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A grandson, house inspection, close of escrow and now a move after the 4th!! Been so busy I haven't held a camera in weeks it seems! Having withdrawals and hope to be back shooting soon! Had to use an archive for this assignment.
Raise a cup up for all my day ones. Two middle fingers for the haters. Life's only getting greater
Straight up from nothing we go
Higher than the highest skyscraper. No Little League, we major.. The proof is in the paper
We put the good in the good in the good life
We put the good in the good in the good life
We put the bad in the past, now we alright
Hey, hey, hey
I got you)
Hey, hey
And it's a feeling that I can't explain
How you make it and your team still stay the same
Stay down from the jump and they never change
Man, this a moment I could never trade, yeah
I told my moms not to stress no more
Go hit the Bentley store and no credit card debts no more
(Love you mom)
I bought the crib and it's in escrow now
So you don't ever have to worry about how you gon' pay rent no more
I put my team in position, now they makin' a killin'
Stackin' blue faces straight to the ceiling
Out in Vegas I'm with 'em
Ordering bottles of that Ace when they sit 'em
'Til there ain't enough space up on the table to fit 'em
Go ahead and...
Raise a cup up for all my day ones
Two middle fingers for the haters
Life's only getting greater
Straight up from nothing we go
Higher than the highest skyscraper
No Little League, we major
The proof is in the paper
We put the good in the good in the good life
(The good life)
We put the good in the good in the good life
(I said the good life)
We put the bad in the past, now we alright
(We alright)
Hey, hey, hey
(Yeah, yeah)
Hey, hey
Pour some Clicquot in the glass, have a toast to success
No looking back from here, no more being broke and distressed
I put my heart into this game like I opened my chest
We only pray for more M's while you hope for the best
We make these plays, man I'm finessin' these checks
Times up for everybody, I'm collecting on debts
And I swear this champagne just tastes better on jets
I'm just out here being great, man, this is as real as it gets
I put my team in position, now they makin' a killin'
Stackin' blue faces straight to the ceiling
Out in Vegas I'm with 'em
Ordering bottles of that Ace when they sit 'em
'Til there ain't enough space up on the table to fit 'em
Go ahead and...
Raise a cup up for all my day ones. Two middle fingers for the haters. Life's only getting greater
Straight up from nothing we go
(Yeah, go up)
Higher than the highest skyscraper. No Little League, we major.
(Yeah)
The proof is in the paper
(You know)
We put the good in the good in the good life
(The good life)
We put the good in the good in the good life
(I said the good life)
We put the bad in the past, now we alright
(We alright)
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Damn right, from the bottom we rise
So high, now we cover sky lights
We're building an empire
We owe it all to each other
Just look at us right now, destined
We're so good right now, legend
Here's to you and I
Raise 'em to the sky
We put the good in the good in the good life
(Yeah)
We put the good in the good in the good life
(Yeah)
We put the bad in the past, now we alright
(Yeah, you know)
We put the good in the good in the good life
(The good life)
We put the good in the good in the good life
(I said the good life)
We put the bad in the past, now we alright
(We alright)
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Uh, the good life
A.J. Clark purchased this property in 1925 and in January 1928, secured a permit to build 24 beach cottages across from the ocean and beach, for a projected cost of $25,000. The cottages, completed in July 1928, may have been designed and built by the Whiting-Mead Company, as a lien was filed against the property in September 1928 by that business.
In 1957, when the Forquers attempted to sell all the cottages as a unit and failed, Wilma Stakich, the real estate agent suggested that the 12 by 24 feet cottages be sold individually to various owners. This was supposedly the first time someone had used the “own-you-own” condo concept in California. At that time, the beach-front units sold for $5,950 and the second-row units went for $5,250.
In 1990, the cottages closed escrow for up to $160,000. These quaint buildings represent an important part of Oceanside’s history because they were built during the late 1920’s when Oceanside figured prominently on motor Route 101 which ran through the city, and also because they were in walking distance of the railroad - thus attracting may part-time residents from Los Angeles.
By Appointment Only
Located in the town of Joshua Tree California, Desert Escrow is one of many small independent businesses along the 29 Palms Highway corridor. They are open two Saturdays each month.
Explore 06/25/2022
Morro Bay, California
Some day this could be public open space. For numerous decades Chevron has owned a huge property at the north end of Morro Bay, which was used to store oil and then load it to ships. Those operations stopped years ago, Chevron has removed much of their infrastructure and now they have been trying to sell various parcels, with some already going to the City of Morro Bay and the Cayucos Wastewater Treatment Plant. And some are currently in escrow with the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo. Recently I was on a late afternoon tour for members of the Morro Bay Open Space Alliance. This was one of my favorite views, looking down to north Morro Bay, as well as the bay, Morro Rock and the shoreline. Both the Land Conservancy of SLO and MBOSA are great organizations and I am a member of both. Check out their web sites:
This bouquet is the last of my Mom's Roses; her house is now owned by someone else. Escrow closed last monday, July 26th.
Thank you for visiting!
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Using these images without permission is in violation of international copyright laws (633/41 DPR19/78-Disg 154/97-L.248/2000)
All of my photographs are Copyrighted and All Rights Reserved. They may not be used or reproduced publicly in any way without my written permission.
Jerry & I ran errands on Friday.
We stopped by the escrow office to sign some documents pertaining to selling our Los Cocos home.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG9M0aEpJGE
Raise up a cup up for all my day ones
Two middle fingers for the haters
Life's only getting greater
Straight up from nothing we go
Higher than the highest skyscraper
No Little League, we major
The proof is in the paper
We put the good in the good in the good life
We put the good in the good in the good life
We put the bad in the past, now we alright (Eazy)
Ayy, ayy, ayy, ayy (Kehlani, I got you)
Ayy, yeah
And it's a feelin' that I can't explain
How you make it and your team still stay the same
Stay down from the jump and they never change
Man, this a moment I could never trade, yeah
I told my moms not to stress no more
Go hit the Bentley store and no credit card debts no more (Love you mom)
I bought the crib and it's in escrow now
So you don't ever have to worry about how you gon' pay rent no more
I put my team in position, now they makin' a killin'
Stackin' blue faces straight to the ceilin'
Out in Vegas I'm with 'em
Orderin' bottles of that Ace when they send 'em
'Til there ain't enough space up on the table to fit 'em
Go ahead and
Raise up a cup up for all my day ones
Two middle fingers for the haters
Life's only getting greater
Straight up from nothing we go
Higher than the highest skyscraper
No Little League, we major
The proof is in the paper
We put the good in the good in the good life (The good life)
We put the good in the good in the good life (I said the good life)
We put the bad in the past, now we alright (We alright)
Ayy, ayy, ayy, ayy
Ayy, yeah
Pour some Clicquot in a glass, have a toast to success
No lookin' back from here, no more bein' broke and distressed
I put my heart into this game like I opened my chest
We only pray for more M's while you hope for the best
We make these plays, man I'm finessin' these checks
Time's up for everybody, I'm collectin' on debts
And I swear this champagne just tastes better on jets
I'm just out here bein' great, man, this as real as it gets
I put my team in position, now they makin' a killin'
Stackin' blue faces straight to the ceilin'
Out in Vegas I'm with 'em
Orderin' bottles of that Ace when they send 'em
'Til there ain't enough space up on the table to fit 'em
Go ahead and
Raise up a cup up for all my day ones
Two middle fingers for the haters
Life's only getting greater
Straight up from nothing we go
Higher than the highest skyscraper
No Little League, we major (Yeah)
The proof is in the paper (You know)
We put the good in the good in the good life (The good life)
We put the good in the good in the good life (I said the good life)
We put the bad in the past, now we alright (We alright)
Ayy, ayy, ayy, ayy
Ayy
Damn right, from the bottom we rise
So high, now we cover sky lights
We're building an empire
We owe it all to each other
Just look at us right now, destined
We're so good right now, legend
Here's to you and I
Raise 'em to the sky
We put the good in the good in the good life
We put the good in the good in the good life
We put the bad in the past, now we alright
Ayy, ayy, ayy, ayy
We put the good in the good in the good life (The good life)
We put the good in the good in the good life (I said the good life)
We put the bad in the past, now we alright (We alright)
Ayy, ayy, ayy, ayy
Ayy
The good life
Stuck inside but not complaining. Finally moved our personal belongings up here to Big Bear Lake, where we will be living during this pandemic. Sold our condo in San Diego last month and escrow is closing April 1st. Hindsight, we would not have moved if we knew this was going to happen. Oh well....time for a new adventure. No more city scapes and modern architecture but the quietness and serenity up here is far superior. Hope everyone stays inside as much as possible and stays healthy!
Money.
Things are getting a bit tight... not horrible, but tight enough that I'm worried, since the economy is clearly in the shitter this year.
I'd known that I'd been overpaying on property tax escrow, since the amount was based on the mortgage lender's estimate of what the city would assess me (which was higher than what I'd been assessed at). So I figured it was about time for a refund check.
Yay.... refund large enough to pay half of this year's allowable retirement contribution (I was beginning to wonder where the money would come from this year) AND my mortgage payment drops by over $100 per month. Love that.
Plus I got my $20 gift card for having changed gas companies (my prior supplier was caught red-handed overbilling existing customers, compared to what they offered new customers, so I canceled them.)
Over 20,000 sq. ft., this property operated as a local YMCA for 100 plus yrs. Having 3 upper levels and a basement, it is located on Heavily traveled route 8 and 27, right in the center of historical downtown, Titusville. The Property is currently tax exempt. Buyer will have to be responsible for appealing the taxes, but the seller is willing to escrow money for the cost of the appeal at the right offered price. Appeal must be applied for by August 31, 2019 and submitted to the CC Assessment office for a 2019 decision. Utilities have been turned off for several years. SELLER SELLING "AS IS" and will make no cures as a result of buyer's inspections. Buyer can still do their inspections, if desired.
