Trump Plaza's developer hits $$$ 'bumps' for 2nd tower Tuesday, December 09, 2008 By PAUL KOEPP JOURNAL STAFF WRITER The developer of Trump Plaza in Jersey City has defaulted on a construction loan for the waterfront project's second tower, sending a bank after him for over $13 million. Not to worry, says the developer, Dean Geibel of Hoboken-based Metro Homes LLC. He said he is working on refinancing the $24 million loan, and the 50-story, 418-unit highrise will still get underway some time next year. Geibel stressed that the default does not reflect Trump's own financial situation, since Trump's involvement is limited to a licensing agreement allowing the use of his name. "This is not really about Donald Trump, it's about Metro Homes," Geibel said. Capital One filed the complaint against Geibel in state Superior Court in August, seeking to enforce a guarantee by the developer to pay back at least $11 million by January 2008. The loan, backed by the property on which the tower will be built, was signed in January 2006. Asked about the complaint, Geibel attorney Leo Leyva wrote in an e-mail: "We are in complex negotiations with a number of parties in an effort to resolve the outstanding issues which many real estate developers are currently facing." He added that the action should not have been filed because the guarantee is "only effective in the scenario that the real estate was worth less than the indebtedness, and that is clearly not the case." Capital One's complaint said that as of Aug. 5, Geibel owed almost $2.3 million in late fees, attorney fees and interest payments in addition to the $11 million guarantee, with another $8,667 being tacked on each day. He said he still has a "good working relationship" with the bank and is looking to add a partner to help with financing the second building, which will cost around $150 million and take about two years to finish. "We just hit a couple bumps along the way," Geibel said. He said the first Trump Plaza building has been "very successful," with 375 of its 444 units sold.
________________________________ From: Jennifer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, December 9, 2008 8:21:12 PM Subject: [AsburyPark] Star Ledger: Asbury Park revival project still far from finished Asbury Park revival project still far from finished by MaryAnn Spoto/The Star-Ledger Tuesday December 09, 2008, 6:28 PM http://www.nj. com/news/ index.ssf/ 2008/12/asbury_ park_revival_ project_s t.html A year ago, construction ground to a halt on luxury oceanfront condominiums in Asbury Park that had promised to usher in a revival of a city devastated by race riots, political corruption and economic woes. A harbinger of the national real estate disaster that was to come, the Esperanza should have been near completion today, but instead the same three stories stand bleakly against the backdrop of a beachfront awaiting tourists. The poured-concrete foundation hasn't changed since Hoboken-based Metro Homes gave the stop-work order a year ago Sunday, but the company's president insists he is pressing on with plans for a scaled- down version of the high rise. He said work could resume by next summer. "Our project is far from dead," said Metro Homes president Dean Geibel. "We're basically creating a whole new building." Held hostage for two decades by ups and downs of the housing market, the city is trying to buck current economic trends and continues to rebuild around the building that takes its name from the Spanish word for "hope." "Surprisingly enough, we're still bringing business into Asbury Park," said Tom Gilmour, director of commerce for the city. "A lot of people who wanted to come here got turned off by the high prices and are back." Gilmour said Asbury Park has had 17 new storefronts, including seven new restaurants, open on the boardwalk since May. Another seven businesses opened downtown during that same time. A year ago, retail space in the city's downtown was slightly less than half full. Now it's about 60 percent occupied, he estimated. Last year, the boardwalk had a nearly 70 percent vacancy rate. Now it's maxed out, Gilmour said. Sales of condominiums at two new complexes bookending the oceanfront redevelopment zone had stalled after the real estate bubble drove prices skyward. Interest in those developments, Wesley Grove and North Beach, has resumed now that prices have dipped, Gilmour said. Reacting to the slowdown in the real estate market, City Manager Terence Reidy said, many developers have proposed converting space once designated residential into office. Others are considering creating interim parking lots until the market rebounds, he said. "The good thing is no one's come to me and said, 'I'm pulling out,'" Reidy said. That includes Metro Homes. Only three of the 16 stories had been built before the developer suspended work on the $100 million project. The city last year threatened to go to court to compel the developer to keep working but has since softened its stance. Talks with Madison Marquette, the developer of the boardwalk and the new owner of the Wesley Grove condos, about entering a joint venture to resurrect the Esperanza proved fruitless, Geibel said. With a new partner -- who Geibel declined to name -- Metro Homes is redesigning the project to shave expenses. Instead of having two towers separated by an outdoor pool, the building will have one L- shaped tower wrapped partially around the outdoor pool to the north and west. It will get a new name -- something that suggests the ocean, Geibel said. The new design will mean many of the 224 units have an oceanfront view, he said. But some of the amenities, such as an upscale restaurant, will be left on the drawing room floor, he said. Metro Homes had contracts for 70 of the units, which sold for between $400,000 and $2.3 million, before construction stopped. Geibel said all the deposits have been returned but some original buyers, including singer John Oates, are interested in buying into the new building. John Lidestri, an importer from Ringwood, used his returned deposit to help buy a restored seven-bedroom historic home within walking distance from the beach in Asbury Park. In retrospect, this was a better deal, because he got a bigger place for the nearly $1 million he was prepared to pay for the condo. And his taxes will be cheaper, said the 39-year-old father of two. "Obviously it would be great for the community to see it come to fruition," he said. "It would definitely enhance the image of the waterfront rather than to have a stalled construction site there." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! 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