chevymadman
06-19-2007, 11:29 AM
BusinessNew proposal to build ski resort in Riverhead
BY ELIZABETH MOORE
elizabeth.moore@newsday.com
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June 18, 2007, 10:27 PM EDT
A Scottish businessman was back in Riverhead Town Hall Friday, offering to build an indoor ski mountain and family-friendly destination resort on 755 acres of former Grumman land in Calverton.
But this wasn't Tom Stewart, the Dundee promoter who spun that $750-million vision in February, then withdrew after Newsday reported that he was bankrupt and had never built anything.
This Scotsman was one of Stewart's former investors, Dundee home builder John Niven, who has teamed with experienced American luxury developers, Bayrock Group, to offer a new, 35-story variation of Stewart's 50-story mountain, now clad in a "green" roof and nestled beside a scenic man-made lake.
Back in Dundee, documents show, the sheriff has delivered Niven's demand for at least $315,000 he says he and his company loaned Stewart to further the ski-mountain project -- including about $73,000 paid to the Weber Law Group of Melville. He's also suing to liquidate Stewart's company.
"I've totally severed ties with him," Nevin said.
Stewart said he's "parted company" with Nevin but is doing fine. "We are in a much stronger position than when we visited Riverhead, having restructured our group," he wrote last week in an e-mail.
But here on Long Island, the Weber Law Group is working for Nevin now. His new partnership, Riverhead Resorts Llc, has offered $100 million for the Calverton land. It wants to build a 90-acre lake where the airstrip stands and ring it with eight themed waterfront resorts where a middle-class family might safely and happily while away four or five days.
Those would range from a water park and midsize conference center to a sports park, "wilderness" resort featuring artificial kayak rapids, a Gardens of the World spa and tea house, to one they called a "horse enthusiast's paradise." All would be linked by bike paths, water taxis and environmentally sensitive landscape design aimed at giving visitors little reason to climb back into their cars during their stay.
"This will be a fully integrated, seamless guest experience," one that would not include residential development, said Thor Degelmann, a principal at Ledo International Inc., a leading theme-park builder and a member of the project team.
Acknowledging problems with Stewart's financial bonafides, Niven's new partners pointed to more than $2.5-billion worth of Bayrock condominium and hotel projects in the United States and Europe.
Those include partnerships with Donald Trump on the Trump Soho high-rise hotel and Trump hotels in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Phoenix, though attorney Morton Weber said Trump is not part of this deal.
"We're ecstatic to be involved here," Bayrock vice president Jody Kriss said, predicting his firm would invest $100 million of its own money. He estimated it will take at least $500 million to open the resort, but believes Long Island has done a "miserable" job so far of profiting from the 50 million annual visitors to the New York City region -- especially those who can't afford luxury amenities. Kriss predicted Riverhead Resorts' complex of attractions would draw 1.2 million to 1.8 million annual visits.
"You could call us a little crazy for taking on such an ambitious project in an area where it hasn't happened yet. ... We know the underlying demand is there." As evidence, he pointed across Long Island Sound to Foxwoods Casino Resort in Connecticut, one of the country's leading destinations.
Riverhead Resorts has retained many of the same local and international players that Stewart brought together, including Cameron Engineering, Rubenstein Associates, the leading stadium-and-airport builders HOK, and even Delbert Freedline, his erstwhile North American director, who Niven said had been unfairly "tarnished" by the Stewart episode and would remain as a director.
In addition to the money he paid for the Weber Law Group's services, Niven said he has demanded Stewart repay more than $78,000 in architectural fees, $93,000 his company paid to a Dutch law firm, and about $71,000 he personally loaned Stewart last year. Earlier loans to the company were converted to shares of stock, according to Niven, but the most recent financial reports showed Stewart's company was $1.5 million in the red if unspecified "intangible assets" were not counted.
Niven said he decided to reincarnate the ski-mountain project because, amid all the stress and effort to protect his investment, "I fell in love with Riverhead." After 10 trips to Long Island since Stewart bowed out, he said he may just move here. But Niven says he has abandoned Stewart's project to build an even bigger ski mountain in Afyon, Turkey, where the government's support for Stewart turned into a political scandal.
Riverhead Town Supervisor Phil Cardinale pronounced Riverhead Resorts' new proposal "impressive," but said he was less impressed by its $100-million offer for the town's land. A rival proposal from a partnership led by RexCorp Realty, which would include a raceway, stadium and residential development and also offers $100 million, will get an airing June 26.
If those proposals fall through, Stewart e-mailed, "we would seriously consider returning [with funds] and a much better project."
