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.

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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.

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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.

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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.


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