Morro Bay, California
Some day the land above the fence could be public open space. For numerous decades Chevron has owned a huge property at the north end of Morro Bay, which was used to store oil and then load it to ships. Those operations stopped years ago, Chevron has removed much of their infrastructure and now they have been trying to sell various parcels, with some already going to the City of Morro Bay and the Cayucos Wastewater Treatment Plant. And some are currently in escrow with the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo. Recently I was on a late afternoon tour for members of the Morro Bay Open Space Alliance. This was one of my favorite views, looking down to north Morro Bay, as well as the ocean and coastline of the northern county. Both the Land Conservancy of SLO and MBOSA are great organizations and I am a member of both. Check out their web sites:
Hedge Fun [469]. All in the name of hedge funds, escrow and getting filthy rich.
Get my art on many, different products [links in my bio] at:
My latest art project EntertainMe, where I create another year’s worth of digital collages, based on indie rock and visual media
I'm thankful for our very jungle-y backyard. It has provided much to photograph over the last couple of years. We are in the midst of escrow on a new home now and, even though I'm very much looking forward to our new home, I will miss this jungle a little :)
It has been a long journey, but tomorrow escrow closes on my Mom’s home. I am mostly relieved, but am also a little sad. Mom lived there from 2006 - 2022 and Jay’s mother lived there 2000 - 2005. There are a lot of great memories I take from that home. A new couple will start to make new memories in this house. I wish them joy and happiness.
Thank you so much for your views, comments and favs. I really do appreciate every one!
My images are posted here for your enjoyment only. All rights are reserved. Please contact me through flickr if you are interested in using one of my images. laurieabbotthartphotography.com
On September 3, 1995 I played baseball with Charlie Sheen. No lie.
My college roommate said there were a few guys who’ve been playing pickup baseball on the north field of Oak Park High School on Sunday mornings. Not doing anything that Sunday between my junior & senior year of college at UCSB, I said, “sure, lets grab our mits and join in”. We got there and behind the backstop we saw a guy pitching, hitting, catching and then a few guys in the field just fielding balls. Eric says, “See the pitcher… that’s Charlie Sheen”. It was. Just him and his friends playing some ball.
Charlie dropped his mit and came to bat and pointed at Eric & I, “Either of you guys want to pitch?” Eric wasn’t much of a pitcher, but I had a good arm so I volunteered. By this point I realized that I’d never seen any of his movies; just knew his name. So after some warm-ups, I began to pitch to him.
“Come on, faster” he said. So I did. Never actually hit him, because he moved pretty quick. After 5min of constant throwing he said, “come on, give me a good one. It’s my birthday and I want a homer”. A few more pitches later he got one over the fence. Dropped his bat and said, “hey, I’m Charlie”. And oddly enough there was a guy in the dugout, not playing whose name was “Kato Kaelin”. Asked if I had any more water, which I didn’t and for some reason I remember him saying, “no biggie, I’ll just drive through Taco Bell”. Probably the most normal, humble guy (celeb or otherwise) that I had met.
The moral of this story is that people change. Sometimes for the better, sometimes towards drugs & hookers. I’m by no far perfect, but back then I was living a frivolous life of self-involved interests with not a care in the world. Now I have a stable job, kids and am 30 days from closing escrow on my first home. Today Charlie had his kids taken away after a couple weeks (ie years) of absolute insanity.
Change is inevitable. Make good choices.
The ports were always a busy place, but they have been at maximum capacity for several months. Lenfaldian & Outlaw merchants streamed in with their new goods. The influx of goods meant ample coin to be made, either by lending or through the many Stout escrow houses throughout Roawia. Banks & warehouses in Garheim's Grahnhaven, Skraborg, Rothburg, Outlaw cities of Helitrope, Shade, Dingewood, Lenfald's Crakenhaven, Bladefald, and even in Lion's Head all had been set up in the years prior, but now basked in the new wealth.
---
On this day Lord Stout was expecting some very important visitors. Hired crew that would be essential on the quest for new lands: Lenfaldian carpenters and shipwrights, Garhiem masons and smiths, and even couple of renowned Outlaw cartographers. All "recruited" and persuaded away from their homes to make the journey Westward with Lord Stout's assembled fleet.
This is the strobili of Pinus Ponderosa. Escrow just closed on my daughter's house and this magnificent tree stands in the backyard. I don't know how I lived this long and never saw this amazing thing. Apparently these are the male cones and they are all over this tree. 7DWF Theme: Flora
I couldn't get a decent one of jones. i guess this is how he feels.
we drove jones north to the vet's at 7 am yesterday morning. he stayed all day, and the vet pulled 6 teeth, molars and incisors. they gave him tramadol, 50 mg, for pain. that's what I take. hmmm....he weighs 32#. I weigh 115#. either I should take 4 or he should take 1/4. no wonder he's snookered.
i poked him all night to make sure he was still breathing. he didn't move.
leon tried to warn the new neighbors in the old house next to our field about the marauding bear being back, stealing our apples and climbing the trees, and jumping the fences. they have dogs.
so leon saw someone at the house, yelled, and noticed that there were 4 men in big heavy padded jackets with digital movie cameras hauling sacks of something out of the house. uh ohhh....
he told one of the nice gentlemen to tell the renters about the bear.
the news hit the paper the next day.
and then the day after that, when leon saw the wife, who had been released on $75,000 bail, to ask how she was and to tell her about the bear [the nice gentlman hadn't told them], she said that they had to get out of the house, and that they were buying a new one and she guess that would fall through.
uh ohhhhhh....
when I talked with my daughter, tami, last night and asked about their old house, which had just entered escrow, she said the buyer had been busted for pot.
uh oh, again.
the house the next door renters were buying, it turns out, was my daughter's and SIL's. it's been up for short sale for a year. tami was finally relieved that it was selling.
I had to tell her what the lady said.
and wonder over such a small world and the bad luck my daughter and her husband have.
this was really a bummer for tami to hear because she went in for surgery at 5 am this morning and had her third toe, right foot, chomped off. she was hoping to get out fast, but they had to do the biopsy while she was on the table to make sure that they got all the melanoma that was in her toe. I guess they did. leon talked with john and he said it went all right.
my daughter dreaded the surgery, not necessarily the toe chomping, or the melanoma [the word scares me], but because she vomits a lot after a general.
leon will make her chicken soup tonight.
our life.
in Nor NorCal on the coast, next to the Eel River.
how in the world does anyone get [expletive-ing] bored?
i'm tired.
t.f.i.f.
In December, 2020, this old house was at the epicenter of a massive protest rooted in bad faith and misrepresentations.
As a result, worthy causes were betrayed and, for a time, part of a neighborhood was held hostage by anarchists who surrounded this house and adjoining blocks with barricades.
The protest was ignited by an attempted eviction. A mob gathered and repelled law-enforcement officers, who were greatly outnumbered. The activists then proceeded to occupy the house and the neighboring block in force before erecting barriers around adjacent properties, thereby restricting the freedom of movement of the people living within the restricted area.
The defense of the Red House was presented as a strike against systemic racism, predatory lending and gentrification, the implication being that all three evils were behind the eviction. Furthermore, it was alleged the eviction violated the moratorium against the eviction of tenants during the pandemic.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
At this point I'll defer to an excellent article about this mess in the December 11, 2020, issue of The Oregonian. It is a long piece, but the story is complex, so much so that neither tweets nor spray-painted slogans can do it justice.
Before doing so, however, I will add that gullible people contributed more than $300,000 to a GoFundMe account for the benefit of the house´s former owners. It was expected that they would negotiate with the Red House's owners to use the funds to buy the house back. Not surprisingly, nothing has come of it.
=======================================================
Portland family’s path to ‘red house’ foreclosure was long, filled with bizarre twists.
Updated Dec 15, 2020; Posted Dec 11, 2020
By Ted Sickinger| The Oregonian/OregonLive
With protesters’ occupation of the North Portland neighborhood around the so-called “Red House on Mississippi” rounding its fourth day, it remains unclear if there is a peaceful path to resolving a conflict that started two years ago, when a mixed-race family’s long-time home was foreclosed on by their lender, leading law enforcement to try to remove them on Tuesday.
The Kinney family and their supporters have cast the fight as a continuation of the long saga of gentrification, discrimination and predatory subprime lending that has gutted Portland’s historically Black neighborhoods and replaced them with yuppified apartments and condos.
That’s definitely a piece of the picture. One need only look at the red house itself, at 4406 N. Mississippi Ave. It sits in the shadow of The Roux, a high-end apartment complex boasting “sophisticated living spaces and understated designer finishes.” Other neighbors include new residential developments and swanky eateries. And with a large vacant lot next door, it’s a prime development opportunity in one of Portland’s trendiest neighborhoods.
It’s also true that the Kinneys took out expensive subprime loans starting in 2002, taking a big chunk of equity out of a home that had been in the family since 1955 to pay their son’s legal fees and presumably other expenses. Because of racist policies, Portland’s communities of color have historically lacked access to conventional home loans and were redlined out of other neighborhoods. That’s the reason, the Kinneys say, that their relatives purchased this home outright in 1955.
But the reason the Kinneys lost ownership of the property their family had called home for more than six decades, court records show, is far simpler:
They stopped making their mortgage payments.
Legal filings show that the Kinneys’ lender foreclosed on their house because after faithfully paying their mortgage for 13 years, they stopped in January 2017. Based on comments they have made in public and court filings, that was because they were confused over which company to pay as the loan was sold and the servicer changed. But they missed the next 17 payments.
Courts have found no conspiracy or fraud involved, as the family has alleged. The Kinneys declined to participate in the state’s foreclosure avoidance program, which offered mediation with the lender, potentially to reach a loan modification or some other accommodation to keep them in the home. And the Kinneys either couldn’t or wouldn’t make the $19,000 in back payments that accrued during that period, which would have cured the default and reinstated their loan.
Instead, the family launched a quixotic campaign to invalidate the loan altogether, telling the lender that because of their “indigenous” and “aboriginal” heritage and membership of a sovereign nation, the bank had no right to collect. One expert told The Oregonian/OregonLive this week that the rhetoric is consistent with the so-called sovereign citizen movement, a fringe belief system embraced by adherents who profess they are above the law. Debt elimination is one of the movement’s central themes.
