Esperanza Sale Postponed -- Again

The sheriff's sale of the Esperanza Urban Renewal LLC property, at 1101 Ocean Ave, Asbury Park (Docket #F2210908) has been postponed today, according to the Monmouth County Sheriff's office. The new date is March 14th, 2011. See related stories on this site.

Esperanza On Chopping Block Monday at 2 PM

If you're interested in buying one of the most prized oceanfront locations -- a solid ocean block -- for $22.4 million, show up Monday, Feb. 14th, at 2 pm, at the Monmouth County Hall of Records, East Main St., Freehold. Check in the AM, up to 11:45, to be sure the Esperanza Urban Renewal LLC property is still on for auction that day. 732-431-7139  or www.visitmonmouth.com/sheriff   go to foreclosures. Or make a deal with Capitol One Bank.

Hopeful Valentine's Day Present: Sheriff's $22.4M Sale of Esperanza

Metro Homes' lender, Capitol One Bank, has scheduled a sheriff's sale of $22.465M for the condo development project, called Esperanza - "Hope" in Spanish- for Valentine's Day, February 14th. 
The date is at least the third one scheduled for the sale of The Esperanza Urban Renewal LLC property at 1101 Ocean Av, between Third and Fourth avenues in Asbury Park, by its lender.
The City of Asbury Park has written a letter to Metro, apparently concerning its rights to develop the site. AR will post the letter when we get a copy.
The attorney listed is Reed Smith LLC, 609-978-0050.

City Terminates iStar's Waterfront Redevelopment Rights

From the City Attorney for Asbury Park, Fred Raffetto:
The City has sent a letter to ISTAR terminating its redevelopment rights under the Waterfront Redevelopment Agreement. The letter was signed by the City Manager and is a public document, should you wish to obtain a copy of same. Whether the termination will be upheld, however, is an issue that will be determined through the litigation proceedings.
Asbury Radio is told a similar letter was sent to Metro Homes, regarding its waterfront property, initially sited for the Esperanza Project.
Agenda for tonight's meeting follows:

Date: 02/02/2011

Time: 7:00 pm

Where: Asbury Park Description

AGENDA FOR REGULAR MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2011
7:00 PM
SILENT PRAYER / MOMENT OF REFLECTION

SALUTE TO FLAG
ANNOUNCEMENT BY MAYOR JOHNSON – as to compliance with the
“Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231, PL 1975” adequate notice of this
Meeting had been provided in the following manner:
The Annual Notice was forwarded to the Asbury Park Press, The Coaster
and Star Ledger on December 22, 2009 and posted on the bulletin board
the same date. All notices on file with the City Clerk.
1. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: RM 1/19/11(DM Loffredo absent)
3. PAYROLL RESOLUTION:
4. BILL RESOLUTION + INSERVCO:
5. APPLICATIONS: BINGO/RAFFLE/LIQUOR/SPECIAL EVENTS, etc.

Social Affair Permit – Red Cross.

Raffle – Red Cross.

Raffle – Red Cross.

6. RESOLUTIONS:
Appointments / Re-appointments.

Open Space Grant

Refund overpayment – 633 Cookman, Unit 201.

Hold Hramless – Mon. Cty. Mosquito Commission.

Right of Entry – “ “ “ “
7. ORDINANCES: Introduction –

Revised Ordinances Regarding Pay to Play Regulation for a First Reading

Submitted By

Stephen M. Kay
City Clerk – 732-502-5718
City of Asbury Park
Council Meeting
Workshop Session
February 2, 2011
6:00 pm
Agenda
I. Review of Regular Agenda Items

“Waterfront Redevelopment Area Update.” 
II. Items Presented by Brian Grant, City Engineer
Monmouth County Mosquito Extermination Agreement

Snow Removal Plan and Snow Emergencies matters

Multi-Space Parking Authorization
III. Items Presented by James Famularo, Assistant City Manager/Recreation Director
Request to use City’s free date for Convention for Urban Wrestling High School championship by the Recreation Department

Proposal to perform a geophysical subsurface survey and site assessment for Field behind Middle School
IV. Special Event Applications:
No. Name Description

