VERO BEACH — If the owner of Vero Fashion Outlets mall doesn’t answer a $32.15-million mortgage foreclosure lawsuit by Sept. 16, it could lose the right to defend itself in the case, according to attorneys.

If so, a judge could order the outdoor mall at Interstate 95 and State Road 60 — the first large mall in the county — to be sold.

“We plan to stay open during the foreclosure and after,” said West Palm Beach attorney Kenneth Curtin, who represents the mortgage holder, LNV Corp., of Nevada. “The mall will stay the same as it is now, with tenants.” (more…)

VERO BEACH — A Nevada corporation that holds the mortgage for Vero Fashion Outlets is seeking to foreclose on the mall, according to civil lawsuit filed in Indian River Circuit Court.

LNV Corp. of Nevada is seeking $32.15 million, including principal and interest, because the mall defaulted on payments, according to the lawsuit.

“Vero (Fashion Outlets) has defaulted,” wrote attorney Kenneth Curtin, of West Palm Beach, in a lawsuit filed Aug. 26. It is assigned to Circuit Judge Paul Kanarek. No action has been taken in the civil lawsuit and the mall’s owners have not responded to the allegations. Curtin did not return calls Wednesday.
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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Bargain seekers on a budget with a taste for upscale leather accessories may get their cake and eat it too just in time for the holiday shopping season if designer brand Coach opens an off-price factory store at the Vero Fashion Outlets in October as indicated on the Coach corporate Web site, www.coach.com.

But officials at Miami Beach area-based Taubco, a real estate company which owns and operates the Vero Fashion Outlets, would not confirm a Coach Factory Store will open.

“There hasn’t been a signed lease (with Coach) and we have no comment at this time,” Laura Tauber, managing director of Taubco, told her assistant, who relayed the statement.

The Web site’s state-by-state listing of Coach Factory Stores notes a “Coach Vero Beach” location at 1824 94th Drive in space C-100 – C-110 set for an October opening. That address is the site of Vero Fashion Outlets at the intersection of State Road 60 near Interstate 95 in Vero Beach.

Coach, founded in New York City in 1941 as a family-run business, is a maker and seller of fine leather handbags, wallets, footwear and other fashion wear and accessories for men and women.

Coach’s factory outlet stores sell discontinued and irregular inventory as well as specially manufactured-for-factory-store goods at 10 to 50 percent off its retail store prices.

Phone calls made to the Coach corporate headquarters on the status of a Coach Factory Store at the Vero Fashion Outlets store were not returned.
Barbara Yoresh, TCPalm.com

Core Communities LLC, the company behind the Tradition community and Port St. Lucie’s biggest developer, is trying to renegotiate two major loans as the value of its property has dropped.

Core’s parent company, Fort Lauderdale-based Woodbridge Holdings Corp. (Pink Sheets: WDGH), warned in its first-quarter report last week that Core was dealing with “cash flow deficits” and said its lenders are seeking payments to more closely align two development loans with the depleted value of Core’s land.

The deterioration of the real estate market and the possibility of those cash payments “raise substantial doubt regarding Core’s ability to continue as a going concern,” Woodbridge states in the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. And Woodbridge points out that it’s under no obligation to inject cash into Core. (more…)

FORT PIERCE — Plans for a $90 million project to build a hotel, restaurants, shops and homes on the old H.D. King Power Plant site may be in jeopardy because of a glitch in the contract.

Jonathan Snyder, president and chief executive officer of Nevada-based Snyder Development LLC, wants the city to donate 6.87 acres of waterfront property on Indian River Drive to build his project, but language tied to the deed says the city has to use the land for a public purpose or the property reverts back to the state.

The glitch might kill the project, Snyder said.

The City Commission, seated as the Fort Pierce Redevelopment Agency board, will discuss the city’s options during a 12:30 p.m. Wednesday meeting at City Hall. (more…)

Another big box bites the dust.

Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. (NYSE: JAS) is shuttering its Fort Pierce store on April 2.

The Hudson, Ohio-based fabric and crafts retailer expects to close about 25 stores while opening 13 to 15 new stores this fiscal year, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company closed 33 stores during fiscal 2008 and opened six.

Apparently the economy is taking its toll on crafters.

Jo-Ann’s same-store sales for the fourth quarter, which ended Jan. 31, decreased 2.9 percent, according to the company’s latest earnings report. During the fourth quarter of 2007, same-store sales increased 3.3 percent.

The local Jo-Ann’s space on U.S. 1 at Virginia Avenue, will soon join the ranks of Linens ‘N Things, which closed its big box in Jensen Beach, and Circuit City, which will soon follow suit.
A Jo-Ann spokeswoman did not return calls for comment.