VERO BEACH — A high-level financial struggle over the troubled Vero Fashion Outlets now may reach into an owner’s family trust, court records show.

In early October the outdoor mall filed for bankruptcy in federal court, a move that halted a foreclosure lawsuit filed by the mall’s creditor, LNV Corp. of Nevada, in Indian River Circuit Court. LNV Corp.’s attorney Kenneth Curtin contends the mall defaulted on a $32 million loan for purchase of the 329,000-square-foot mall in 2007. (more…)

FORT PIERCE — Land along Ten Mile Creek, west of Florida’s Turnpike, owned by former Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins quarterback Bernie Kosar, may be auctioned as part of a bankruptcy settlement.

To satisfy creditors of his companies and investments, Bloomberg.com is reporting that Kosar filed a plan last week that would include auctioning 140 acres of the proposed development called Creekside.

The undeveloped land is owned by Kosar’s company BJK.
(more…)

STUART — The nonprofit Surfrider organization isn’t doing much celebrating two weeks after its 25th anniversary Arts and Music Celebration has left about $75,000 in unpaid debts, about half to local vendors.

The Treasure Coast chapter president has resigned under pressure from the local board, which said he exceeded his authority in organizing the event.

And, the Surfrider Foundation’s Florida group of chapters has canceled its state conference to put that money toward paying the bills.
(more…)

When Andre Frechette’s physician advised him to exercise, he contracted Vero Beach-based Coral Pools Inc. to build a $21,000 pool at his Port St. Lucie home.

Tuesday morning, Frechette said he got a call from Coral Pools owner Shawn Riley telling him work on the pool, that was mostly paid for, would not be completed.

“He told me that they were filing for bankruptcy on Thursday,” said Frechette, 83. “My pool is only 85 percent complete.”
(more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Hundreds of Tesoro property owners aren’t waiting around while their subdivision’s developer grinds through bankruptcy court: They’re filing their own lawsuits against Ginn Resorts and its affiliates.

Property owners are charging Ginn with a host of wrongdoings, including selling lots through Ponzi schemes, fraudulently inflating property values, lying to and duping clients, failing to account for hundreds of thousands of dollars in membership dues and missing escrow accounts and backing out on promises to build amenities.

Timothy Vetrano, 72, a retiree from Manhasset, N.Y., who lives at Tesoro with his wife Marilyn, said his experience falls under “buyer beware.”
(more…)

STUART — It just doesn’t make sense to Bill Wallace.

Why would Chrysler close a profitable dealership in a growing area?

Why would the beleaguered automaker allow a franchise in out-of-the-way Okeechobee to remain open, while closing several on the more populated Treasure Coast?

He’s selling cars. He bought more of them than he needed from Chrysler this year, at the urging of the company’s top brass, he says.

But his Wallace Chrysler Jeep in Fort Pierce is still slated to shut down after June 9, along with 788 other dealerships that Chrysler decided to close as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition.

“We weathered this tsunami, and in America, you should be rewarded for that, not punished,” said Wallace, a third-generation dealer whose grandfather opened a Chevrolet dealership in West Palm Beach in the 1930s.

Wallace is among more than 300 dealers across the country who have joined forces to fight Chrysler’s decision. The group, called the Committee of Chrysler Affected Dealers, wants more time. More time to prove it would be a mistake to ax them.

But if Chrysler gets its way in bankruptcy court - as many industry watchers believe it will - five Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealers between Indiantown Road in Jupiter and Vero Beach will be among those that close next month. (more…)

STUART — The Stuart Jeep and Stuart Volkswagen dealerships on U.S. 1 are going out of business on Friday as a result of the economic downturn and the Chrysler bankruptcy.

The owner of the dealership, Tom Willett, made the announcement Wednesday afternoon to about 70 workers, said Mark Babcock, a Jeep service manager who lives in Port St. Lucie.

Willett attributed the closing largely to the Chrysler bankruptcy, which will result in the closing of dealerships throughout the country, Babcock said. Stuart Jeep was vulnerable because it was a standalone dealership that did not include the auto maker’s Chrysler or Dodge brands.

“We all gave Mr. Willett a round of applause,” Babcock said. “We knew he tried his best for us. Tom Willett was a great owner. You can’t fault the guy. He tried to do everything he could.”

The dealership employed about 70 people, mainly salespeople, mechanics, detailers, officer workers and managers, Babcock said.

“It’s like a family type organization,” Babcock said.

The Jeep and Volkswagen dealerships will close for good at 5 p.m. Friday and the remaining automobiles will be returned to the manufacturers or sold through an auction, Babcock said.

“It’s been a good 14-year run,” Babcock said. “We survived hurricanes. If we had Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, we might’ve stood a chance. That’s just the way it is. It’s sad, but it’s also business.”

By George Andreassi, TCPalm.com

The Wellington investor who bought Port St. Lucie’s upscale Tesoro development out of bankruptcy has grand visions for the community — and they don’t center on golf.

Glenn Straub, a polo magnate in Palm Beach County, hopes to bring a giant equestrian complex to Tesoro at the southern edge of St. Lucie County.

He wants to build barns, show rings, training rings — and everything else needed for the high-end horse crowd.

“It will be a satellite to Wellington, and we’ll have shows once a week,” said Straub, who owns Palm Beach Polo Golf & Country Club in Wellington.

To accommodate the Port St. Lucie complex, he’s in talks to buy more property just east of Tesoro, which sits north of Becker Road. He hasn’t decided how many acres, he said.

The goal is to have the equestrian digs up and running in time for season next year. (more…)

An Asheville, N.C.-based company paid $3.8 million this month for Freedom Plastics Inc.’s plant in Fort Pierce.

Pipe manufacturer Silver-Line Plastics intends to refurbish the 100,000 square feet and may rehire some of the 33 workers who lost their jobs there, according to Chief Financial Officer Bill Beard. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Erik Bartkowiak’s baseball training facility in Port St. Lucie already was struggling when the economy started to fail.. Bartkowiak quickly found himself swinging at hardballs with a Wiffle ball bat.

In September, parents started coming to the Sandlot Baseball and Softball Academy saying they no longer could afford the $100-a-month membership for instructions and access to the facility’s equipment.

“One or two would say they just got laid off and ask for a break on membership,” Bartkowiak said. “In October, it was four or five a day. By January, I was down to about 20 members. It doesn’t work — $2,000 a month when I needed $20,000 to operate.”

With other training programs to offer and alternative business financing, he got out with his wallet mostly intact. But not everyone has been so lucky. (more…)