The Kinneys’ son, William Kinney III, who goes by William Nietzche, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court after the 2018 foreclosure, making a broad slate of charges against most of the parties involved in the lending and foreclosure. But Judge Michael Simon tossed it out, determining that many of the claims were “speculative,” “not tethered to any factual support,” implausible, unclear and misrepresented. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied an appeal.
Kinney continues to press the case, now with a petition before the U.S. Supreme Court, but it’s unclear that will get any traction either. Meanwhile, the Red House on Mississippi has become the new rallying cry for a segment of Portland’s racial justice protesters, who are holding the neighborhood hostage until their demands to return the Kinneys to their home are met.
A Multnomah County Circuit Court judge ruled in September in a case brought by the bank that law enforcement officers needed to forcibly remove the family from the home they have not owned since a court-endorsed foreclosure auction in 2018.
“This is not a typical foreclosure case,” Kinney said in a news conference Wednesday. “This is a David and Goliath fight. We’re just a small family seeking to defend our house against big banks and developers. My parents were preyed upon by the same predatory practices that led to the 2008 financial crash…This has crossed the threshold to a crime against humanity.”
The long path to losing their home
The Kinneys’ road to foreclosure began in May 2002, when Julie Metcalf Kinney and her husband William Kinney Jr. borrowed $96,300 from Freedom Home Mortgage Corp., secured by their home, to pay legal costs for their son William Kinney III (now Nietzche).
Kinney, then a teenager, had been charged with manslaughter, reckless driving and felony hit and run after he ran a stop sign while speeding and slammed into another vehicle, killing an 83-year-old man and seriously injuring his wife.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to related charges. He told The Oregonian/OregonLive this week that his legal costs were $26,000. But the family borrowed far more against their home.
It was also an expensive loan, with an interest rate of 8.25% -- well above the 6.8% average for 30-year fixed rate loans prevailing at the time. It’s unclear whether the Kinneys had the income or credit scores to do better, or whether the fact that they were borrowing such a low percentage of their home’s value – about 30% - might have gained them a lower rate with another lender.
The loan also included a rate adjustment feature, not uncommon, but one that became very problematic for many borrowers in the runup to the financial crisis as their initial rates began to ratchet upward.
On the Kinneys’ loan, the interest rate would adjust after two years, then every six months, by adding 7.375% on top of a standard interest rate index used by banks. The first adjustment in 2004, would have boosted the rate to between 8.5% and 8.9%.
Instead, the Kinneys refinanced in March of 2004 with Beneficial Oregon, another subprime lender. Once again, the terms were less than ideal. The rate was 7.74%, two percentage points above the average 30-year fixed rate loan at the time. The lender tacked a $6,300 origination fee – 5.25 percentage points – onto the $120,000 principal of the loan, extremely high given the above market rate and amount. (It’s unclear if the Kinneys were taking an additional cash out at the time, or whether their original loan was a so-called negative amortization loan where the monthly payment was insufficient to cover accruing interest and the debt had continued to grow.)
Loan statements also show the lender was selling them disability insurance to cover the payments if they were incapacitated, an add-on lending advocates criticize because it’s often expensive, unnecessary and boosts monthly costs. In this case, the disability insurance would have added more than $600 to their annual costs. The Kinneys later disputed this insurance coverage, calling it fraudulent.
This loan also included an adjustment feature, but this time it promised a 0.25% reduction in their rate after every year in which payments were all made within 30 days of their due date.
Again, it was not an ideal loan for the Kinneys, though subprime lending practices in that timeframe were often far more abusive.
Either way, the Kinneys made the payments on that loan for 13 years, saw their interest rate gradually decline to 5.49%, and the principal reduced to less than $100,000, loan documents filed in court show.
Then, on December 31, 2016, an innocuous wrinkle -- commonplace in many loans -- set off the chain of events leading to the loss of their home. Beneficial sent the Kinneys a notice that their loan had been transferred to MTGLQ Investors, L.P., a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs. The notice said Beneficial would remain the servicer of the loan and payments should continue to be sent to it. The statement contained a coupon for their next monthly payment, $745.82, due Jan. 17.
In January 2017, however, the Kinneys received another letter from Beneficial saying their loan servicer had changed to Rushmore Loan Management Service and that Beneficial would not accept payments on the loan after Feb. 1. The notice provided an interim coupon so the Kinney’s could make the Jan. 17 payment to Rushmore. Again, this type of switch is common practice in the lending industry.
The Kinneys have said they were confused about who to pay with mortgage statements telling them to send the January payment to two different companies. So they stopped paying at all.
The Kinneys did not reply to questions from The Oregonian/OregonLive about why they let the default go on so long.
Six months later in June 2017, when the loan was already five months in arrears, son William Kinney sent Rushmore a certified letter requesting validation that it had a rightful claim to collect the debt, according to documents filed in his federal court case. His letter said the Kinneys were not refusing to pay, and they were establishing an escrow account to hold the payments while the matter was resolved. It’s not clear if that account was ever set up.
The letter also included a 44-question “debt collector disclosure form,” perhaps gleaned from the Internet, and said it must be completed under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The letter noted an earlier dispute the Kinneys had with Beneficial over “fraudulent insurance coverage.” Recent mortgage statements indicate that insurance charge had been taken off the loan. The letter also said that failure to return the form, signed under penalty of perjury, would amount to an agreement by Rushmore that it had no valid claim.
Rushmore responded the following month, providing copies of the mortgage agreement, deed of trust, payment history and most recent billing statement. It declined to answer the other questions the Kinneys’ son posed in his form, but noted that they were now seven payments in arrears on the loan.
In the meantime, Rushmore also sent a letter to the Kinneys notifying them that MGTLQ had sold their loan to U.S. Bank Trust National Association. That sale was recorded in Multnomah County on Nov. 16, 2017.
The Kinneys still weren’t making their monthly payments and were falling further behind. In February 2018, they received a notice that their loan had been transferred again to another subsidiary of U.S. Bank.
Under Oregon statute, certain lenders are required to participate in the state’s foreclosure avoidance program, in which a neutral mediator conducts a face-to-face meeting between a homeowner and their lender with the goal of avoiding foreclosure. The result might be a loan modification, a short sale of the house or some other resolution. Free home counseling is also available.
As a loan moves toward foreclosure, the lender is required to submit a request to the program, which triggers outreach to the borrower by a neutral service provider by mail and phone to provide an information packet and set up mediation. In order to participate, the borrower needs to pay a nominal fee by a set deadline.
“If the homeowner doesn’t want to participate, they don’t have to, and the process ends,” said Kelly Harpster, the attorney in charge of Consumer Protection at the Oregon Department of Justice. “A certificate of compliance is then issued to the lender that they’ve met the statutory requirements and can move on… It’s like any mediation in the world, but at that point you have to be willing to engage in conversation.”
The Kinneys weren’t willing. In April 2018, Rushmore sent them a notice from the Department of Justice confirming that the Kinney’s hadn’t paid the program fee by the deadline, and that the lender had complied with state requirements. A week later, the Kinneys’ son returned the form, marked “void,” with a letter signed by his mother, “Julie Anne, house of Metcalf Kinney, Sovereign living soul, holder of the office of “the people.”'
The letter said she was “a declared living American sovereign standing with Treaty Law of God.” It said the company had no jurisdiction “without an international treaty within My republic state” and that the company was not chartered to do business in Oregon “by My republic state.”
The sovereignty claim, essentially that they were above the law, is one that the Kinneys’ son had also made in 2010 when he was being sentenced to another term in prison for possession of cocaine and driving with a revoked license, which had been revoked for life after his 2002 accident and manslaughter plea. As he harangued the court, the judge found Kinney in contempt 12 times and tacked an additional four months to his sentence.
Harpster said she worked in private practice before the justice department, including work with loan servicers. She said borrowers occasionally make such sovereignty claims, often in form letters they found on the Internet.
“It’s a dead end,” she said. “Eventually you have to deal with the underlying issue, which is the default.”
By June of 2018, the foreclosure process was ramping up. Rushmore informed the Kinneys that if they didn’t pay, the lender would pursue all options, including foreclosure. A trustee was appointed to start the process and sell the home. A process server posted a public notice of intent to sell the house, and served the notice on the Kinneys, posting it to the main entrance to the house several times and sending it by mail, court documents show.
It said, in part: “YOU ARE IN DANGER of LOSING YOUR PROPERTY IF YOU DO NOT TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY.” It provided the amount required to reinstate the loan, $19,150, or to repay it in full, $112,339. It also said the trustee would sell the house at a public auction to the highest cash bidder on Oct. 23, 2018.
Kinney continued his back and forth with the loan servicer and trustee, sending them back a voided copy of the notice of sale and demanding certified copies of loan documentation, proof of legal authority to do business in the state, and answers to specific questions such as ‘What exactly is being borrowed from your agency?”, “Does the word Foreclosure mean Before the closure?”, “Can Foreclosure be executed after a closure?”, and “What is your nationality?”
On Sept. 10, 2018, Kinney sent a “notice of default judgement” to Rushmore, stating that since the company and the trustee had not fulfilled his earlier requests, “all claims, petitions, suits, filings…regarding our ancestral estate be dismissed and expunged.” That was followed by other communications in dubious legalese demanding that the lender, the servicer and trustee stop all action on the foreclosure.
The sale took place Oct. 23, 2018. The house fetched $260,000 at auction, well above its assessed value of $42,530 but below its market value of $387,650 listed in Portland property tax records.
The Kinneys have not owned the house for more than two years, though neighbors say some family members intermittently stayed at the residence along with various protesters camping there until the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and Portland Police tried to remove them Tuesday.
The Kinneys have declined to answer individual questions, including how much they money they received after the auction. The net proceeds of the $260,000 sale would have gone to them after the loan, any penalties and foreclosure costs were satisfied.
The Kinney’s say they were denied the right to bid on their property at the auction. They claim the individual conducting it told them “you don’t have enough money” and refused to verify funds in their account over their cell phone.
