The sale of the Belmont and Atlantic Hotels reflects the unfairness
of what is going on in AP. The sale to Asbury Partners close in
October 2005 for a purchase price of $1,277,000. I am waiting for
the deed to Westminister to be recorded to see that sale price. You
can bet that it will be multiples of that, however, I suspect that
it will be sold in conjunction with adjacent and nearby parcels so
I'll have to analyze it on a square foot basis.
This is why the recent court decision was so bad and frankly,
unconstitutional. The WRP lasts for 30 years but there is no
schedule for condemnation of specific properties and owners, and
their proerties' values, are held in limbo, possibly for many years.
Under such a long term plan property owners must be given the right
to develop their own properties pursuant to the plan (the court held
that their cases were not ripe because they had not exhausted this
possibility by applying to Asbury Partners but we all know its terms
are confiscatory). Certainly it is not fair that Asbury Partners
should be able to immediately flip their properties to subdevelopers
for obscene profits. That is speculation I have never seen a WRP
that allows a developer to do just this.
What this sale also shows is how ridiculous both the City's and
Asbury Partners' values of the Triangle are. Recall that the City
asked for $490,000 and Asbury Partners $175,000. The Triangle is
19,200 sf by itself, however, the street vacation areas expand the
parcel and nearly double the amount of units that could be built
there.
The Hotels site is much smaller, being only 13,300 sf. It also is
not waterfront property as the Triangle is, and in fact, since the
portion of Ocean Ave that fronts the Triangle will be vacated, the
Triangle is the only piece of true waterfront property in AP that
can be developed with residences. The purchase of the Hotels site
should be reflective of the same valuation date (April 2001) as the
Triangle if I read the Court decision correctly, since it too faced
condemnation and would be subject to the same exclusion of increase
in value from the alledged "project enhancement" demarked by the MOU.
Our governing body should wake up to the injustices that are not
only be perpetrated against property owners and its taxpayers, but
the City as a whole by a loss of our history and quite frankly, a
fleecing of citizens (condemnation) and our treasury (under
valuation of the Triangle). To make matters worse, Asbury Partners
is being aided and abetted by our own government since it is the
City that has the power of eminent domain.
What could be different? Had the Belatlantic Hotel not faced
condemnation it likely would not have been sold to Asbury Partners
and would still be standing today and we would not have been robbed
of a piece of our City's history. If Asbury Partners was not
permitted to impose confiscatory terms for owners to develop their
own properties it is likely that that site would be developed in a
manner that incorporated its architectural history. Certainly it was
a fine candidate for a turn of the century B&B. Yesterday's fire was
a sad day for this City and an unnecessary event. It is 4 years
since that MOU was signed. What do we have to show for it? Asbury
Partners has two major obligations; restoration of the waterfront
and rebuilding our infrastructure. It has quite plainly failed on
both accounts to date.
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