# Weird video: Abandoned former timeshare in Florida



## DaveNV (Jan 1, 2019)

Surfing through available stuff to watch today on TV, I stumbled across this video on Netflix. This is the YouTube version. It's a timeshare resort in Florida that was abandoned after a hurricane did a lot of damage.  Does anybody know the backstory on this place?  What it was, and more important, why is it abandoned?  After this long, I'd think the place could be demolished and rebuilt.  The beach looks amazing. I think it was called The Colony.






Dave


----------



## Sugarcubesea (Jan 1, 2019)

I would love to know where this at. This seems like prime real estate abandoned. I feel bad for the folks who owned here.


----------



## buzglyd (Jan 1, 2019)

Before I watched the video, I was going to say Sutherland Crossing but all those buildings have been bull dozed. There are some fantastic homes on either side of Sutherland but no development yet.


----------



## alwysonvac (Jan 1, 2019)

The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort on Longboat Key was a condo hotel property.
It’s slated to be a St Regis property.

From https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20170801/st-regis-will-run-colony-property-on-longboat-key
_Owners of the 237 units could live in their condos for one month each year. The remainder of the time, the units were pooled together for short-term lodging. The revenues from those hotel bookings paid real estate taxes, association dues and fees for the recreational amenities. But over the years, the community fell behind on its long-term maintenance. The Colony was deemed unsafe in 2012 following an inspection ordered by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Everything from the floors to the electrical systems and plumbing did not meet code._

_The resort’s developer, who also owned the restaurant and gift shop there, filed for bankruptcy. So did the condo association._

_Orlando-based Unicorp National Developments Inc. purchased the property a year ago for $22 million. The site drew attention from a number of high-end hotel operators, said Chuck Whittall, Unicorp’s president, but Marriott International Inc., which also owns the Ritz-Carlton, made St. Regis a strong fit for the project.
_​Additional articles
https://www.abandonedfl.com/the-colony-beach-and-tennis-resort/
https://www.yourobserver.com/article/colony-collapse
https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/articles/2010/10/31/the-collapse-of-the-colony
http://www.lbknews.com/2016/11/30/colony-beach-tennis-resort-the-rise-the-fall-and-the-future/
https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/...-coming-to-former-colony-site-on-longboat-key


----------



## DrQ (Jan 1, 2019)

Special Assessment of $15K in 2006 and then the recession of 2008. Stick a fork in it, it's done.


----------



## T-Dot-Traveller (Jan 1, 2019)

Sugarcubesea said:


> I would love to know where this at. This seems like prime real estate abandoned. I feel bad for the folks who owned here.



There was a blip of a name - The Colony - built in the 1970's
I googled it - Long Boat Key - closed 2009 

Apparently you owned the condo & could use a month a year & then the management company 
could rent out the other 11 months . Taxes and other upkeep  was paid from that income .
The upkeep had slid & issues grew . Units do not meet current codes .

Per articles that pop up on Google The property was sold  for 22 million & there is a 2017 report that it 
would be developed as a a St Regis .


----------



## DrQ (Jan 1, 2019)

DaveNW said:


> What it was, and more important, why is it abandoned?  After this long, I'd think the place could be demolished and rebuilt.
> 
> Dave


They need to settle with the former owners. Unwinding these things is not easy.


----------



## AnnaS (Jan 1, 2019)

Creepy........


----------



## Panina (Jan 1, 2019)

Seems the community was against allowing timesharing again.
https://www.hotel-online.com/press_...-will-run-the-colony-property-on-longboat-key


----------



## buzglyd (Jan 1, 2019)

The condo hotel boom was a big thing for a while. In San Diego the Hard Rock was a condo hotel. I went to a presentation. Minimum buy in was just over 400k. You got 28 days a year for personal use and the rest was for the management company and you got a slice of rental revenue. It bombed and the owners who got suckered sued.


----------



## DrQ (Jan 1, 2019)

buzglyd said:


> The condo hotel boom was a big thing for a while. In San Diego the Hard Rock was a condo hotel. I went to a presentation. Minimum buy in was just over 400k. You got 28 days a year for personal use and the rest was for the management company and you got a slice of rental revenue. It bombed and the owners who got suckered sued.


