Southport luxury complex faces foreclosure
Credited to AUDREY ADADE, for this article.
Southport Green, a 4.7 acre mixed use complex, located at the corner of Old Post Road and Rennell Drive in the Southport section of Fairfield, faces foreclosure proceedings begun by T.D. Banknorth.
The are three main reasons for the foreclosure, according to Harriet Baldwin, director of operations for Southport Village Partners, LLC (SVP): one, the way the market is, sales are slower than expected; two, although a third of the project was pre-sold, because of construction delays presales are not closed yet; third, the state of illiquidity of the credit market.
"Ten of the buildings have full certificates of occupancy, however none of the presales have closed because there are no certificates of occupancy for the pre-sold units," Harriet said. "One-third of the property was pre-sold, but there have been no new contracts."
The 200,000 square-foot property was part of a state probate situation, Harriet said. It was purchased by the Southport Village Partners in 2000. Construction began in 2005, and the first certificates of occupancy were given in 2007.
Most of the properties at Southport Green cost between $550,000 and $2.7 million, depending on the size of the property, Harriet said.
Prospective buyers, according to Harriet, were a mix of everyone, including empty nesters, professionals and retirees.
Buyers are people who like Fairfield and Southport, who like the architecture of the area and who are looking for a lifestyle with a nice neighborhood setting, she said.
Southport Green is mixed use, including an inn, a restaurant, office condominiums and residential condominiums.
SVP has been in default on the construction loan from TD Banknorth because, Harriet said, "there were initially sales quotas set, and some quotas were not met."
SVP, which is made up of Fairfield residents, did not meet sales and conveyance targets that had been set in the loan agreement last year because, Harriet said, "the market has slowed down and because of construction delays."
Liens were filed by A.P. Construction Co. of Stamford, as well as a number of subcontractors
"The other defendants are the second mortgage holder, various mechanics's lien holders and one of our pre-sale buyers," Harriet said. "They were so determined to still buy that they recorded their contract of sale."
"There are approximately $65 million of mortgages," she said. "There is also approximately $8 million of mechanic's liens, although many of those are duplicative, for example both the construction manager and some of the sub-contractors each filed liens covering the same work."
"The bank has begun foreclosure proceedings at the State of Connecticut Court in Bridgeport," Harriet said.
As far as criticism of Southport Green goes, Harriet had this to say.
"Residents are very protective of Southport," she said.
Southport Village Partners has been "successful in working with the community and able to get variances to keep within the look of the community as seamlessly as possible," Harriet said. "Southport Green attracted a lot of focus because 4.7 acres is a big project relative to Southport, as far as the impact on the community. The outcome of the project, as it ended up being built, is better for everyone versus what could have been there."
Stuart Baldwin, managing member of SVP said, "We are grateful that the community came together to make Southport Green possible. It is breathtakingly beautiful and already looks like it has always been there. Compared to the alternatives allowed by zoning - everything from office to light industrial - we believe that Southport Green's mix of residential with an inn and locally owned offices is much more appropriate for the site and will stand the test of time."
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