Naples Florida Real Estate

A deal for members to buy the Shadow Wood and Commons clubs is in the hole.

Or so it appears.

After calling off an agreement to buy their golf and social clubs in The Brooks in early September from their developer, members have negotiated a new deal that could lead them to victory.

On Monday, Bonita Bay Group announced an agreement in principle for members to purchase the two clubs — and their assets — for $8.25 million in cash. In the original agreement, members would have paid $8.3 million.

“Probably the biggest thing was the price. We got a better price by combining The Commons Club with the Shadow Wood club. Before it was going to be a separate deal,” said David English, president of the Shadow Wood Country Club in Estero.

The two sides struck a compromise on another sticking point — the liability of deposits for resigned members. Bonita Bay Group has agreed to keep the liability, but, in turn, it will collect the joining fees from new members to offset that cost, English explained.

The developer abruptly stopped honoring its 30-day policy to refund deposits to resigning members late last year. Based on that policy about $4 million is owed to members of both clubs who have either resigned or downgraded their memberships.

At the Shadow Wood Country Club about 40 members have already resigned. There aren’t nearly as many names on the resign list at The Commons Club, which offers a fitness center, a beach club and a restaurant.

“More people will resign between now and the turnover,” English said.

It’s hoped that most members will stay on. They must, for the new member-owned clubs to work financially.

The deal still must be approved by a majority of the members.

“We really are delighted to be in a position to take the club over and get control over our own destiny,” English said. “We are really anxious to restore the services at the club and make it one of the most premier clubs in Southwest Florida.”

He said there have been few if any sales in The Brooks because of the uncertainty over the clubs. Financially troubled, Bonita Bay Group has been forced to cut hours and services.

“The most important part is that we will restore the confidence of the real estate market in a community that has a member-owned club. And, thusly, hopefully participate in the resurgence of the real estate market,” English said.

The Shadow Wood club has two championship golf courses designed by award-winning architect Bob Cupp, a 30,000-square-foot clubhouse and a nine-court tennis center. A third course, The Preserve, was designed by Arthur Hills and includes a clubhouse and pro shop at Shadow Wood Preserve, located about four miles north of The Brooks.

The golf club has about 830 members. Golf members will pay $5,000 to join the new club. Sports members will pay $3,500 and social members will pay $1,000. Those fees will help generate the money needed to buy the club, English said.

“We do expect to have to finance some portion of it,” he said.

Golf club members will pay $4 million toward the purchase. Members of the Commons Club will kick in the other $4.3 million, mostly through joining fees for their new club.

“This is an opportunity for us to take over the club. This club is extremely important. It’s quite an amenity, with the beach club and the fitness center,” said Terry Furhovden, chairman of the transition team for the Commons Club board.

He said members are looking forward to taking over their club.

“We can chart our own course and have our own club. So we are very excited about it,” Furhovden said.

Lighthouse Bay residents have complained that they are in the most vulnerable spot when it comes to the sale of The Commons Club. They are the only ones in The Brooks who don’t have a choice on whether to belong to the club.

Some Lighthouse Bay residents say they didn’t understand membership was mandatory when they purchased homes in their community, which had a different developer. Whether they will have to join the new member-owned club remains to be seen.

“That’s an issue that will have to wait for the transition,” Furhovden said.

In a fight to avoid bankruptcy, Bonita Bay Group has been looking to sell off all of its golf and other recreational clubs in five communities. Last week, members of the Club at Mediterra agreed to purchase their golf and beach clubs for $6.8 million in cash and assume $15 million in debt for a community development district, which was created to build the community’s roads and provide other basic services.

Bonita Bay Group has also announced that it has reached an operating agreement with the members of the Club at TwinEagles. The Talon golf course, practice range and clubhouse will reopen on Saturday.

“These agreements are important next steps in our process of reshaping and repositioning the company for the future,” said David Lucas, chairman of the Bonita Bay Group, in a statement. “In the future, we expect to be a smaller, more nimble development company with the ability to react more quickly to changing market conditions.”

The agreement with members at The Brooks was hammered out over the past few weeks. The plan is to close the deal by Dec. 31.(source: naplesnews 11-3-2009)