Yeah, I get REALLY uncomfortable when I feel somebody digging in in my back pocket.


----------



## klpca (Jan 1, 2019)

buzglyd said:


> The condo hotel boom was a big thing for a while. In San Diego the Hard Rock was a condo hotel. I went to a presentation. Minimum buy in was just over 400k. You got 28 days a year for personal use and the rest was for the management company and you got a slice of rental revenue. It bombed and the owners who got suckered sued.


I think that I know of someone who bought something similar at the MGM in Vegas. If I recall correctly,  it has been a terrible investment.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 2, 2019)

During the condo hotel boom there were some discussion threads here on TUG about condo hotels in the "all other timeshare systems" forum.  Some TUGgers were enthusiastically into that segment.  

You can find some of the threads by doing a search on condo hotels.


----------



## pedro47 (Jan 2, 2019)

This is still prime property and the ocean front beach is excellent. I do not understand, why no one have not purchase this property?
 I feel this website will open up a new renew interest in this property.


----------



## Panina (Jan 2, 2019)

pedro47 said:


> This is still prime property and the ocean front beach is excellent. I do not understand, why no one have not purchase this property?
> I feel this website will open up a new renew interest in this property.


If you read the attached articles in this thread, it was purchased and a hotel will be built with no timeshares. Previously Different Plans were presented to include the  timeshares but the community didn't want them due to the high density of people.


----------



## silentg (Jan 2, 2019)

Such a shame


----------



## amycurl (Jan 3, 2019)

Apparently, the last building on the site was demolished literally a day before the developer of the resort died, just this past Thanksgiving:
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/sarasota-fl/dr-murray-murf-klauber-8065889


----------



## Sugarcubesea (Jan 3, 2019)

amycurl said:


> Apparently, the last building on the site was demolished literally a day before the developer of the resort died, just this past Thanksgiving:
> https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/sarasota-fl/dr-murray-murf-klauber-8065889



That must have been so sad for this developer to see his lifetime of work be demolished.


----------



## easyrider (Jan 3, 2019)

We almost bought a condo / timeshare / hotel dealio called the residence club at the Worldmark Seaside. It was offered resale for about $15,000 when we were looking at this two bedroom ocean view unit. The thing about this that was appealing was the low mf. It was something like $3500 for six weeks for a top floor ocean view unit. We looked at one of these at the Marriott KoOlina but the buy in was very high. 

I guess we will stick to timeshares. 

Many of the older timeshares seem to become private condos and many of the private condos seem to become timeshares. I'm in one right now. A condo project in Palm Springs that was bought out by VI and a private investor.  

Bill


----------



## isisdave (Jan 4, 2019)

Remember the old Poipu Beach Hotel, which was next to the Marriott Waiohai where the Ko'a Kea is now? It languished there for 16 years after Iniki before being replaced.


----------



## dioxide45 (Jan 5, 2019)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> During the condo hotel boom there were some discussion threads here on TUG about condo hotels in the "all other timeshare systems" forum.  Some TUGgers were enthusiastically into that segment.
> 
> You can find some of the threads by doing a search on condo hotels.


I think you may be thinking of fractional ownership? I think they even had their own subforum on TUG for a while. This is different than cono hotel.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 5, 2019)

dioxide45 said:


> I think you may be thinking of fractional ownership? I think they even had their own subforum on TUG for a while. This is different than cono hotel.


Nope I'm specifically referring to condo hotels.  There are TUG threads on "condo hotels".  One TUGger claimed to have purchased the penthouse unit at a condo hotel in Las Vegas.