Moreover, because the house was sold in a non-judicial foreclosure -- outside of a lawsuit -- the family had “no right of redemption,” which essentially would provide them the right to buy back the home after the foreclosure. It’s unclear if they had the resources to do so at the time, but their GoFundMe campaign has now raised nearly $300,000.
Kinney’s subsequent federal suit made 35 claims against 21 different parties. They included breach of contract; violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Oregon Unlawful Debt Practices Act; breach of Trustee’s duty; various types of fraud, and a violation of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, among others.
District Judge Michael Simon dismissed the case in Oct. 2019 with prejudice, meaning it can’t be brought back to court. Subsequent motions for contempt against the judge, and to recuse him, were denied. A subsequent appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals also was denied.
But Kinney is not done. In November, the family asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review its case.
www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/12/familys-path-to-red-h...
(Camera settings)
Camera: FinePix HS20EXR (FUJIFILM)
Focal Length: 75 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Aperture: f/5
Shutter Speed: 1/1100sec
This is a very similar shot to an image I posted a couple of weeks ago but composed vertically.
It's been a crazy busy last couple of weeks. Been on a home purchasing saga-was one week into escrow and we backed out of the deal because of some unfavorable appraising shenanigans from the sellers. To make a long story short they listed the house at 10% bigger than it really was and was not willing to budge on renegotiating the sell price after the sq ft revelation. So it's back to square one.
This photo and description is intended to make you smile. If you are missing your sense of humor, then go look @ scenic photos or something.
I live a very stressful life. I'm a mother, a step-mother, a wife, an ex-wife, a daughter, a sister, an in-law, a niece, an aunt, a cousin, a granddaughter, and a small business owner.
In my house I am the chef, the maid, a doctor, the nurse, the chauffer, the grocer, the baker, the trash man, the nanny, the laundry mat, the mediator, the judge, the jury, the enforcer, the bouncer, the psychatrist, the stripper, the janitor, the car wash, the dishwasher, the teacher, the gardener, the post office, the boss, the secretary, accounts payable, accounts receivable, the accountant, inventory control, the broker, the coordinator, the interior designer, a role model.
On a daily basis I deal with diaper changes, 3 course meals, cleaning, laundry, bill budgeting, food budgeting, missing socks, holes in underwear, broken plates, dropped drinks, cookies smushed on the sofa, a mailman who never gets out of his truck and lays on the horn, a child who doesn't nap and goes to sleep @ 11pm, a wonderful yet unemployed husband who stresses everyday calling and emailing and going to 10+ job interviews, a difficult toddler, an impossible step daughter, a 9 year old with food addiction, a bus driver who stops my child @ yard sales and brings her home late, relisting eBay store inventory, eBay fees, etsy fees, store hosting fees, invoices and terms to pay, business budgeting, a car with a "air bag" light that never goes out and likes to flash the "tire pressure" light too for no reason, a demanding child, a demanding husband, a demanding father, a demanding life, weight gain, acne, no money to get my hair done because I spent it on my daughters baseball uniform for a sport she dropped out of within 1 week, a giant bruise on my big toe from where i dropped a screwdriver on it and it won't go away after 2 months, an unhealthy fear of the dentist and any doctor, customer returns, customer exchanges, unsatisfied customers, trying to figure out what to stock in the store that will sell, losing my one major distributor because they went back overseas, not having the right size boxes and not enuff funds to buy proper boxes, potty training, brushing 3 sets of teeth a day, giving 3 different people a bath a day, feeding 4 people a day, an indoor cat, an outdoor cat, kitty litter, kitty barf, children barf, sweeping, changing the empty toilet roll papers because no one else will, PMS, i fell off my bike, i have a booboo, i want to watch dora (even though it's not on), tantrums, filling orders in a timely fashion, printing invoices, notifying customers on filled orders, cancelled orders, back orders, out of stock orders, keeping track of who is owed what and when, water bill, electric bill, cable bill, internet bill, credit card debt, business loan, mortgage, car note, car insurance, escrow, house taxes, business taxes, sales taxes, broken air conditioner in 90 degrees florida weather, in-laws that are insane, sister who is stressing, brother who doesn't discipline his kids and they torture mine, a father with a bad heart and who constantly needs my husbands help with things, an overbearing mother, overbearing children, being an overbearing mother, worried about kidnappers, worried about child molestors, living in an "okay" neighborhood right on the main road, not having proper alarm system, broken shoelaces, no one liking what i made for dinner, dinner coming out wrong, no money for take out, inventory arriving broken, inventory arriving damaged, companies not filing payments on time and charging late fees, companies not closing out paid accounts, running out of printer ink, light bulbs popping whenever i walk by, an old house, faulty wiring, a bad economy, bounced checks, running out of gas, florida muggy heat, tornadoes, checking spoiled food, out of packing tape, pen doesn't work, pencils need sharpened, homework needs checked, ABCs need to be learned, camera batteries are dead, out of cream cheese, out of juice, gramma passed from brain cancer, mother in law passed from brain cancer, insane ex-wife, my package didn't arrive and i'm too lazy to check the tracking, people who don't do their job, no time for myself, sex, marriage, healthy relationships, love, hate, stray animals, squirrels that chase my daughter, rabid dogs, did my package arrive yet, she forgot my socks, why wont this sell, can i afford to mark the price down, hugs, kisses, positive reinforcement, discipline, God, religion, can you hear me, get your finger out of your nose and/or butt, where is the iron, is the stove off, is the baby gate up, is everyone okay today --- Are you guys getting this yet? We all share a lot of these same things on a daily basis.
Ya'll are too busy creating extra unnessesary crap over a plastic doll. I'm sorry bad things happen to good people. Can we focus on something new now? It's getting out of hand.
Can we play nice with our dollies now? :)
Dear British Press - I currently have no plans next weekend and I have a passport. If you need someone to cover that little wedding you're having for Will & Kate, let me know and I can handle it. I have previous experience with weddings, know English, only shoot with Nikon, and will give you a discount since it's in a castle. I can be ready on a moment's notice and promise not to post images on Flickr, or to come wearing a fro.
But I'm going back to lovely Paso Robles & Atascadero to do a beautiful barn wedding. And then Sunday, with any/all luck, I'll find myself in Long Beach at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.
And I'm hoping to hear good news about the new house, as it's tied up in Escrow waiting for the second mortgage to get written off, and then we can close and I can start painting.
Have a good weekend all. Spring is here!
USD 29.99/pieceUSD 29.99/pieceUSD 29.99/piece 1) We accept Alipay, West Union, TT. All major credit cards are accepted through secure payment processor ESCROW. 2) Payment must be made within 3 days of order. 3) If you can't checkout immediately after auction close, please wait for a...
beautifulsticker.top/40-x-60-cm-poster-spiderman-poster-t...
What a find. I just love this supersized postcard.
Back of postcard reads:
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA
Overlooking Newport Harbor near the bridge to Lido Isle, the Newport Balboa Savings and Loan building at 3366 Via Lido has gained international recognition for its dramatic bay front setting and outstanding design by Peruvian architect Wenceslaus Sarmiento, of Bank Building Corporation. The building's entrance canopy, with roof shaped to symbolize a sea bird returning to safe haven, offers a gracious welcome to this, one of America's most unique financial institutions.
Newport Balboa Savings and Loan offers a wide range of friendly, efficient services, including insured Savings - Save-by-Mail Service - Escrows - Safe Deposit Department - Money Orders - American Express Traveler's Cheques - Government Bond Department - Insurance Agency - Collections - Home Purchase Loans - Construction, and Property Loans.
Color photograph by George Elton Watson.
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This beautiful raptor is a non-releasable bird that is used for educational purposes by the Adobe Wildlife Center (www.azwildlifecenter.net). She had been found with a badly broken wing and can no longer hunt. This bird, along with three species of owl, a Peregrine falcon, a Black-crowned Night Heron and (my fave) a Turkey vulture were all within arms reach. It was such a thrill to be this close to birds that are ordinarily 25 - 50 feet away!!
I saw a number of Black Hawks, while in Arizona, but they were fleeting glimpses as the birds flew along creeks, soared overhear or peeked out of active nests. This species is classified as a neo-tropical bird and is seen in only a few spots in the United States.
I've plucked her off her original background of a beige tent and put her on a BG that I've made.
Chicago daughter is here for a brief visit while son and his girlfriend have just opened escrow on their first place. Very busy, but it's a good kind of busy. Will try to visit everyone today.
© 2013 Maureen Sullivan
_____________________________________________________________________
Member of the Flickr Bird Brigade
Activists for birds and wildlife
Signature Bank
71 Broadway, Manhattan
Update: On Friday March 10, 2023, Signature Bank customers spooked by the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank withdrew more than $10 billion in deposits, a board member told CNBC.
Signature had $89 billion in total deposits, and 90% of those were not insured by the FDIC. Once the public lost trust in Signature, a bank run led to the sudden demise of the bank. On Sunday March 12, 2023, New York's financial regulators shut down Signature Bank. The Federal Insurance Deposit Corp. said it transferred all Signature Bank deposits and substantially all of the firm’s assets to Signature Bridge Bank NA, a full-service bank that will be operated by the FDIC, as it markets the institution to potential bidders.
According to the New York Times, Signature Bank is a major bank to New York's real estate professional services firms and the risky crypto currency sector. The bank long specialized in providing banking services to law firms, providing escrow accounts for holding client money and other services.
German postcard. Photo: Touchstone Pictures / Bueno Vista International. Ben Affleck in Pearl Harbor (Michael Bay, 2001).
Tall and handsome Ben Affleck (1972) has the looks of a matinee idol and the résumé of an actor who honed his craft as an indie film slacker before flexing his muscles as a Hollywood star. Affleck became a star when he and Matt Damon wrote and starred in Good Will Hunting, winning a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for their work.
