Widow wants $2 million for condo blocking Westgate Resort
project
Orlando Sentenial
By: Stephen Hudak
03 October 2016
A lawyer for Westgate Resorts said a widow who has refused to sell her
condo to the timeshare giant wants $2 million for her former vacation
spot.
The 1,100-square-foot condo, which Julieta Corredor and her late
husband bought in 1985 for $154,000, is at the heart of a squabble
threatening Westgate's $24-million timeshare project on Turkey Lake
Road.
"That's not even a starting point for negotiations," Westgate Resorts
attorney Michael Marder said of the widow's demand, which he revealed
Monday.
Brent G. Siegel, the widow's lawyer, would not discuss her asking price.
The Orlando-based company is building twin timeshare towers on a
180-acre site about four miles west of the Orange County Convention
Center.
The company owns everything on the towers' site except the widow's
place, but claimed erroneously in county documents that it owned her
condo, too.
The county, which initially approved the Westgate tower project,
slapped the company with a "stop-work" order after negotiations stalled
between the company and two of the widows' sons.
"What we want is for the county to do its job," said Carlos Corredor,
one of the 81-year-old widow's children. "It's a matter of principle
for us."
Westgate is appealing the stop-work order, and the family is
appealing the county's decision to accept revised plans allowing
Westgate to build around the widow's condo.
Orange County commissioners are set to hear both appeals Oct. 18.
Westgate's appeal of the order allowed construction to resume on the
towers, but attorney Siegel, no relation to Westgate CEO David Siegel,
said the company could be forced to tear down its towers if it loses
its appeal.
The widow's condo was damaged earlier this year by a Westgate
contractor on a bulldozer who was prepping the site for the tower
project.
The contractor did not have a valid permit, county records show.
Westgate also has offered to rebuild the widow's property or give her
another unit in a nearby complex if she'd surrender title to her
damaged condo.
Marder said the company has been unfairly cast as the villian in the
stalemate, alleging the condo was unsafe and had not been inhabited in
years.
"This is not a case of a lady getting thrown out of her home," he said.
top
Construction continues around lone condo
WESH 2
By Michelle Meredith
03 October 2016
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —A lone condominium standing in the middle of an
Orange County construction zone is the result of a battle between a
developer and the condo's owner. The owner said Westgate Resorts has no
right to tear down her home, so the developer left it up.
The David-and-Goliath-like drama surrounding the "last condo standing"
is growing, and so is construction around it.
Since this summer, there are two new developments. The condo is no
longer standing alone. Westgate Resorts, of David Siegel fame, is
building around it.
Monday morning, in a special meeting, the condo owner was granted more
time to fight efforts to demolish it. The county said the condo is
dangerous. But the owner of the residence said that's because
Westgate's demolition contractor cracked it open.
The Corredor family from South Florida said their mother has owned the
condo for decades. The Corredor family said Westgate tried to bully
them into selling it cheap.
Carlos Corredor, the owner's son, told WESH 2 News, "There is no right
for a company to say what they need, and if you don't want to sell it,
then they want to want to run over you."
Westgate said the family has been holding Westgate for ransom,
demanding far more than the condo is worth. Westgate said it has
offered $150,000 and have also offered to give the family a brand-new
condo. The attorney for the Corredor family said Westgate has not
offered to give them a new condo.
Michael Marder, attorney for Westgate, said, “They want money. They
want to use this an a leverage tool to extract a dollar value.”
The controversy continues and will land in front of the Orange County
Commission later this month.
top
Resort can build around condo of family refusing to sell
WFTV
19 October 2016
A new resort is
going up around a condo that a Florida family has refused to sell.
(WFTV)
Work can now continue on a new resort going up around a condo owned by
a family who refuses to sell.
The family that owns the condo has been trying to hang on to the 1,100
square-foot property on Turkey Lake Road, and refused to sell it to
Westgate Resorts for $150,000.
Orange County commissioners ruled Tuesday the developers can build
around the condo.
Construction on the 161-unit resort began with the condo still
standing, even though the Corredor family wouldn’t give up the property.
The county previously gave Westgate Resorts permission to build around
the condo, but the family’s attorney appealed the decision.
The other issue at hand was that Waste Resorts started demolishing the
condo.
Company officials said it was a mistake that happened before they
realized the condo hadn’t been sold.
But their work left the property owners out of compliance and facing
fines.
Family members said if they got to keep the condo, they would
reconstruct it and make it livable again.
top
Holdout family won't sell Florida condo to timeshare giant
CBS News
03 November 2016
Julieta Corredor, her two sons and their families have used their
two-bedroom townhouse in the heart of Orlando’s tourist district as a
place for honeymoons, family gatherings and college housing during the
more than 30 years they’ve owned it.
