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Highlands Today

Housing Authority Stalls On Ridgedale Purchase

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By Douglas  Carman | Highlands Today

Published: June 22, 2008

AVON PARK — The Housing Authority of Avon Park's plans to acquire Ridgedale Apartments have stalled after the complex's owners balked at the possibility of paying a penalty for dissolving its contract with another management company, authority Executive Director Larry Shoeman said.

According to Shoeman, Columbus, Ohio-based Ridgedale LLC needed to make the housing authority the property manager during the rehabilitation work that will be needed for the 36-unit project. To do that, however, Ridgedale needed to ditch its current management company, according to their contract.

"The management is not willing to terminate the agreement without a penalty," Shoeman told the Housing Authority of Avon Park's Board of Commissioners Wednesday evening. "We're at an impasse at this point."

The Housing Authority planned in February to purchase the development through Miami-based Marcus & Millichap Investment Real Estate Services, Ridgedale's broker and representative, and convert the pastel-pink apartment complex to a low-income public housing project.

It signed a contract in April to begin the due diligence period of the sale, and requested to become the property manager and the rehabilitation director. After Ridgedale wasn't able to cancel its previous management contract without a penalty, it backed out on that part of the contract, Shoeman said, and in June 2 the Housing Authority terminated the contract.

Shoeman said he spent $30,000 on the deal, mostly in legal fees, and he's asking for a $10,000 deposit to be refunded.

Marcus & Millichap associate Steve Sussman said he could not provide an immediate comment since he couldn't contact anyone from Ridgedale Llc. Wednesday.

The housing authority recently purged its waiting list for home applications, but it once again has a lengthy backlog. Shoeman expected 18 to 20 additional vacancies to shorten the list through the deal. Only 12 of the 36 apartments were occupied this month.

The authority was not totally abandoning Ridgedale. Shoeman sent a letter dated June 10 to Sussman requesting several documents and an agreement for the authority to become the property manager. He told the board he would resurrect the contract if Ridgewood LLC gave him those items.

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