May 4, 2010
Principal, Company in Proposed $50 million Huntington Development Linked to Three 'Didn’t Get Off the Ground' Projects in Ohio, Kentucky, and North Carolina
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – A principal and the development company that received approval from the Cabell County Commission to apply for $50 million in bonds has a trail of failed projects from Findlay, Ohio to Lexington, Ky. and Fayetteville, N.C. A brochure provided to Findley, Ohio, listed at least some signature projects developed by Madison Marquette Realty Partners, L.L.C.
Whitney Livingston, a representative of Marquette Realty Partners, L.L.C. at the San Francisco office, confirmed to HNN via phone through a developer in their office who worked on Bay Street (Emeryville, Calif.) that neither Brad Burgess or The Thayer Group was involved in any stage of the Bay Street retail, entertainment, hotel and townhouse project in Emeryville, California.
Ms. Livingston has said she will research the other “signature” projects contained on the Thayer Group brochure, which include 278 Post Street (San Francisco, Calif.), 601 Pine, Seattle, Washington; Weyburn Marketplace, Westwood, Calif.; University Park Village, Ft. Worth, Tex.; Gardens on El Paseo, Palm Desert, Calif.; and The McAlpin, Cincinnati, Ohio.
A brochure provided in Findlay listed the following as Thayer’s signature projects: University Park Village, Ft. Worth, Texas (with a Barnes and Noble and Ann Taylor); McAlpin Department Store in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, into a mixed use facility of condominiums and retail space; The Gardens on el Paseo, Palm Desert, California (an open air retail center anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue); 601 Pine, Seattle, Washington (redevelopment of a 70,000 sq. ft. downtown department store into a flagship Old Navy and a salon/spa); and 278 Post Street, San Francisco, Calif. (redevelopment of historic building leased to Cole Hahn and Armani).
A January 14, 2004 story from the Cincinnati Post indicated that Madison Marquette worked through JFP Properties to redevelop the former McAlpin Department Store in downtown Cincinnati into a mix of retail on the first floor and condominiums on the second through sixth floors, according to Rob Acker, development director for Madison Marquette’s eastern region.
Lexis-Nexis lists the address of Thayer Group as 110 Buena Vista Drive, Ashland, Ky.
NO COUNTY FUNDS AT RISK
However, Stephen Zoeller, County Manager, explained to HNN that the vote by the Cabell Commission Thursday, April 29, did not commit any taxpayer funds or provide a contact. Instead, Burgess and Keith McGuire of Commercial Property Resources asked Commission President Scott Bias for support of the federal Recovery Zone Facility Bond application.
“We have not committed anything from the county at this point. The resolution is non-binding,” Zoeller said. “We were cautious because we did not have all the information we needed.”
He explained the resolution simply allowed them to meet their deadline to “apply for the stimulus money”
The proposed project would based on Zoeller’s comments be in Huntington. However, the proposal was rushed through due to an impending deadline. Should the application be approved, then, the County Commission would be made fully aware of Thayer’s plans.
RIVER PLACE FINDLAY … not!
The Thayer Group had proposed a mixed use RiverPlace project for Findlay , Ohio, but a November 2008 voter initiative prevented the company from going forward. Based on reporting in Findlay’s Courier, their city council will likely vote Tuesday, May 4, to overturn the voter initiative, so that an Army Corps of Engineer flood prevent project can go forward.
Bradford Burgess (Thayer Group, Lexington, KY) had proposed a $90 million dollar mixed use development in Findlay that would have included college student apartments, cultural center, new baseball stadium and retail.
“At this point officials are convinced that Burgess is essentially done with Findlay,” wrote Joy Brown, a reporter for the Findlay Courier in an email to HNN. “Burgess has been in breach of contract to the city since 2008, having not paid thousands in rent on the land nor a lump sum he was to pay to help the city relocate the street department.”
Brown continued, “When I dug into the matter last fall, Burgess acknowledged he is in breach of contract, which meant he had not been able to secure $90 million in financing for RiverPlace. He said he ‘wasn’t going to throw money down the hole’ for a project that might not be allowed to proceed. In October 2007, he was quoted as saying, “we got our financing wrapped up … we’ve got the tenants lined up.”
(Editor’s Note: The Findlay project lies in an area by the river which has been subject to flood reduction plans by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. The developer claims the Corps has not been willing to give him a permit for construction. In addition, the project which involved the former Brandman tire dump had not received public support. A voter’s initiative directed council to strike down the city’s contract. Voters worried the project would cause more flooding, according to a November 5, 2008 article in the Toledo Blade. “As well as striking down the city’s legislation related to the Thayer project, the initiative requires that all development proposals for the site go before voters and prohibits emergency passage of further legislation on the property by City Council,” Claudia Boyd-Barrett wrote in the Blade.)
To read more about the Thayer Group and the Findlay project, click: http://thecourier.typepad.com/fencepost/2007/10/towne-center-de.html
KENTUCKY HORSE PARK HOTEL
Thayer Group had proposed a luxury hotel at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. According to the Herald-Leader and The Courier, Burgess proposed “creation of a nonprofit foundation to sell tax-exempt bonds.” Both papers confirmed that the sale was not completed by the state deadline. Thayer then sued the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet for cancelling the hotel project. In addition, HKS, Inc. filed a nearly $200,000 breach of contract suit against Thayer for architectural designs.
According to An early Lexington Herald Leader story, “Mr. Burgess also was one of the founding members of the Bluegrass Equine and Tourism Foundation (BETF) in March 2007 last year at this time. 2 weeks after forming that organization, a new company was formed called KHPWESLUX (yes, it really is called that). The KHPWESLUX company then began to solicit the KY Horse Park hotel project, and beat out real estate developers Corporex who are based in Northern Kentucky.
After all expenses are paid for the hotel, any profits will be distributed to tourism and equine & equestrian organizations in Kentucky. And 42 years after the hotel’s construction, the facility will become owned in its entirety by the state of Kentucky, according to the proposal which did not materialize.
In 1997, Thayer Group of Tampa agreed to purchase the Campbell House Inn, Suites and Golf Club in Lexington for more than $20 million dollars. However, long time owner K.A. Cormney told the Herald-Leader in an October 2, 1998 story, that he had declined to sell to the Thayer Group but “declined to say why the deal fell through.” He also declined to sell the city of Lexington the nearby golf course.
FAYETTEVILLE, NC
The former director of GreaterFindlayInc (an arm of the Chamber of Commerce), Doug Peters, became president of the Fayetteville/Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce. Peters and Burgess connected on a proposal for North Carolina.
A November 2008 story in the Fayette Observer told of the Lexington, Ky. Based Thayer Group wanting to create a “pedestrian-friendly atmosphere alive with sidewalk cafes, restaurants and second-floor apartments.” Burgess told the Observer, “Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans comes to mind.”
The Fayetteville story indicated that Burgess had 30 years in business and his company had experience “planning, financing and developing more than $1 billion dollars in real estate , such as office high rises in Denver and Atlanta, hotels in Tampa and Jacksonville, Florida, and mixed used developments “for universities in Cincinnati and Huntington, W.Va.”
However, by September 14, 2009, the Fayette Observer reported, the proposal was off. Andrew Barksdale wrote that City Manager Dale Iman and Doug Peters (Fayetteville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce) had “a number of private conversations to go over details of the plan and potential city assistance… but nothing was finalized or made public.”
Burgess told the Observer that the city and county officials had showed “little enthusiasm” for his plans. He need help from Iman and Mayor Tony Chavonne to convince Abeerdeen & Rockfish Railroad Co. to sell 3.6 acres for a proposed stadium which was “vital” to the redevelopment, which would also have included a parking deck.
The developer said in the interview he did not seek any tax incentives, but wanted the city to pay for utility and streetscape improvements.
Mayor Chavonne told the Observer they had tried to work with the developer, but, “thankfully we are in the position to deal with lots of development opportunities, and we always do our best to do that due diligence with every one of those. We take them all seriously.”
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING ARENA
The Findlay Courier reporter said that , according to Burgess, Thayer had other projects in the works ranging from $20 million to $40 million dollars. In 1996, Thayer Group built the Tampa Bay Lightning Arena and a multi-use development called Corner Stone near the Tampa Bay airport.
HNN has contacted Marshall University spokesman, including Matt Turner, the new Chief of Staff, David Wellman, director of communications, and former chief of staff, Bill Bissett (now with Ky. Coal Association) for confirmation on the Marshall project(s).