When one of the world’s largest timeshare companies bought up the
surrounding condominium units and made entreaties for 81-year-old
Corredor to sell hers, the South Florida family refused. Nonetheless,
bulldozers for a Westgate Resorts contractor demolished the entire
condo development - trees, a tennis court, and a spa - leaving only the
Corredors’ 1,125-square-foot townhouse standing.
If the Corredors continue to refuse to sell, they could join real
estate “holdouts” like Edith Macefield, who prompted a developer in
Seattle to build a five-story commercial development around the home
she refused to sell in 2006 and whose house later was used in promotion
for the Disney film “Up.”
The Corredors say that their case is a matter of principle on property
rights and that they feel bullied by developer Westgate. Westgate
officials say the family is being greedy and awaiting a bigger offer.
Family attorney Brent Siegel wouldn’t comment on negotiations.
Officials at the timeshare company said they’ve offered to rebuild the
unit at the same or a new location and provide $50,000 in furnishings.
They’ve presented an offer of a $150,000 cash buyout, and they’ve said
they’re willing to offer a comparable, newly renovated unit in a
different building. The Corredors have said “no” to each offer.
Nail houses
In China, the fast pace of development has led to a name for these
holdout properties - “nail houses” - for the owner’s refusal to be
“hammered down.” Some hold out because of attachment to their homes.
Some do it for money, though that’s a gamble that doesn’t always pay
off if the developer builds around the property.
During the demolition of the complex surrounding Corredor’s townhouse,
the Westgate contractor damaged the home’s stucco walls and fractured
sections of the red-tiled roof to the point that it was left
uninhabitable. A “Danger No Entry” sign now hangs near the front door
and a blue tarp covers the side. Jagged sections of wall and remains of
a staircase to the second floor are what’s left of the unit next door.
On top of it, the family says, Westgate lied to county officials that
they owned all the land so that their development plan would be
approved, and the demolition was performed without proper permits.
As Westgate is now halfway toward completing an eight-story, 80-unit
timeshare tower around their vacant townhouse, the Corredor family
isn’t giving up the fight. The timeshare tower is set to open next June.
“It is our land and it’s our property, and we were never asked to do
anything by Westgate on it, and they did whatever they did without our
consent,” said Carlos Corredor, Julieta Corredor’s son.
Westgate’s CEO, David Siegel, is one of the richest men in Florida. He
and his wife, Jackie, were featured in the 2012 documentary “Queen of
Versailles,” chronicling their attempt to build one of the largest
single-family homes in the U.S.
Westgate says the Corredors hadn’t stepped foot in the condo for more
than a decade and that it had mold and wood decay. The Corredors
purchased the property in 1985 for $154,000. The local property
appraiser this year gave it a market value of $35,000.
The company’s chief operating officer said the Corredors were making
“unreasonable requests” for more money.
“They’re trying to be the holdout and go for the money,” said Mark
Waltrip, the Westgate executive. “Hopefully they’ll stop the charade
and start acting responsibly.”
Orlando-area attorney Howard Marks - who successfully litigated against
the timeshare company’s parent company, Central Florida Investments,
several years ago in a different case about the same condo complex and
has nothing to do with the Corredors’ case - said Westgate’s treatment
of the Corredors was part and parcel with how the company does business.
“They will just do things, and if there are consequences, they will
worry about it in litigation,” Marks said.
After reading about the case, University of Florida law professor
Michael Wolf, who has a background in land-use planning and has no
connection to the case, said he was concerned that what happened may be
“an insult to private property.”
“How could they tear apart the building without doing damage to her
unit?” said Wolf, adding that the demolition could be considered a
crime or at least grounds for a lawsuit.
After the Corredors told Orange County development officials earlier
this year that Westgate didn’t own all the parcels to the property the
company was developing, as officials thought, the plan was revoked.
Orange County also told Westgate that the demolition work was done
without proper permits.
But the county later approved a revised plan that included the Corredor
parcel.
The Corredor family appealed to the Orange County Commission to block
the revised plan. Overturning the decision would have halted
construction on the $24 million project and possibly forced Westgate to
tear down what it has already built.
The commission sided with Westgate last month. Commissioner Scott Boyd
said the Corredors have been given options by the timeshare giant and
now it’s up for them to make a decision.
“This has been a difficult one to watch. ... Mistakes were made,” Boyd
said. “I feel at this point there’s not a whole lot that we can do. The
options have been laid out pretty clearly.”
The Corredor family is considering taking the case to court, their
attorney said.
Waltrip said construction will continue on the timeshare tower.
“They certainly have the right to take us to court, and if they do so,
we will gladly meet them there,” he said.
top
contents appendix
previous
next