Location Date
Alexandra DeManco Fireworks Display Sweet 16 2nd Avenue Beach 03/19

V. Matters to be introduced by City Counci
VI. Matters to be introduced by City Attorney
VII. Matters to be introduced by City Manager - NOTE: an item has been moved from Executive to the Workshop
VIII. Matters to be introduced by Assistant City Manager

City of Asbury Park
City Council Meeting

Executive Session [Closed Mtg-Titles are the legal exemptions underwhich the discussion is being held out of public sight.]
February 2, 2011
5:00 PM

I. Potential Litigation [Revised to Litigation 2/2/11]
I-Star/Asbury Partners Default Update (Aaron/Scotland) [The matter is now before the Court]

Waterfront Redevelopment Area Update

II. Contract Negotiation

Asbury Park Middle School Field Update

(Agreement with Board of Education)

III. Labor Negotiation
PBA/SOA Update
IV. Investigation/Potential Negotiation [Changed to Investigation/Potential Litigation 2/2/11]
A. Police/Liquor License Update (Raffetto/Kinmon)
Venue: Council Chambers

Street: One Municipal Plaza

ZIP: 07712

City: Asbury Park

State: New Jersey

Sheriff's Sale of Esperanza Postponed

The Sheriff's Sale of the hi-rise residential development site known as Esperanza, which occupies a solid block of prime waterfront in Asbury Park, was postponed yesterday, December 13th, until January 24th, at 2 pm.
Owner Metro Homes is being forced into the sale by its bank, Capitol One, with which Dean Geibel as recently as early November was trying to renegotiate his debt of $22.3 million. At that time, Geibel told  reporters that Capitol One pushed back the scheduled October sale and that he doubted the December 13 sale would take place. Geibel has other construction sites in Hudson County. Last summer a real estate site for the northeast described Esperanza as an upscale residential community in Asbury Park. 
In November, City Manager Terry Reidy told Asbury Radio that the city had sent letters to Geibel informing him that he was in danger of losing his waterfront development rights on the site.
Last week the City declared its master developer, iStar Financial, in default. iStar took over, in November of 2009, for Asbury Partners after that group defaulted on loans valued by iStar at $70 million. At the same December 7th meeting, the city council introduced an ordinance to borrow $250,000 to fund future litigation costs.

The Esperanza sheriff's sale will take place at the Hall of Records, 2nd floor, in the county freeholders' meeting room, in Freehold.

iStar Sheds Miami Condo Investment for $44 Million

IStar sells stalled Miami condo for $44M


October 18, 2010 02:30PM

Terrazas River Park

A 324-unit Miami condo project that struggling lender iStar Financial took back from its developer earlier this year in a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure has been sold off-market for more than $44 million to Wood Partners and Area Property Partners. The deed-in-lieu was valued at around $45 million for Terrazas River Park, which sits on a 2.15-acre-site near E.G. Sewell Park on the Miami River. Developer Windmoor Project hadn't sold a single unit when iStar, now said to be considering a bankruptcy filing after many of its real estate loans went sour in the wake of the real estate crash, took over. Istar, which has 11.7 percent of its loans concentrated in New York, is currently financing the Trump Soho condo-hotel development. The firm also holds the $310 million delinquent mortgage on the One Madison park condominium.[SFBJ]
ARadio Note: The City of Asbury Park should pull back its redevelopment rights, since the MD Sass led Fishman operated version of Asbury Partners defaulted on its debt to iStar and iStar hasn't moved to develop any properties in nearly a year. Then the City can resell those rights. Same for the aborted Esperanza, Metro Homes owned construction site. Where's a good lawyer when you need one?
Actually, City Manager Terry Reidy has promised to send Asbury Radio a copy of a letter the city wrote to Metro expressing just those intentions. We'll publish that letter here as soon as we receive it from Mr. Reidy. This is definitely the way to go.
--

AP Council Meeting July 7, 2010

Due to other commitments, Asbury Radio did not cover last night's council meeting. If anyone did attend and has notes, please send on and I will post them here under your name as the Guest Reporter's Notebook. AsburyRadio@AOL.com

