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Florida Keys Keynoter,
MarathonMcClatchy-Tribune Business News
Feb. 10, 2007 - Miami developer Donahue Peebles has closed on
the acquisition of the Key Colony Bay Motel for $28.3 million at mile
marker 54 in Marathon. Peebles also closed on $83 million in
construction financing from Fremont Investment & Loan, the lender
that has previously financed other Peebles' developments in Miami,
Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Plans call for an ultra-luxury, residential resort called
Manoir Resort Villas on five acres with 72 furnished, waterfront
vacation homes, each with private elevator and roof terrace, priced
from $1.8 million. "New York has the Hamptons, New England has The Vineyard, and
Florida has the Keys," Peebles said. Marathon has quietly attracted a jet-set crowd to its airport
for decades. With Delta Airlines adding daily, non-stop service to
Florida Keys Marathon Airport from Atlanta next week the secret will
soon be out. "With Manoir, I will deliver what's been missing from the Keys
- a casual yet sophisticated, weekend getaway with unprecedented
five-star amenities," Peebles said. A national sales and marketing
campaign for Manoir Resort Villas is slated to begin this month;
construction will commence later this year with completion expected by
mid-2009. Each villa will feature interiors in keeping with the relaxed,
seaside lifestyle, two or two and a half bedrooms, private elevator,
gourmet kitchen, owner's storage and roof-top terraces offering
panoramic ocean and gulf views. The property will include amenities
such as multiple pools, spa and fitness center, restaurant and bar,
concierge staff, housekeeping services, laundry and dry cleaning, valet
and business services. The Coral Gables-based Peebles Corp., which has a portfolio
worth $1 billion, plans to convert the 80-room hotel into 72
condo-hotel. "We focus on a market that can support luxury," said Barron
Channer, in charge of acquisitions and development for Peebles. "There
is an upscaling trend that has been occurring in the Keys. Marathon specifically is ideally situated in what we want to
do. The airport, the golf course, the reef. It's really a
well-positioned location," he said in June 2006, when negotiations
began. The Marathon City Council gave approval to Marathon Hotel
Partners, owner of Key Colony Bay, to transfer its redevelopment
agreement for the site to Peebles. Peebles Corp. is known for luxury
development. It's built or redeveloped the $230 million Residences at
the Bath Club and $140 million Royal Palm Hotel in Miami Beach, and the
$53 million Courtyard by Marriott Convention Center and $112 million 10
G Street NE office building in Washington, D.C., among others. In addition to the Keys, it's now also got its eye on high-end
development projects in the San Francisco area. Peebles was named in
2004 by Florida Trend magazine as among Florida's most influential
people, joining the ranks of people such as then-Gov. Jeb Bush, singer
Jimmy Buffett and Bud Paxson, founder of Paxson Communications, a giant
in the cable TV business. For more information on Peebles, visit http://www.peebles corp.com. Channer said the property was purchased from Marathon Hotel Partners LLC, which lists its principle place of business as New York City and its registered agent as Marathon attorney Christopher Waldera. Channer said the target date for demolition is May 2007 and groundbreaking is expected to happen in August. ----- Copyright (c) 2007, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |