Condo owners cleared to sell land
May 27th, 2007 - Category: CondoWindjammer Condominium owners are free to sell their shares of one of the choicest parcels of waterfront property on the Biloxi strip, between the Beau Rivage and Hard Rock casinos.
Harrison County Chancery Judge Jim Persons ruled May 15 the property owners’ association is authorized to sell the 1.5-acre site to California developer Wilton-Henson Associates LLC, which has offered $25 million.
After the 48-unit building was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, more than 50 percent of the condo owners voted in January 2006 not to rebuild and in September to accept the Wilton-Henson offer.
Mike Boudreaux, president of Gulf Coast Investment Developers in Biloxi, represents Wilton-Henson. He said the sale is still in negotiations and the buyers have several questions that need to be answered. They are exploring what they can do with the land, he said, and also looking at other properties in the area.
Restaurant and real estate developer Al Copeland, who owns units at Windjammer, filed the suit to stop the sale. He owns property across U.S. 90 around the Bombay Bicycle Club and also offered $25 million to buy the Windjammer, which would give him about five acres total.
Biloxi attorney Michael Cavanaugh represented Copeland and had no comment on the ruling.
Court documents show all other holdouts withdrew their objections to the sale and Copeland was the lone defendant. He claimed the board presented only the Wilton-Henson proposal to homeowners, and that offer was inferior to Copeland’s proposal.
Copeland Investments Inc. sent letters to property owners offering to buy their units and develop a casino and condotel, according to court papers. Copeland offered each owner an option to purchase a unit in the new condo at a discount price.
The court determined the vote authorizing the sale of the property includes the units owned by Copeland and those who didn’t cast a vote.
Information from: www.sunherald.com