Ben Affleck was born Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt in Berkeley, California in 1972 to a schoolteacher mother, Chris Anne (née Boldt), and a drug rehab counselor father, Timothy Byers Affleck. His middle name, Géza, is after a Hungarian family friend who was a Holocaust survivor. His younger brother, Casey (1975), also became an actor. When he was very young, Affleck's family moved to the Boston area, and it was there that he broke into acting. His first acting experience was for a Burger King commercial. At the age of eight, he starred in PBS's marine biology-themed The Voyage of the Mimi (Richard Hendrick, D'Arcy Marsh, 1984), endearing himself to junior high school science classes everywhere. The same year he made Mimi, Affleck made the acquaintance of Matt Damon, a boy two years his senior who lived down the street. The two became best friends and, of course, eventual collaborators. After a fling with higher education at both the University of Vermont and California's Occidental College, Affleck set out for Hollywood. He began appearing in made-for-TV movies and had a small role in School Ties (Robert Mandel, 1992), a film that also featured Damon. Further bit work followed in Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993) and Mallrats (Kevin Smith, 1995). Around this time, both Affleck and Damon were getting fed up with the lack of substantial work to be found in Hollywood, and they decided to write a screenplay that would feature them as the leads. Affleck's brother Casey introduced them to Gus Van Sant, who had directed Casey in To Die For (1995). Thanks to Van Sant's interest, the script was picked up by Miramax. (According to IMDb, it was friend Kevin Smith who took the script to the head of Miramax in 1997). Their story of a troubled mathematical genius living in South Boston became known as Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant, 1997). Before the film's release, Affleck starred in Chasing Amy (Kevin Smith, 1997) that same year. The tale of a comic book artist (Affleck) in love with a lesbian (Joey Lauren Adams), received good reviews and showed Affleck to be a viable leading man. Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant, 1997) was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won two, including the Best Original Screenplay Oscar awarded to Affleck and Damon. This success effectively transformed both young men from struggling actors into Hollywood golden boys. Having won his own Golden Boy, Affleck settled comfortably into a reputation as one of the industry's most promising young actors. His status was further enhanced by widespread media reports of an ongoing relationship with Gwyneth Paltrow.
The following year, Ben Affleck could be seen in no less than three major films, ranging from his self-mocking supporting role in the Oscar-winning period comedy Shakespeare in Love (John Madden, 1998) to the thriller Phantoms (Joe Chappelle, 1998) to the big-budget box-office monster Armageddon (Michael Bay, 1998), starring Bruce Willis. In 1999, Affleck continued to keep busy, appearing in a dizzying four films. He could be seen as a dull bartender in 200 Cigarettes (Risa Bramon Garcia, 1999), an errant groom opposite Sandra Bullock in Forces of Nature (Bronwen Hughes, George Casey, 1999), a supporting role as a ruthless stockbroker in the crime drama The Boiler Room (Ben Younger, 1999), and a supporting cast member in Billy Bob Thornton's sophomore directorial effort, Daddy and Them (1999). Finally, Affleck reunited with Smith and Damon for Dogma (Kevin Smith, 1999), starring with the latter as a pair of fallen angels in one of the year's more controversial films. In 2000, he would appear as an ex-con trying to mend his ways in the action thriller Reindeer Games (John Frankenheimer, 2000), with Charlize Theron. Re-teaming with Armageddon cohort Michael Bay again in 2001 for another exercise in overbudgeted excess, Affleck flew into action in Pearl Harbor (Michael Bay, 2001) Despite unanimous lambasting from critics, Pearl Harbor blasted to number one at the box office, earning $75.2 million on its Memorial Day weekend opening and beginning a summer-2001 trend of high profile films with precipitous box-office runs. Following a self-mocking return to the Smith collective in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (Kevin Smith, 2001) and spearheading, along with Damon, the innovative HBO series Project: Greenlight, Affleck returned to the Hollywood machine with roles in the thrillers Changing Lanes (Roger Michell, 2002) with Samuel Jackson, and The Sum of All Fears (Phil Alden Robinson, 2002) with Morgan Freeman. Filling the shoes of Harrison Ford as a green version of Ford's famous Jack Ryan persona, The Sum of All Fears contemplated a radical group's plan to detonate a nuclear weapon at a major sporting event during a time of particularly sensitive public distress at such an idea. With the massive success of Spider-Man (2002) prompting numerous comic-book superhero revivals, Affleck would next suit up for the role of Daredevil (Mark Steven Johnson, 2002), with Jennifer Garner. As a lawyer turned into a true public defender following a mishap involving radioactive waste, Daredevil's incredibly enhanced senses enable him to get the jump on New York City evil-doers, and with his athletic physique and heroically protruding chin, Affleck seemed just the man to suit-up for the job. Rebecca Flint-Marx at AllMovie: "The lukewarm performance of that particular effort would hardly compare to the critical lashing of his subsequent efforts Gigli, Paycheck, and Jersey Girl. A notorious flop that couldn't be mentioned to movie lovers without fear of derisive laughter, Gigli alone would have likely sunken the career of a lesser star. Though Hollywood gossip rags were indeed talking about Affleck, it was more the result of his turbulent relationship with singer and Gigli co-star Jennifer Lopez than it was anything to do with his acting career."
After his relationship with Jennifer Lopez had ended, Ben Affleck married Jennifer Garner in 2005. Affleck subsequently skewered Hollywood materialism in the showbiz comedy Man About Town (Mike Binder, 2006) with John Cleese, before making a cameo in pal Smith's eagerly-anticipated sequel Clerks II (Kevin Smith, 2006). By this point, Affleck strapped on the famous red cape to portray original television Superman George Reeves in the Tinseltown mystery Hollywoodland (Allen Coulter, 2006) with Adrien Brody. As the 2000s rolled onward, Affleck appeared in a number of films that garnered a lukewarm reception, like Smokin' Aces (Joe Carnahan, 2006), He's Just Not That Into You (Ken Kwapis, 2009), and State of Play (Kevin Macdonald, 2009), starring Russell Crowe. He would reverse that trend with a vengeance, directing and writing the critically acclaimed crime thriller Gone Baby Gone (Ben Affleck, 2007), starring his brother Casey Affleck. He followed that up by directing and starring in the crime thriller The Town (Ben Affleck, 2010), which put Affleck back into audiences' good graces. He immediately got to work on his next big project, working both behind and in front of the camera once again for the political thriller Argo (Ben Affleck, 2012). It garnered strong reviews, solid box office, and nabbed Affleck his second Oscar, as a producer of the film. Affleck played a romantic lead in Terrence Malick's experimental drama To the Wonder (2012), appeared in the poorly-reviewed thriller Runner, Runner (Brad Furman, 2013), opposite Justin Timberlake, and played the accused husband in the hit Gone Girl (David Fincher, 2014) with Rosamund Pike. He starred as an autistic accountant in the action thriller The Accountant (Gavin O'Connor, 2016), which was an unexpected commercial success. Affleck also starred as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Zack Snyder, 2016) opposite Henry Cavill, briefly reprised the character in Suicide Squad (David Ayer, 2016) and did so again in Justice League (Zack Snyder, 2017). In 2015, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner separated, and in 2018, they divorced. They have three children. Recently, he received praise for his performance as a recovering alcoholic in the sports drama The Way Back (Gavin O'Connor, 2020). The themes of the film were "close to home" for Affleck. He relapsed during pre-production in 2018 and the film was shot in the days after he left rehab. Affleck agreed to put his salary in escrow and was accompanied to set by a sober coach. In 2021, Affleck will star opposite Ana de Armas in Adrian Lyne's thriller Deep Water, an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel. He has a supporting role in the Ridley Scott-directed The Last Duel and co-wrote the film's screenplay with Matt Damon and Nicole Holofcener. During the COVID-19 pandemic, production of Robert Rodriguez's action thriller Hypnotic, in which Affleck plays a detective, was postponed. Affleck will star in an adaptation of the memoir The Tender Bar, directed by George Clooney. In addition, both Affleck and Michael Keaton have agreed to reprise their roles as Batman in The Flash (2022).
Sources: Rebecca Flint Marx (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Explore: Feb 27, 2011 #204
This urban sustainable park is geolocated inside the former Monterrey Foundry Property with an area of 142 hectares (1.42 km2). The Monterrey Foundry (Monterrey Steel Foundry Company) operated from 1900 until its bankruptcy in 1986. Two (2) years later, after been legally declared financially insolvent, the Fideicomiso Fundidora (Fundidora Escrow) was installed to administer the Park. The park has several industrial buildings from the Old Foundry making it a top famous Archeological Industrial Site in Mexico.
Don't use this image on Websites/Blog or any other media
without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved. / Todos los derechos reservados, no usar sin permiso.
On September 01, 2007, the most ambitious program yet to resettle Mumbai's ‘Dharavi’ slum entered an active phase, promising to free the city of the biggest embarrassment in its quest to become a global business destination. An Indian government agency began evaluating "prequalification" bids submitted by developers across the world to build housing and social infrastructure to resettle the slum's residents. About 57,000 families with about 340,000 people and hundreds of small businesses currently occupy the 535-acre stretch in mostly illegal structures that have multiplied over decades.
The new "ecosystem" that will replace the slum was conceived by Mr. Mukesh Mehta, a U.S.-trained architect whose firm is the project's manager. Mr. Mehta has become India's pre-eminent slum-rehab guru: He has taken on a handful of similar projects in other cities including Hyderabad and Ahmadabad, and he wants to replicate his model of replacing slums with sustainable ecosystems across the country and in other emerging economies. Mr. Mehta's firm, M. M. Project Consultants, where he is chairman, is also overseeing a project to resettle and rehabilitate between 60,000 and 80,000 families in a slum stretch near Mumbai's international airport, in order to make room for a project already underway to upgrade and expand infrastructure there. India Knowledge@Wharton spoke to Mr. Mehta and Mr. Sanjay Reddy, Chief Executive Officer of Mumbai International Airport (Pvt) Ltd., about the impact these projects will have and any potential challenges that lie ahead.