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Principal, Company in Proposed $50 million Huntington Development Linked to Three 'Didn’t Get Off the Ground' Projects in Ohio, Kentucky, and North Carolina
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – A principal and the development company that received approval from the Cabell County Commission to apply for $50 million in bonds has a trail of failed projects from Findlay, Ohio to Lexington, Ky. and Fayetteville, N.C. A brochure provided to Findley, Ohio, listed at least some signature projects developed by Madison Marquette Realty Partners, L.L.C.
Whitney Livingston, a representative of Marquette Realty Partners, L.L.C. at the San Francisco office, confirmed to HNN via phone through a developer in their office who worked on Bay Street (Emeryville, Calif.) that neither Brad Burgess or The Thayer Group was involved in any stage of the Bay Street retail, entertainment, hotel and townhouse project in Emeryville, California.
Ms. Livingston has said she will research the other “signature” projects contained on the Thayer Group brochure, which include 278 Post Street (San Francisco, Calif.), 601 Pine, Seattle, Washington; Weyburn Marketplace, Westwood, Calif.; University Park Village, Ft. Worth, Tex.; Gardens on El Paseo, Palm Desert, Calif.; and The McAlpin, Cincinnati, Ohio.
A brochure provided in Findlay listed the following as Thayer’s signature projects: University Park Village, Ft. Worth, Texas (with a Barnes and Noble and Ann Taylor); McAlpin Department Store in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, into a mixed use facility of condominiums and retail space; The Gardens on el Paseo, Palm Desert, California (an open air retail center anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue); 601 Pine, Seattle, Washington (redevelopment of a 70,000 sq. ft. downtown department store into a flagship Old Navy and a salon/spa); and 278 Post Street, San Francisco, Calif. (redevelopment of historic building leased to Cole Hahn and Armani).
A January 14, 2004 story from the Cincinnati Post indicated that Madison Marquette worked through JFP Properties to redevelop the former McAlpin Department Store in downtown Cincinnati into a mix of retail on the first floor and condominiums on the second through sixth floors, according to Rob Acker, development director for Madison Marquette’s eastern region.
Lexis-Nexis lists the address of Thayer Group as 110 Buena Vista Drive, Ashland, Ky.
NO COUNTY FUNDS AT RISK
However, Stephen Zoeller, County Manager, explained to HNN that the vote by the Cabell Commission Thursday, April 29, did not commit any taxpayer funds or provide a contact. Instead, Burgess and Keith McGuire of Commercial Property Resources asked Commission President Scott Bias for support of the federal Recovery Zone Facility Bond application.
“We have not committed anything from the county at this point. The resolution is non-binding,” Zoeller said. “We were cautious because we did not have all the information we needed.”
He explained the resolution simply allowed them to meet their deadline to “apply for the stimulus money”
The proposed project would based on Zoeller’s comments be in Huntington. However, the proposal was rushed through due to an impending deadline. Should the application be approved, then, the County Commission would be made fully aware of Thayer’s plans.
RIVER PLACE FINDLAY … not!
The Thayer Group had proposed a mixed use RiverPlace project for Findlay , Ohio, but a November 2008 voter initiative prevented the company from going forward. Based on reporting in Findlay’s Courier, their city council will likely vote Tuesday, May 4, to overturn the voter initiative, so that an Army Corps of Engineer flood prevent project can go forward.
Bradford Burgess (Thayer Group, Lexington, KY) had proposed a $90 million dollar mixed use development in Findlay that would have included college student apartments, cultural center, new baseball stadium and retail.
“At this point officials are convinced that Burgess is essentially done with Findlay,” wrote Joy Brown, a reporter for the Findlay Courier in an email to HNN. “Burgess has been in breach of contract to the city since 2008, having not paid thousands in rent on the land nor a lump sum he was to pay to help the city relocate the street department.”
Brown continued, “When I dug into the matter last fall, Burgess acknowledged he is in breach of contract, which meant he had not been able to secure $90 million in financing for RiverPlace. He said he ‘wasn’t going to throw money down the hole’ for a project that might not be allowed to proceed. In October 2007, he was quoted as saying, “we got our financing wrapped up … we’ve got the tenants lined up.”
