always come back," said Ballard, who specializes in brokering apartment and multifamily projects. "I see no reason not to be confident about Orlando's future."
I guess the Landing's long awaited parking garage will remain a patch of grass for a litte longer.
Quote from: thelakelander on January 24, 2008, 10:17:44 AM
I guess the Landing's long awaited parking garage will remain a patch of grass for a litte longer.
Yes, 21 years and counting....
Monorail! Monorail!
Does anyone have a list of all of the Kuhn downtown Jax projects and their current status of completion?
(http://www.kuhncompanies.com/userimages/b9b0a888bd2e05091392c70aad81114b.jpg)
Riverwatch: Never started and probably won't.
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/photos/thumbs/lrg-2542-p1040765.JPG)
One12: Half way completed, but construction stopped months ago.
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/images/construction_update_april07/DCP_9387.jpg)
Laura Trio: Interior demolition completed by the Fund. No work has taken place since Kuhn took over.
Found the answer in the Jacksonville Business Journal:
"In Jacksonville, Kuhn Cos. owns the former Barnett Bank headquarters at 112 W. Adams St., the Dyal Upchurch Building at 6 E. Bay St., the SunTrust Tower and an adjoining lot at 76 Laura St. and a group of historic buildings known as the Laura Street Trio on the corner of Laura and Forsyth streets. "
Developer Kuhn facing foreclosure on Jacksonville properties
http://news.jacksonville.com/justin/2008/01/24/developer-kuhn-facing-foreclosure-on-jacksonville-properties/ (http://news.jacksonville.com/justin/2008/01/24/developer-kuhn-facing-foreclosure-on-jacksonville-properties/)
Ouch. He apparently tried to move too fast and do too much. He was an amazing success while the market held up but apparently did not hold enough back in reserve. This is a cautionary tale for all of us. Too bad for him but this does mean that a foreclosure will ultimately force movement of some kind on these long neglected properties. Hopefully someone with cash will come in and buy them at the foreclosure sale and redevelop at least some of them.
This is terrible! Kuhn was such a breath of fresh air. Hopefully, someone somewhere will come forth and cash in on these properties.
Kuhn Cos. faces liens and foreclosuresQuoteKuhn said the financial problems are the result of trying to do too many projects at one time, failing to control expenses and losing sight of the details.
"We got too big for our britches and tried to do too many things at once," he said. "I made a mistake going into Jacksonville without having finished The Plaza."
The Plaza, a 21-story high-rise, is Downtown Orlando's biggest redevelopment project at $160 million.
http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2008/01/21/daily33.html
Quote from: RiversideGator on January 24, 2008, 04:58:22 PM
Hopefully someone with cash will come in and buy them at the foreclosure sale and redevelop at least some of them.
Oh, I'm quite sure that Chris Hionedis is salivating at the prospect of buying up those properties in foreclosure and then boarding them up.
I've heard Kuhn speak before. He said his philosophy is "Build it and they will come". That sounds like a 'field of dreams'. When someone asked him which should come first retail? residence? or business? and he didn't have a good answer. Sounds like he broke some of the basic rules of business. Not to down a man for a lack of a HS Diploma but this situation makes you want to mention it. But then again many Fortune 500 companies did the same thing...got caught up in Irrational Exuberance.