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Article
Courtesy of The Orlando Sentinel By Rene
Stutzman
Published
November 19, 2010
SANFORD
— The real-estate meltdown and foreclosure crisis that have meant financial
ruin for thousands of Central Florida families have now claimed one of the
region's premier addresses: Heathrow Country Club.
The club, golf course and owner of the tennis center are being sued for
foreclosure in state circuit court.
Golfers
were on the course Tuesday, and country-club employees were at
work, but court papers made clear that an attempt by developer
George P. Apostolicas to refinance millions in debt in April did
not work.
The club is the centerpiece of one of the first and most
prestigious golf-course communities in Central Florida.
In the 1980s and '90s, Heathrow was one of the most exclusive addresses in the region.
Today, it's the home golf course of PGA tour favorite Chris DiMarco, who was runner-up to Tiger Woods in two major tournaments, and PGA journeyman Cliff Kresge.
Two weeks ago, it was home to DiMarco's |
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A
golfer takes a swing Tuesday on the 7th fairway at the Heathrow Country
Club golf course. One of Central Florida's high prestige gated
communities, Heathrow County Club is now in foreclosure.
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annual fundraising tournament for the American Cancer Society.
Named in the foreclosure suit are Apostolicas, the Tampa lawyer-developer who bought the subdivision in 1996, and several of his Heathrow real-estate and holding companies, which control just over a dozen pieces of property in the built-out community.
M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank filed suit Oct. 26, alleging that Apostolicas and his companies were in default on loans totaling $4.185 million.
The bank is suing to take control of property held by companies that own the $3.4 million country club and golf course; the $1.1 million tennis center; the $1.2 million office building that houses Apostolicas' real-estate holding and sales companies plus eight unbuilt lots.
Apostolicas did not return a phone call Tuesday. Neither did his lawyer nor the lawyer for the bank that sued.
M&I also alleged that Apostolicas and his companies had failed to pay two years' worth of real-estate taxes. It is asking a judge to name a receiver.
What it all means for residents was not clear Tuesday. Country-club Manager James Upp did not return phone calls, but the club's website and chirpy monthly newsletter gave no hint of financial hard times.
The regular monthly champagne brunch is scheduled for Nov. 28, and the "Deck the Carts" holiday golf-cart parade is set for Dec. 3, the newsletter reported.
Heathrow is hardly the first Central Florida golf community to have financial problems. In 2004, Alaqua, which is literally around the corner on Markham Woods Road, closed its golf course and country club after the member-owned club ran up $2.5 million in debt.
They have since reopened.
Heathrow was the brainchild of Jeno Paulucci, a Chinese-food and frozen-food manufacturer with a home in Sanford who had bought several hundred acres of pasture at Interstate 4 and Lake Mary Boulevard in the 1960s.
In 1982, he broke ground on the development, a mix of single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums and businesses all built around an 18-hole golf course, a tennis center with a dozen courts and a swimming pool.
He gave up day-to-day management in the late 1980s to Arvida Co., a Boca Raton developer, and in 1990, sold the still-undeveloped tracts to Arvida for $50 million.
Arvida defaulted on loans and sold to Apostolicas for $20 million in 1996.
The subdivision currently has 1,425 homes and just 21 unbuilt lots, according to the Seminole County Property Appraiser's Office.
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