BY ELIZABETH MOORE
elizabeth.moore@newsday.com
Email this story
Printer friendly format
June 18, 2007, 10:27 PM EDT
A Scottish businessman was back in Riverhead Town Hall Friday, offering to build an indoor ski mountain and family-friendly destination resort on 755 acres of former Grumman land in Calverton.
But this wasn't Tom Stewart, the Dundee promoter who spun that $750-million vision in February, then withdrew after Newsday reported that he was bankrupt and had never built anything.
This Scotsman was one of Stewart's former investors, Dundee home builder John Niven, who has teamed with experienced American luxury developers, Bayrock Group, to offer a new, 35-story variation of Stewart's 50-story mountain, now clad in a "green" roof and nestled beside a scenic man-made lake.
Back in Dundee, documents show, the sheriff has delivered Niven's demand for at least $315,000 he says he and his company loaned Stewart to further the ski-mountain project -- including about $73,000 paid to the Weber Law Group of Melville. He's also suing to liquidate Stewart's company.
"I've totally severed ties with him," Nevin said.
Stewart said he's "parted company" with Nevin but is doing fine. "We are in a much stronger position than when we visited Riverhead, having restructured our group," he wrote last week in an e-mail.
But here on Long Island, the Weber Law Group is working for Nevin now. His new partnership, Riverhead Resorts Llc, has offered $100 million for the Calverton land. It wants to build a 90-acre lake where the airstrip stands and ring it with eight themed waterfront resorts where a middle-class family might safely and happily while away four or five days.
Those would range from a water park and midsize conference center to a sports park, "wilderness" resort featuring artificial kayak rapids, a Gardens of the World spa and tea house, to one they called a "horse enthusiast's paradise." All would be linked by bike paths, water taxis and environmentally sensitive landscape design aimed at giving visitors little reason to climb back into their cars during their stay.
"This will be a fully integrated, seamless guest experience," one that would not include residential development, said Thor Degelmann, a principal at Ledo International Inc., a leading theme-park builder and a member of the project team.
Acknowledging problems with Stewart's financial bonafides, Niven's new partners pointed to more than $2.5-billion worth of Bayrock condominium and hotel projects in the United States and Europe.
Those include partnerships with Donald Trump on the Trump Soho high-rise hotel and Trump hotels in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Phoenix, though attorney Morton Weber said Trump is not part of this deal.
"We're ecstatic to be involved here," Bayrock vice president Jody Kriss said, predicting his firm would invest $100 million of its own money. He estimated it will take at least $500 million to open the resort, but believes Long Island has done a "miserable" job so far of profiting from the 50 million annual visitors to the New York City region -- especially those who can't afford luxury amenities. Kriss predicted Riverhead Resorts' complex of attractions would draw 1.2 million to 1.8 million annual visits.
"You could call us a little crazy for taking on such an ambitious project in an area where it hasn't happened yet. ... We know the underlying demand is there." As evidence, he pointed across Long Island Sound to Foxwoods Casino Resort in Connecticut, one of the country's leading destinations.
Riverhead Resorts has retained many of the same local and international players that Stewart brought together, including Cameron Engineering, Rubenstein Associates, the leading stadium-and-airport builders HOK, and even Delbert Freedline, his erstwhile North American director, who Niven said had been unfairly "tarnished" by the Stewart episode and would remain as a director.
In addition to the money he paid for the Weber Law Group's services, Niven said he has demanded Stewart repay more than $78,000 in architectural fees, $93,000 his company paid to a Dutch law firm, and about $71,000 he personally loaned Stewart last year. Earlier loans to the company were converted to shares of stock, according to Niven, but the most recent financial reports showed Stewart's company was $1.5 million in the red if unspecified "intangible assets" were not counted.
Niven said he decided to reincarnate the ski-mountain project because, amid all the stress and effort to protect his investment, "I fell in love with Riverhead." After 10 trips to Long Island since Stewart bowed out, he said he may just move here. But Niven says he has abandoned Stewart's project to build an even bigger ski mountain in Afyon, Turkey, where the government's support for Stewart turned into a political scandal.
Riverhead Town Supervisor Phil Cardinale pronounced Riverhead Resorts' new proposal "impressive," but said he was less impressed by its $100-million offer for the town's land. A rival proposal from a partnership led by RexCorp Realty, which would include a raceway, stadium and residential development and also offers $100 million, will get an airing June 26.
If those proposals fall through, Stewart e-mailed, "we would seriously consider returning [with funds] and a much better project."