----------



## alwysonvac (Jan 5, 2019)

Yep, I remember those threads. The old Condo Hotel threads were moved under the “All Other Timshare Systems” forum

_Ritz-Carlton Kapalua Maui condo-hotels for sale - link
 Nov 15, 2007, 25 replies, in forum: All Other Timeshare Systems 

 Condo Hotel form of real estate ownership - link
 Sep 30, 2007, 6 replies, in forum: All Other Timeshare Systems 

 Condo Hotels - link
 May 17, 2007, 25 replies, in forum: All Other Timeshare Systems 

 Condo-Hotel - any interest ? - link
 Mar 3, 2007, 9 replies, in forum: All Other Timeshare Systems 

 Condo Hotels reprise. Question for Perry - link
 Feb 3, 2007, 24 replies, in forum: All Other Timeshare Systems 

 Club Intrawest Fractionals/Co-branded Condo Hotels - link
 Jan 9, 2007, 30 replies, in forum: All Other Timeshare Systems 

 Condo-Hotel Article in BankRate.com - link
 May 12, 2006, 15 replies, in forum: All Other Timeshare Systems_​


----------



## geist1223 (Jan 5, 2019)

isisdave said:


> Remember the old Poipu Beach Hotel, which was next to the Marriott Waiohai where the Ko'a Kea is now? It languished there for 16 years after Iniki before being replaced.



There is still a totalled resort from Iniki in Kapa'a that has not been torn down. Though it appears to be going back to the jungle.


----------



## geist1223 (Jan 5, 2019)

We own at the Residence Club at Seaside. It is some what connected Worldmark but independent. It is a Fractional Ownership - 4 weeks per year/1 per quarter. The Weeks rotate on a 10 year calender so no one gets all the Holidays. We have a 3 bedroom on the 6th floor right behind the Ocean Front Penthouse. No Condo/Hotel. We have our own BOD and we have a Representative on the BOD for Seaside. The advantage of this set up is that we own those 4 weeks. We can use them, let family and friends use them (no Guest Certificates needed), rent them out, and we can also trade weeks into Worldmark and get Worldmark Points/Credits we can use anywhere in the Worldmark System. When we do this trade the Points come with a HKC and a GC.


----------



## amluckau (Jan 6, 2019)

DaveNW said:


> Surfing through available stuff to watch today on TV, I stumbled across this video on Netflix. This is the YouTube version. It's a timeshare resort in Florida that was abandoned after a hurricane did a lot of damage.  Does anybody know the backstory on this place?  What it was, and more important, why is it abandoned?  After this long, I'd think the place could be demolished and rebuilt.  The beach looks amazing. I think it was called The Colony.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I watched the whole video. Quite sad.


----------



## DrQ (Jan 6, 2019)

amluckau said:


> I watched the whole video. Quite sad.


We ran into this with one of our TS. It was built in the 70's on the coast using construction techniques more appropriate for inland construction. While it was built STRONG, the salt air took its toll. We were hit with a $1,500 special assessment one year and a $600 the next. The SA was tempered with the offer if it was paid by a certain time, we got two weeks to use and 2 years to use them.


----------



## Timeshare23 (Jan 8, 2019)

DaveNW said:


> Surfing through available stuff to watch today on TV, I stumbled across this video on Netflix. This is the YouTube version. It's a timeshare resort in Florida that was abandoned after a hurricane did a lot of damage.  Does anybody know the backstory on this place?  What it was, and more important, why is it abandoned?  After this long, I'd think the place could be demolished and rebuilt.  The beach looks amazing. I think it was called The Colony.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It was a spectacular place. A second home - the tale of destruction was a long and convoluted one - and all started with one person's greed. It was the place where many now retired but very famous and successful tennis players trained - including Andre Agassi. The beachfront is beautiful - as is all of Longboat Key. Hopefully soon a new place will emerge from the rubble. It has been a very difficult history to experience - all the litigation and the loss of something so very special. Its a hard video to watch for former owners.


----------



## JohnPaul (Jan 9, 2019)

When I saw the title, I thought it might be Crotched Mountain Resort in New Hampshire.    Decades ago a developer started building somewthing like 20 buildings but only finished 5.  Those 5 have been kept up and are the Shell Crotched Mountain Resort.  The remaining buildings, which were at various stages of their build, have been left to rot.  It's a very odd experience to walk around them as they crumble.


----------