Among the issues I would have listened for is news on the dead fish of Deal Lake. Eye witnesses said hundreds of dead fish, eels and crabs were hauled out of the lake and trucked away during the 4th of July weekend. Since Councilperson Susan Henderson sits on the Deal Lake Commission, I hoped to hear a report from her.
Also, news on the State's decision regarding its annual aid to Asbury Park, in light of City Manager Terry Reidy's past statements regarding our budget deficit.
Bradley Cove and the city's Waterfront Redevelopment Agreement with Asbury Partners/ISTAR were both listed on the Executive or private Session, as was Capital One/Metro Homes Site; all three are of vital importance  to the city. Metro Homes of course was building the Esperanza condo complex, which has been on hold for a few years now.
Looking for Topless News? According to NY news programs, our city attorney advised the council that by statute topless women would be a violation of the indecent exposure laws. So it never was a local matter. The council apparently dropped the issue.

Esperanza is an Upscale Residential Community

GlobeSt.com, a real estate online report, describes the nearly three year-old Metro Homes construction site, on the same site as the failed high rise from the Carrabetta redevelopment project of the 1980s, as "an upscale residential community on the ocean". The report, linked below, says the builder of Esperanza, Dean Geibel, now has an investment advisor to work with the parties and attract interested capital to move ahead with his Asbury Park and Jersey City projects.

Continuing work on that "community" (see photo) raises the issue of whether the building can proceed or have to be uprooted completely. How long can concrete stancions with naked rebar pointing heavenward be exposed to the extremely corrosive oceanfront weather and still be insurable or pass an engineering test? The unfinished hi-rise, known as C-8, which stood on the same construction site before this one, had to be blown up for this reason. Comments?

Trump Plaza Jersey City Taps WPI as Advisor
By Alyson Grala

Trump Plaza I
JERSEY CITY-

...In the Jersey Shore town of Asbury Park, the Esperanza is an upscale residential community located on the ocean across from the historic convention center. Procida and his team are working with the current lenders to find non-litigious solutions and entertaining proposals for new capital... see full report at www.GlobeSt.com/news/1663_1663/newjersey

City's Takeover Partner iStar Lost Bet on Metro Homes Also

Excerpt from the NY Times -January 21, 2010 --

THE tallest, “Trumpiest” condominium in New Jersey — the 55-story Trump Plaza Jersey City — hit the market two years ago, just as economic forces aligned to hamper its success.

Dean S. Geibel, a managing partner of Metro Homes, then an exceedingly busy builder on the “Gold Coast,” had the Donald from across the river lend his name and label to an ambitious plan for two mammoth residential towers that were to become the tallest in the state. They would swagger on the Jersey skyline, luring luxury-level bargain-hunters from Manhattan and pied-à-terre seekers from all over the world; that was the plan.
But the plan changed. The second tower was put on “indefinite delay” as work on the first was still being completed.
Today the lone Trump building stands about half full, with 239 of its 443 units sold. Only a handful of sales have occurred in the year since the housing market and Wall Street meltdowns. And in August, after Metro Homes defaulted on payment of its construction loans, iStar Financial took over ownership of the building. It has since hired the real estate company Coalco to devise plans for a “relaunch.”
iStar has reportedly suffered widespread losses on real estate investments — another being an Asbury Park beachfront redevelopment project, whose master developer also defaulted on loan payments. The Roseland Property Company is now representing iStar’s interests in Asbury Park, working with officials to scale back and reconfigure redevelopment plans.

Asbury Radio: Metro stopped building its twin-story condo, Esperanza, on the former C-8 site two years ago, infuriating the city council when they learned he wasn't out of money but rather redirecting his resources to the JC project with Trump. The open rusting worksite, like its predecessor from the 80s, floods in rain and casts a pall over the waterfront.

It is unclear from this article, who owns Esperanza right now, Metro Homes or iStar. City residents are out of the loop since talks with the developers are held in private with iStar, Madison Marquette, the retail developer who now owns Wesley Grove condos as well, and two members of the city council: former mayor Kevin Sanders and former deputy mayor James Bruno. Meeting without a quorum of the council is done to avoid violating the Open Public Meetings Act, which forbids negotations between the city and contractors out of the public eye. The two coucilmembers then return to the council and share the discussion with the full council in private session.