For the ‘Dharavi’ rehabilitation, 26 consortia comprising 78 companies have filed preliminary bids. The project's total cost is estimated at Rs. 9,250 crore ($2.3 billion), covering housing, civic infrastructure and amenities. It will be distributed across five contracts valued at between Rs. 1,000 crore ($250 million) and Rs. 2,500 crore ($625 million) each. Winning bidders will pay a "premium" to the government in exchange for the development rights. Mr. Mehta says the state government could collect premiums totalling as much as Rs. 4,000 crore ($1 billion), which will come out of the developers' profits.
Mr. Mehta says bidders that meet prequalification criteria will be short-listed by the end of September, and then asked to submit detailed proposals. By early December, he expects to announce the successful bidders, and ground should be broken by January of next year.
Public-Private Partnerships
Mr. Mehta's model is designed to cross-subsidize free housing and infrastructure with for-sale housing and commercial space. Under the plan, developers will provide free housing of 225 sq. ft. to each of 57,000 families. These would be one-room studio apartments with an attached bath and kitchen, plus related utilities and amenities including schools, colleges, hospitals and parks. The developers will offset their costs with for-sale housing and commercial space at market rates. Some of that will come from the market prices residents and commercial establishments like shops will be required to pay for space greater than 225-sq.-ft. A portion of the developers' revenues from these for-sale properties will accrue to the government as a premium.
"All the world's eyes are on Dharavi," says Mr. Mehta about the bidding interest the project has generated so far. The bidders include many of India's major industrial groups such as Reliance; engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro; and real estate developers DLF, Hiranandani Constructions, the K. Raheja Group, Tata Housing and Mahindra Gesco. Several foreign companies have also shown interest in bidding, including real estate developer Hines of Houston, Tex.; Ascendas and Capitaland of Singapore; and Emaar Properties of Dubai.
Mr. Mehta acknowledges that the project's schedule could be thrown off course by legal squabbles, bureaucratic delays, disputes between and with slum dwellers, and any opposition from local politicians, underworld slumlords and other interested parties. He says that the project's very economic and social logic will hopefully overwhelm critics, and he routinely addresses local meetings to garner support. He adds that the courts should play a supportive role, because they "have understood the slum rehabilitation scheme and are aware that this has been going on for 10 years."
A City within a City
Mumbai's slums hold 55% of the city's 12 million residents, or 1.2 million families in 1,126 slum pockets, as a survey by Mr. Mehta's firm revealed. ‘Dharavi’ is the most high profile for a variety of reasons, including its prime location straddling the city's eastern and western corridors, flourishing small and medium businesses, a reputation for spawning crime, and chronic unsanitary conditions on which the city's municipality appears to have given up.
"This is now my life's work," says Mr. Mehta, 56, who was born into a wealthy family that ran steel mills and other businesses in India's Gujarat state. ‘Dharavi’ was far from his mind when he graduated with a degree in architecture in India and then left the country to obtain his master's degree at the Pratt Institute in New York City in 1984. While in the U.S., he developed expensive, custom homes in Long Island's affluent Nassau County. Until 1997, he shuttled between the U.S. and India while running a few businesses, but eventually closed them all down to focus on his ‘Dharavi’ project.
Mr. Mehta literally stumbled upon ‘Dharavi’ when he returned from the U.S. He says he was galvanized by the combination of filth, squalor, poverty, enterprise and the locked potential of the slum's prime location, and began to work on a rehabilitation plan. He set up his offices in ‘Dharavi’ "to understand who I am dealing with, and interact at the grassroots level with the slum dwellers."
Perversely, ‘Dharavi’ is also emblematic of the survival instincts of Mumbai's continually expanding population in the face of infrastructure unable to keep pace. About 300 new immigrant families are said to enter the city as permanent residents every day. Meanwhile, the slum residents have started hundreds of small businesses in pottery, leather craft, plastics and metal recycling, cottage-industry electronics and garments. "Show me a single beggar in Dharavi," says Mr. Mehta, underscoring his point that the suburb has the potential to transform itself from an eyesore into an economic engine for the city.
Government Planning Shortcomings
Over the years, successive governments have attempted to rehabilitate Dharavi's slum dwellers, and it became one of the first targets of non-government organizations looking for suitable projects. Mr. Mehta felt many of these went about the task in a piecemeal fashion. He drafted an alternative plan that he pitched to the state government in 1997.
Mr. Mehta says the government's plan at that time was "brilliant," in that it sought to use public-private partnerships to extract value from the land on which the slum dwellers resided, by allowing for-sale development options. But it suffered from some fundamental shortcomings, he notes. Most important of all was the failure to recognize the organic and haphazard ways in which slums proliferate into every available area: Lacking contiguous settlements or rectangular plots, they don't allow for conventional master planning.
Dharavi's redevelopment occurred only in those pockets where developers were able to secure the required consent from residents in any slum (70%). But because these pockets were typically mapped out in irregular plots and in what continued to be a slum neighbourhood, the for-sale housing went for low prices. The government, for the most part, kept a hands-off approach after laying down project specifications.
The poorly staffed government machinery was unable to enforce the project specifications on construction quality, and rampant corruption made things worse, says Mr. Mehta. The roughly 100,000 homes that have been built in this manner so far "will become vertical slums," he says. Moreover, he adds, development under the government's plan is not sustainable. "Unless I improve the ability of the slum dwellers to generate income and live the modified lifestyle, they cannot maintain their new housing."
Mr. Mehta proposed a master plan for the entire slum – an integrated, sustainable development approach called HIKES (health, income, knowledge, environment and socio-cultural development). Mr. Mehta says the HIKES approach allows slum dwellers "to maximize their opportunities and be respected for who they are" in terms of their own achievements. The government gave the plan enthusiastic support.
"With HIKES, the chance of [slum residents] leading a sustainable, improved life is greater than you would get by providing just housing," says Mr. Mehta. "This is the mistake that all the developing countries are making – China, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Turkey and Malaysia. They are thinking of slum rehabilitation as a housing issue. Housing is only one part of it; the larger part is human resources."
Leveraging Location
‘Dharavi’ has several advantages in terms of its location. It is the only Mumbai suburb with connections to all three of the city's commuter rail corridors (Western, Central and Harbour lines). It is also less than two miles from the airport, and a third of a mile from the new Bandra-Kurla commercial complex.
The integrated development approach and the prospect of a slum-free suburb emerging in ‘Dharavi’ made it easier to market the project to businesses, academic establishments and professional associations. Mr. Mehta lists a string of collaborations that have been struck so far:
A collaboration with the All India Association of Day Surgeons ensures that in exchange for space to house day surgery polyclinics, its member doctors would provide free or subsidized services to slum residents.
Alliances with primary and secondary schools to set up facilities in ‘Dharavi.’ For every free school an educational institution puts up, it will get space for a full fee-paying school, provided the quality of education is the same at both schools.
An agreement with the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmadabad to allow for Dharavi's leather crafts and pottery industries to turn out designer brands. "So far they are only imitating the Guccis and the Pierre Cardins and the Christian Diors of the world," says Mr. Mehta. "NID has agreed to upgrade the skills of the leather craftsmen and make ceramists of the potters." A few brand-name retail chains like Metro Shoes and Hi-Design have agreed to market the leather crafts produced through such ventures. Mr. Mehta sees similar possibilities in a range of other industries, from garments to toys and food products.
A provisional agreement with the Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council for its members to set up 300 factories and hire 250 people for each, creating a total of 75,000 jobs with an average annual income of Rs. 100,000 ($2,500). Mr. Mehta says this would be a big income generator even if only a third of those employees are hired from ’Dharavi.’ He says this initiative is estimated to generate exports worth $1.5 billion annually.
A project to create a golf driving range in the middle of ‘Dharavi’ has gotten traction among some big businesses such as the Reliance Group, says Mr. Mehta, who argues it would prevent encroachment of vacant land and draw the wealthy into ‘Dharavi.’ Another of Mr. Mehta's ideas is to set up a cricket museum in the suburb. He sees both possibilities as efforts to help integrate the slum population with mainstream middle- and upper-income groups.
Mr. Mehta claims the revised regulations for sewerage, storm water drainage and other utilities are in line with international standards. "We have looked at eco-housing criteria. We're talking about alternative sources of energy, solid waste recycling and management, recycling water, rain water harvesting, energy conservation and even issues related to global warming, at the infrastructure level," he says.
Further, Mr. Mehta's firm has also rewritten much of the earlier regulations that he felt held site planning and construction norms to low compliance requirements. The mandatory space required between two buildings has been doubled from the earlier level to 20 ft.; similarly, open space requirements, as a proportion of construction area, was increased from 8% to 15% of the developed area.
Under the earlier regime, homes could not get "even light and air ventilation properly," Mr. Mehta says. Some developers "cheated on the 8% open space norm by providing 1% here, 3% somewhere else and 4% in a third place, with the result that you don't even get one maidan [Hindi for "playground"]," he adds. Slum dwellers needed more open space than others, he argues, "because their per-capita housing space is less and the density is higher."
Will people used to the ways of a slum adopt a new outlook about upkeep and keep their surroundings clean? Mr. Mehta isn't taking chances: Deals are in place for all providers of utilities and services, including plumbing, elevators and exterior paint to maintain and undertake repairs free of charge for the first 15 years. Developers, too, will be required to maintain the buildings they erect for 15 years.
Mr. Mehta doesn't see slum proliferation through encroachment as a recurring problem in the areas that will be developed. The residents, as owners of their new dwellings, will prevent that, he says. "If it is your fiefdom or your area you will not let anybody come in." The resettled families will have an initial 30-year lease, with automatic renewal for another 30 years. For each home they build, developers will put Rs. 20,000 ($400) in an escrow account to finance its upkeep; the homeowner will meet costs beyond that. All that comes with a caveat: residents cannot sell their homes for the first 10 years.
Mr. Mehta says his firm's responsibility for managing the project runs "until the last slum dweller is re-housed." That may take about seven years from now, he says. His firm currently has 68 employees; he expects that to grow to more than 350 by the time construction starts in December.
A Different Set of Challenges
The public-private partnership model is also a key driver at the other big slum resettlement project on Mr. Mehta's plate, near the city's international airport. At an estimated cost of Rs.7,200 crore ($1.75 billion), the expansion and upgrade of Mumbai's international airport is among the largest private-sector infrastructure projects underway in the country. Plans are to double both annual passenger capacity to 40 million annually and cargo capacity to 1 million tons.
But to make way for that expansion, the project's promoter – Mumbai International Airport (Pvt) Ltd. (MIAL) – has to clear 276 acres in the airport's vicinity. That stretch includes a slum that houses between 60,000 and 80,000 families. The plans are to resettle them into new housing at another location within a six-mile radius. "They have their social and financial sustenance in this locality, so there would be huge resistance if we try to move them too far out," says Mr. Sanjay Reddy, Chief Executive Officer of MIAL, whose family-run GVK Group is a 74% joint venture partner with the public sector Airports Authority of India (26%).
Mr. Reddy's firm has already identified the lots where it plans to build the new housing, and is in the process of selecting a developer. "We took over the airport's operations about a year ago and are doing many things in parallel," he says. "The first is to continue running the existing facility. Second, we are simultaneously working on improving the operations. The third leg of the project is to redevelop the slum land in the airport area."
But Mr. Mehta notes that having to move people out of the area will likely make for a more challenging project. "Slums are really a vote bank for the political parties," he says. "Even if you can convince the slum dwellers to move and give them a better lifestyle, the political parties obstruct it because they lose their votes. Local politicians don't want to see a vote base they have cultivated for many years suddenly vanish."
Mr. Reddy says MIAL has so far been successful in persuading politicians to cooperate. "We have gotten a lot of support form political, bureaucratic and government officials," he says. "We cannot do anything without them." However, he adds that securing records related to the land and its dwellers has been "a messy affair."
The airport slum resettlement project shares many of the features of the ‘Dharavi’ model. Mr. Mehta says the effort here is also to have an integrated, sustainable development approach with public-private partnerships. "Here, too, we would work for a similar kind of township approach, and maybe even generate opportunities for income generation with skill development and capacity building," he says.
(Courtesy Knowledge@Wharton Network managed by the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania – U.S.A.)
Related web links :
‘Dharavi’ – largest slum in Asia
‘Dharavi’ – Life in a slum
news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/world/06/dharavi_slum/html...
As Mumbai booms, the poor of its notorious ‘Dharavi’ slum find themselves living in some of India's hottest real estate
www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0705/feature3/
Mumbai slum dwellers fight development plan
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6970800.stm
State makes more squatters eligible for ‘Dharavi’ rehabilitation
economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/State_ma...
Reference :
Mike Davis on a planet of slums
www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php?article_id=9073
The growth of the global slums
www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php?article_id=9074
Urban population to overtake country dwellers for first time
www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1798774,00.html
PHOTO : ‘Dharavi’ slum, Mumbai. Photo with courtesy of National Geographic Magazine Interactive Edition published by the National Geographic Society, U.S.A.
Source of Photo :
www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0705/feature3/
Source of Main article :
knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4223
AT&T TSD-3600E Telephone Security Device, an encrypting telephone from 1993 based on the controversial Clipper Chip
The Clipper chip was the flagship component of a controversial National Security Agency-designed "key escrow" cryptography scheme, in which intercepted encrypted traffic could be decrypted easily by law enforcement or intelligence agencies for surveillance purposes. The program was extremely controversial and, in the end, not a success. Aside from the obvious fundamental problems (the security risks of having a large database of citizen's keys, the need to implement cryptography in expensive secret hardware, etc), the Clipper architecture had technical flaws that made it possible to circumvent the escrow features and preclude the possibility of law enforcement access. (See "Protocol Failure in the Escrowed Encryption Standard" [pdf format], for details.)
AT&T (my employer at the time) was the first (and ultimately only) company to produce a product based on the ill-fated system. The AT&T TSD-3600, announced in 1992, was a voice encryption device designed to be installed in a standard telephone (between the phone base and the handset). Calls placed to other TSD-3600-equipped telephones could be automatically digitized (at 4800bps) and encrypted, making eavesdropping on the conversation (by legal or illegal means) effectively infeasible. When the US government learned of AT&T's plans to market the device, it worried that criminals might used them to thwart wiretaps. Plans for a new encryption system with a wiretap backdoor were hurriedly drawn up by the NSA, and AT&T was persuaded to replace the regular (non-escrowed) DES-based encryption scheme in the original TSD product with the new system, called the Clipper chip. The Clipper-based model TSD-3600E hit the market in 1993. As incentive for AT&T's cooperation, the government agreed to purchase a significant quantity of Clipper-equipped TSD-3600Es, which sold for over $1000 each in quantity.
Hobbled by the controversial key escrow features and the high retail price, the government ended up being the TSD's only major customer, and even most of the units they bought sat unopened in storage for over ten years. AT&T, for its part, eventually sold off the division that produced the product.
I'm aware of five different TSD-3600 models produced between 1992 and the product's cancellation, differing in the cipher algorithm used. The TSD-3600D was the original, using standard DES with a 56 bit key. (These were quickly recalled and disappeared from the market after Clipper was announced). The 3600F was an exportable model that used a proprietary 40 bit cipher that, I was told, was "embarassingly" weak even given the short key. The 3600P used a proprietary 56 bit cipher similar to DES (but not inter-operable with the 3600D). The 3600E was the first controversial key escrowed model, with the then-classified Skipjack cipher and key escrow features implemented on a tamper-resistant MYK-78T Clipper chip. A later model, the 3600S, included a Clipper chip but would also downgrade (or upgrade, depending on your opinion of key escrow) to the F or P ciphers when communicating with those models. All five models use a Diffie-Hellman key exchange (768 bit, if I recall correctly) to establish a session key, a 4 character hash of which is displayed on each unit's LCD. To detect "man-in-the-middle" attacks, users could verify (by voice) that their displayed hashes matched.
This photo shows the TSD with an optional acoustic coupler and handset, allowing its use with virtually any telephone. The device can also be wired directly to the telephone.
Rodenstock Gerogon 240mm/9, Sinar P, BetterLight Super 6K-HS. Full resolution (6000x8000) version available.
Disclaimer: No emulsions were harmed in the making of this image.
Bal Harbour Ritz Carlton (previously known as Regent Hotel Bal Harbour and One Bal Harbour hotel)
10295 Collins Ave, Bal Harbour, FL 33154
*** Some Bal Harbour history...
The Ritz Carlton address - 10295 Collins Ave - Collins Avenue is also known as State Route A1A. SR A1A is a north-south Florida State Road that runs along the Atlantic Ocean, from Key West at the southern tip of Florida, to Fernandina Beach, just south of Georgia on Amelia Island. Jimmy Buffett's 1974 album title "A1A" makes sense - as the road is a beach lover's paradise. Locally 1A means the road by the beaches running from South Beach of Miami to Fort Lauderdale. 10295 Collins Ave. was previously the address for the Harbour House North which was demolished in 2004. The adjacent address 10275 Collins Ave was previously the address for the Harbour House Hotel now a condominium known as the New Harbour House. Collins Avenue leaves Bal Harbour via the Baker's Haulover Bridge. Before the channel was deepened and the bridge was built, a certain Mr. Baker used to haul-over fishing boats from the bay to ocean across the spit of land. The inlet was carved in 1925 to connect Biscayne Bay with the Atlantic Ocean. In 1949 a new bridge was built over Baker Haulover as earlier versions were damaged in hurricanes.
In 1929 a Detroit-based real estate development corporation purchased 245 acres of Bay Harbour raw land. Miami Beach Heights, Inc. was headed by Graham Paige automobile manufacturer Robert C. Graham, with associates Carl Fisher (Fisher's firm made nearly every headlamp used on automobiles in the U.S) and Walter O. Briggs (Briggs Manufacturing Company and owner of Detroit Tigers). The task of crafting a new community began.
The dream village that was envisioned over 70 years ago started with a name. Bay Harbour was not good enough, it did not represent the city's location on the Atlantic Ocean. The "b" was taken from the word “bay” and the "al" from “Atlantic” to create "Bal," signifying a city running from the bay to the Atlantic Ocean.
They hired urban planning firm Harland Bartholomew & Associates, to design the Bal Harbour Village. From the beginning, the Village was envisioned as a modern community that would maintain exceptionally high standards, provide superior services and foster civic pride. The west side was zoned for hotels and the east side zoned for residential. The development was halted during World War II, when the land was leased to the US Military for $1 a year. The Air Corps used the land to train soldiers and established a Prisoner of War camp. Bal Harbour was the first planned community in Florida to have its utilities placed underground. Following the war the first home was built in 1945 at 160 Bal Cross Drive. It was built by Mr. Robert C. Graham Jr., who was the son of Bal Harbour Developer Robert C. Graham.
In December 1946, the first hotel, Kenilworth-by-the-Sea, opened Oceanfront at 102nd Street for business. The the 160-room ten-story Kenilworth promoted the concept of “luxurious leisure.” Thomas E. Raffington was the Owner/Managing Director. The Kenilworth was made famous in the U.S. because Arthur Godfrey broadcast his tv show from a hotel balcony overlooking the Atlantic. Raffington sold the Kenilworth to associates of Arthur Godfrey and in 1953 re-opened the Golden Strand Hotel & Villas at 179th and Collins. In 1953 Raffington swapped the Golden Strand for the Copa Cabana later named the Ivanhoe Hotel (101st and Collins). In 1958, Raffington who lived at 148 Bal Bay Drive, sold the Ivanhoe to actress Gloria Vanderbilt and Herman Phillips. Phillips. Phillips was a majority owner of the Sherry Netherlands in NYC.
In 1965, the Bal Harbour Shops was built by Stanley Whitman at a cost of $7 million, excluding the land. Stanley Finch Whitman was born into South Florida's ruling class. His father, William Francis Whitman, was a millionaire businessman from Chicago who built a successful business largely by printing the Sears Roebuck catalogue. He retired in 1915 with his wife, Leona, to a sparsely inhabited stretch of swampland named Miami Beach. Stanley grew up in an oceanfront mansion on 32nd Street and Collins Avenue with two brothers William Jr and Dudley. His father, who died in 1936, was the developer of Espanoia Way and builder of the Indian Creek apartments and the Whitman by-the-Sea Hotel (later named the Robert Richter Hotel). The Whitman family mansion was sold in 1948 to Chicago banker George D. Sax (he introduced drive-in banking) and in its place is the Saxony Hotel. The Saxony was the first luxury hotel built in Miami Beach and was the first hotel to have central air-conditioning. The profits from Mrs. whitman's property sales were largely used by Stanley Whitman to buy the land which became the Bar Harbour Shops.
In the 50's Stanley Whitman sensed that Lincoln Road to the south of Bal Harbour, which had long been the Fifth Avenue of Miami, was floundering. He teamed up with Robert Graham, the original Bal Harbour developer and later bought 16 acres of land from Mr. Graham which were originally planned for a gas station and grocery store. Whitman bought the land in 1957 for $2 per sq ft. or approximately $1.3 million for the 15 acres. Designed by Mark Hampton of the firm Herbert H. Johnson & Associates (Welton Becket & Associates started the design but were fired) the center would have 107,000 of lease space, 70 shops, restaurants and 1,000 parking spaces. Hampton's design tapped into the natural beauty of the area - using greenery and the outdoor light.
At opening in 1966 the high fashion stores in Bal Harbour Shops were paying Whitman an average of $5 a square foot or 5-6 per cent of gross sales, which ever was larger. A disappointment at opening was Whitman's inability to attract a specialty department store such as a Saks or a Bergdorf Goodman. One of the original restaurants was 257-seat Schraffts fountain, bar-lounge & restaurant. Schraffts was booted out following its purchase by Pet, Inc. and a decline in quality. Whitman got Stanley Marcus to open a 60,000 sq ft Neiman-Marcus department store in 1971, the first Neiman-Marcus outside the state of Texas. The longest lasting original tenant was FAO Schwarz which departed in 2006. Dining occupies 10 percent of the center’s square footage. Stanley Whitman hired a scientist to study wind flow through the walkways - and the walkways were changed to allow cooling sea breezes flow through the center. Bal Harbour Shop's security guards were uniformed like traditional Bahamian police, or gendarmes, in military-style black trousers, red tops, and white helmets. The official logo of the Shops is a silk-screened silhouette of a helmeted gendarme. Bal Harbour Shops are considered the world’s most productive shopping center. Bal Harbour in 2011 lost Louis Vuitton, Dior, Cartier and Hermes. Bal Harbour's leases prohibit tenants from opening a second store within 20 miles unless the center received a percentage of sales from the addditional store.
Stanley Whitman was very influential in the Bal Harbour community, helping to acquire a new zip code, traffic plans, landscaping and beach restoration, an improved water main and a resort tax. Stanley Whitman died in 2017 at age of 98. The Whitman family continues today to operate and own Bal Harbour Shops.
*** The Hotel Development...
In the 1950s, Bal Harbour and Miami Beach were considered America’s Riviera, a magnet for the era’s top musicians and entertainers. During the 50's and 60's a total of nine resorts would line the Village’s Atlantic Ocean beachfront — the Sea View Hotel, the Bal Harbour, the Balmoral, the Ivanhoe, the Colony, the Singapore, the Beau Rivage and the Americana. These resorts attracted an upscale clientele. By 2004 all hotels had been demolished in favor of high rise condominiums except the 220-room Sea View Hotel located directly across from the Bal Harbour Shops at 9909 Collins Avenue.
WCI Communities would build the first hotel in Bal Harbour in 47 years. The 2004 original plans were for 185 condominium units (with some priced as high as $12 million) and 126 hotel units. WCI was the homegrown building and development company built by Florida developer Al Hoffman Jr. In the 1990s, Hoffman engineered the union of his own company, Florida Design Communities, with Westinghouse Communities, taking the combined company public in 2002. Hoffman was once the Republican National Committee's finance chair. WCI's specialty was leisure-oriented, amenity-rich master-planned communities and condo-hotels targeting affluent homebuyers. In 2000 revenue reached $1.1 billion. Profits reach $186 million in 2005 and plummet to $9 million in 2006. WCI filed for bankruptcy in 2008.
Smith Property had owned two apartment rental houses known as Harbour House North (10295 Collins Avenue) and Harbour House South (10275 Collins Avenue). Smith Property's intention was to sell-off Harbour House North and its 5 acres to a condo developer and have the building torn down (reducing the rentals market) and with the cash help with the renovation of Harbour House South. WCI acquired the 5 acre site from Smith Property Holdings. In 2004 WCI Communities signed an agreement for Regent International Hotels to manage WCI's 124 unit condo/hotel at One Bal Harbour tower. The new hotel will be known as The Regent Bal Harbour. Regent Hotels is a subsidiary of Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, the Minneapolis-based owner of the Radisson hotel chain. The residential condominium component was named The Regent Residences at One Bal Harbour.
Culpepper, McAuliffe and Meaders, Inc., (CMMI), an Atlanta-based international design firm, provided planning and interior design services for the condominium hotel, and interior design for public amenity spaces in the condominiums. The Coral Gables architectural firm of Nichols, Brosch, Sandoval & Associates designed the hotel structure's curvilinear façade with glass exteriors. Two side wings of the building dramatically intersect a 26-story tower. Pricing for the condos was $600,000 for 511 sq ft studio and $975,000 for 1,075 sq ft one bedroom. Each guestroom suite has a custom-designed private elevator featuring wood floors and a foyer with leather walls and custom artwork. All guestrooms have six-fixture bathrooms (sink, sink, toilet, shower, bathtub, bidet) either overlooking the ocean or Intracoastal Waterway. The glass-enclosed showers feature a signature Regent touch: the “toe-tap” groove for testing water temperature before entering.
In May 2006 three construction workers were killed at WCI's One Bal Harbour construction site. The workers were on the 27th level of the building, pouring its concrete roof, when the supporting frame structure below them gave way, dropping them to the 26th floor. Despite efforts by co-workers to save the men, a 3-foot layer of hardening concrete encased one worker and partly buried the others. The construction contractor was Boran Craig Barber Engel.
In March 2008, and over a year late, the $225 million Regent Bal Harbour celebrated its grand opening with opening room rates starting at $750 per night. The signature Mediterranean-influenced restaurant was known as 1 Bleu. Helmed by chef Gerdy Rodriguez (followed by Mark Militello in 2009) the restaurant was partnered with Le Cordon Bleu. The country’s first Guerlain spa was at the Regent. Later names of the restaurant were One Kitchen, Bistro Bal Harbour and currently known as the Artisan Beach House with Chef Paula DaSilva is at the helm.
The opening general manager was Guenter H. Richter. In the 1970s, Richter held General Manager and Managing Director posts at The Washington Hilton, Washington DC; The Palmer House, Chicago; and The Waldorf Astoria, New York. During the 1980s, he was Vice President/Managing Director of the St. Regis Hotel, in New York, before becoming Vice President of Operations for Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, with posts including The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas and The Bel Air Hotel in Beverly Hills. Prior to joining The Regent Bal Harbour, Richter was the Managing Director of The St. Regis in New York. Since 2015 The current general manager is Sase "Sasha" Gjorsovski. Previously he was general manager at Turnberry Ocean Colony from January 2014 thru April 2015 and General Manager The Acqualina Resort and Spa from 2008 thru 2014.
In August 2008, six months after opening the Regent Bal Harbour, owner WCI Communities, Inc. filed for bankruptcy. WCI had $1.9 billion in debt of which $758 million was in default. The former trophy development of WCI Communities was sold in 2009 for $14.6 million to Bogota, Columbia natives 34 year-old Jorge Arevalo and 29 year-old Juan Arevalo and their company Elcom Hotels. Arevalo's money partner was Thomas Sullivan the owner of Lumber Liquidators. The sell to Elcom (elevation community) included the hotel's common areas, now named One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa, and 51 units. The land remained with the condo owners association. Regent Hotels departed upon date of the sale.
Gary Daniels, the president of 10295 Collins Avenue Hotel Condominium Association, was uneasy about the 2009 sale to Jorge and Juan Arevalo. The Arevalo's had no experience in managing a 5-star hotel, let alone the financial aspects of a condo-hotel. During the period 2009 through 2013 the Arvvalos were sued by condo-hotel owners for misappropriation of $1.1 million from the FF&E escrow account, for failure to pay $11.8 million in assessment fees for the 51 condos owned by Elcom and the siphoning of $2.6 million from hotel operations for sports cars and lavish entertaining. Elcom's former finance director said she was asked to doctor financial records. For a short while Benchmark Hospitality managed the hotel for the court appointed receiver. On October 2, 2014, Elcom Hotel & Spa, LLC went out of business.
On Oct 2, 2014 the condo owners association One Bal Harbour Hotel Facilities, LLC and its affiliates sold the Hotel for $12 million to LK Hotel LLC and LK Units LLC, affiliates of Miami's Lionstone Development. Lionstone paid $12 million at the bankruptcy-auction to the buildings condominium assocation to gain control of the One Bal Harbour Hotel, which included 9 hotel rooms and certain hotel operating areas. Ritz-Carlton assumed management of ONE Bal Harbour Resort & Spa on October 2, 2014. The luxury resort was named The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami. Headed by Alfredo Lowenstein and Diego Lowenstein, Lionstone Development also owns the Ritz-Carlton South Beach, the Epic Hotel & Residences in Miami and other hotels.
Lionstone is a family-owned company run by Diego Lowenstein, who serves as CEO, and his father, Alfredo Lowenstein. The company name comes from "lowen" which means lion in German and "stein" means stone. In 1966, the Lowenstein family purchased The White House Hotel, on the Ocean at Fifteenth Street, Miami Beach, which was their first Miami Beach investment. Lionstone’s interests include three hotels and two casinos in Curaçao, a hotel in Aruba, and a future development in Puerto Rico. Lionstone also has partnered with Sir Richard Brandon’s Virgin Group to establish Virgin Hotels in Chicago.
Compiled by Dick Johnson, March 2018
richardlloydJohnson@hotmail.com