(Editor’s Note: The Findlay project lies in an area by the river which has been subject to flood reduction plans by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. The developer claims the Corps has not been willing to give him a permit for construction. In addition, the project which involved the former Brandman tire dump had not received public support. A voter’s initiative directed council to strike down the city’s contract. Voters worried the project would cause more flooding, according to a November 5, 2008 article in the Toledo Blade. “As well as striking down the city’s legislation related to the Thayer project, the initiative requires that all development proposals for the site go before voters and prohibits emergency passage of further legislation on the property by City Council,” Claudia Boyd-Barrett wrote in the Blade.)
To read more about the Thayer Group and the Findlay project, click: http://thecourier.typepad.com/fencepost/2007/10/towne-center-de.html
KENTUCKY HORSE PARK HOTEL
Thayer Group had proposed a luxury hotel at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. According to the Herald-Leader and The Courier, Burgess proposed “creation of a nonprofit foundation to sell tax-exempt bonds.” Both papers confirmed that the sale was not completed by the state deadline. Thayer then sued the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet for cancelling the hotel project. In addition, HKS, Inc. filed a nearly $200,000 breach of contract suit against Thayer for architectural designs.
According to An early Lexington Herald Leader story, “Mr. Burgess also was one of the founding members of the Bluegrass Equine and Tourism Foundation (BETF) in March 2007 last year at this time. 2 weeks after forming that organization, a new company was formed called KHPWESLUX (yes, it really is called that). The KHPWESLUX company then began to solicit the KY Horse Park hotel project, and beat out real estate developers Corporex who are based in Northern Kentucky.
After all expenses are paid for the hotel, any profits will be distributed to tourism and equine & equestrian organizations in Kentucky. And 42 years after the hotel’s construction, the facility will become owned in its entirety by the state of Kentucky, according to the proposal which did not materialize.
In 1997, Thayer Group of Tampa agreed to purchase the Campbell House Inn, Suites and Golf Club in Lexington for more than $20 million dollars. However, long time owner K.A. Cormney told the Herald-Leader in an October 2, 1998 story, that he had declined to sell to the Thayer Group but “declined to say why the deal fell through.” He also declined to sell the city of Lexington the nearby golf course.
FAYETTEVILLE, NC
The former director of GreaterFindlayInc (an arm of the Chamber of Commerce), Doug Peters, became president of the Fayetteville/Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce. Peters and Burgess connected on a proposal for North Carolina.
A November 2008 story in the Fayette Observer told of the Lexington, Ky. Based Thayer Group wanting to create a “pedestrian-friendly atmosphere alive with sidewalk cafes, restaurants and second-floor apartments.” Burgess told the Observer, “Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans comes to mind.”
The Fayetteville story indicated that Burgess had 30 years in business and his company had experience “planning, financing and developing more than $1 billion dollars in real estate , such as office high rises in Denver and Atlanta, hotels in Tampa and Jacksonville, Florida, and mixed used developments “for universities in Cincinnati and Huntington, W.Va.”
However, by September 14, 2009, the Fayette Observer reported, the proposal was off. Andrew Barksdale wrote that City Manager Dale Iman and Doug Peters (Fayetteville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce) had “a number of private conversations to go over details of the plan and potential city assistance… but nothing was finalized or made public.”
Burgess told the Observer that the city and county officials had showed “little enthusiasm” for his plans. He need help from Iman and Mayor Tony Chavonne to convince Abeerdeen & Rockfish Railroad Co. to sell 3.6 acres for a proposed stadium which was “vital” to the redevelopment, which would also have included a parking deck.
The developer said in the interview he did not seek any tax incentives, but wanted the city to pay for utility and streetscape improvements.
Mayor Chavonne told the Observer they had tried to work with the developer, but, “thankfully we are in the position to deal with lots of development opportunities, and we always do our best to do that due diligence with every one of those. We take them all seriously.”
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING ARENA
The Findlay Courier reporter said that , according to Burgess, Thayer had other projects in the works ranging from $20 million to $40 million dollars. In 1996, Thayer Group built the Tampa Bay Lightning Arena and a multi-use development called Corner Stone near the Tampa Bay airport.
HNN has contacted Marshall University spokesman, including Matt Turner, the new Chief of Staff, David Wellman, director of communications, and former chief of staff, Bill Bissett (now with Ky. Coal Association) for confirmation on the Marshall project(s).
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