NoBe Bay in Miami Beach
During the summer of 2010, Miami’s real estate market was, for the most part, stagnant. Investors, even those armed with cash, remained reluctant to part with it. In June 2010, then-Gov. Charlie Crist signed a series of amendments to Florida’s condominium law, in a bid to promote investment, dubbed the Distressed Condominium Relief Act. [more]
The condo of former Gov. Charlie Crist’s ex-wife on Fisher Island has been sold for $3.5 million. Carole Rome, whom Crist married when he was a governor, bought the condo in 2007 with her previous husband, Todd Rome, in 2007 for $4.1 million. The buyer was listed as a company named by Lala Golovkova. Currently, Charlie lives in a condo in St. Petersburg, Fla., and is now working for a personal injury firm. [Palm Beach Post]
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Two days after two board members resigned, the St. Joe Company’s biggest shareholder said it is looking to replace the developer’s entire board. Miami-based Fairholme Fund said it hired executive search firm Spencer Stuart to oversee a process allowing shareholders to suggest candidates. Fairholme suggested former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Carnival COO Howard Frank as potential members. St. Joe, which is based in Jacksonville, is weighing its options, including a potential sale. [Miami Herald]
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The Miccosukee Tribe’s plea for a federal judge to strike down Gov. Charlie Crist’s $197 million deal for 26,800 acres of U.S. Sugar-owned land in the Everglades has been denied. The Miccosukees had said that the South Florida Water Management District would be using money to pay for the land that is needed for an already-stalled Everglades restoration project in western Palm Beach County. In a ruling released yesterday, U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno said that the district, which he ordered in March to restart that project, would be able to pay for both the restoration project and the U.S. Sugar deal and that “enjoining a vote on the expenditure of funds may be beyond the court’s power.” The latest, slimmed-down version of the deal was approved earlier this month and is expected to close Oct. 11. The Florida Supreme Court is still expected to render an opinion. [Miami Herald]
An executive order signed by Gov. Charlie Crist yesterday could mean
that Florida home and business owners who have lost property value
because of the oil spill will be able to make claims for the lost value
against BP. Under the order, property appraisers in the 26 counties
under a state of emergency would offer owners a mid-year reassessment of
their properties. If a property owner lost value during the spill, a
claim could be made against BP for loss of value. The reassessments are
not required, but merely authorized by the order. Palm Beach County was
added to the list eligible for financial aid in June because of concerns
that oil could hit its eastern shores, but so far none has arrived. BP
officials declined to comment. [Palm
Beach Post]
The Distressed Condominium Relief Act, which was signed by Gov. Charlie
Crist June 1, took effect Thursday, giving condo associations the right to demand that renters in delinquent units pay their rent
directly to the association, not the unit owners. Those who don’t comply now face eviction. “It gives tenants more peace of mind,” said Jon
Mann, owner of Five Star International Realty in Miami. “They can pay
the association a portion of their rent and they know they won’t be
kicked out.” Among the law’s many provisions, it also shields bulk
buyers from so-called successive developer liability. [Miami
Herald]
Gov. Charlie Crist has rejected a bill that would have allowed agriculture property owners to claim a tax exemption when selling their land for development purposes. Currently, farmland is reclassified by property appraisers when it is sold for at least three times what it’s worth as an agricultural plot, thus removing the owner’s eligibility for a tax exemption. That bill, which was approved by a large majority in both the House and the Senate last month, aimed to block that reclassification. “Rather than benefiting farmers as the greenbelt provisions are intended, this bill could subsidize private real estate speculation at the expense of the taxpayer,” Crist said. [Tampa Bay Business Journal]
Billionaire real estate developer Jeff Greene officially entered the Florida Senate race today when he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination. In a campaign video, Greene called himself a “different choice” who is “willing to shake things up in Washington.” He said he won’t take contributions of over $100, with the idea that his own personal wealth will shield him from the influence of special interests. Gov. Charlie Crist said yesterday that he will run as an independent. [CBS]
Gov. Charlie Crist has signed a senate bill finalizing a 20-year compact between Florida and the Seminole Tribe. The deal could bring the state almost $7 million, and would allow Class III gaming like blackjack and roulette, but exclusively for Seminole casinos. Five of the tribe’s seven Florida casinos will offer the games. The original deal Crist signed with the Seminoles was rejected by the Florida Supreme Court in 2007. Sen. Dennis Jones recently said the compact would not affect proposals for South Florida casinos such as those made by the Las Vegas Sands Group last month. [SFBJ] [more]
Billionaire real estate developer Jeff Greene might enter the Democratic Senate primary race in Florida, a source told the Washington Post. Greene, who made was made wealthy in large part because of his bets against the subprime mortgage market, had reportedly been mulling a run as an independent, but since Gov. Charlie Crist now seems to be leaning toward that route, Greene is instead considering a challenge to Rep. Kendrick Meek, who is running as a Democrat. Greene’s net worth of $1.5 billion makes him one of the world’s 400 richest people and therefore, a formidable opponent to any politician. [Washington Post, 1st item]
