[NYguy]

amny

Entrepreneur proposing indoor ski mountain has unsuccessful past

BY ELIZABETH MOORE
February 11, 2007

The snowy-haired gentleman with the soft Dundee burr might have been painting a word picture of Riverhead officials' fondest dreams last week as he described what he had in mind for a vacant stretch of old Navy land up the road:

A $750-million destination resort with a 50-story indoor ski mountain that would make Calverton the home of Long Island's tallest building. An aqua park and Olympic-caliber training facilities. An environmentally friendly design that would create thousands of jobs and vault the region to the forefront of sports tourism in North America, serving world-champion athletes, preschoolers, weekend warriors and the disabled at a price they could afford.

Tom Stewart, the 68-year-old Scottish entrepreneur pitching the visionary resort, has established a consistent business record over the past quarter century, Newsday has found: Dramatic press conferences and public announcements. Extraordinary projects offering something for everyone. And no visible means of financial support.

Stewart would be the first to admit he's neither a builder nor a financier -- "I don't know what a bank guarantee even looks like," he said. On Saturday, he acknowledged that he's tried to build the same type of resort in cities all over the world, only to be scammed by business partners a half dozen times. None of his projects have yet been built.

But after a decade pursuing this resort dream, he believes his company, Stewart International Marketing, has finally reached a breakthrough to credibility after securing what he says is a deal with the Turkish government to build the world's largest indoor ski mountain on 200 acres in the Aegean city of Afyon.

Still, Stewart admitted he wasn't entirely truthful last week when he told the Riverhead Town Board that he was the chairman of Stewart International Marketing. In fact, he hasn't been chairman since 2004, when his estates were sequestrated by the sheriff of Dundee in a Scottish bankruptcy, and he left the board. This week he described himself to a Scottish newspaper as an "ad hoc" consultant. But he said the company, in which he owns a two-thirds stake, has appointed him to act on its behalf and "outside the country, I can call myself anything I want."

Riverhead Supervisor Phil Cardinale isn't so sure. "I would expect him to be chairman, because that's how he signs his letters," he said Friday.

And while Stewart last Wednesday pledged to invest $100 million of the company's own equity into the Riverhead project, he acknowledged the company's business filings don't indicate Stewart has $100 million in equity to invest. Its net assets as of 2006 were 254,229 British pounds, or about $500,295. That will change with the next filing, Stewart said Friday.

"The new accounts will show they have equity in the region of one hundred-and-something million," he said.

But a trail of financial failures and half-started enterprises follows Stewart and his North American chief executive, Delbert Freedline. Over the past decade, the two have announced the same type of indoor ski resort, and a variety of other athletic and economic development ventures, from Connecticut and the shores of Lake Erie to Lugano in Switzerland, Paris, Scotland, Poland and now Turkey.

"What it finally came down to for us was, 'Show us the money,'" said Matthew Galligan, town manager of South Windsor, Conn., where Stewart International Marketing's proposal for an $810-million indoor ski mountain preoccupied local business and government officials for three years before unraveling in 2000.

Scaffolding business folded[/b]

Stewart, a former hockey coach, admits he hasn't chalked up many financial successes. He built up a scaffolding business in the 1970s before the firm went into liquidation in 1983, according to the Dundee Courier newspaper. He owned and coached the Dundee Rockets ice hockey team in the early 1980s, but it went belly-up in 1987, according to press accounts. The Scottish Ice Hockey Association banned him from management or commercial involvement with the sport that year, for reasons it would not disclose.

But Stewart said the team wasn't insolvent and describes his banning as the result of local sports politics. He said the ban was later lifted. He has made several public overtures to buy other sports teams or launch sports ventures over the years in Great Britain, Switzerland, Poland and elsewhere, none of which has borne fruit.

Freedline, the Connecticut-based operator of a convention business, has a similar financial record. He forfeited his business in 1991 and declared personal bankruptcy in 1992, records show. He said the problems were caused by a client who failed to pay his bills. Freedline then promoted an $800-million public-private proposal to redevelop downtown Hartford that fizzled when the private money didn't materialize, the Hartford Courant reported.

In 1995, after securing a $1-million renovation of an old airplane hangar from Pratt & Whitney, he opened a trade show and exhibition hall called the Aero Center in East Hartford, a project embraced by officials as an economic development boon. But Pratt, which owned the property, kicked Freedline off the site after two years when he fell more than $100,000 behind on his rent, he acknowledged.

In March 1998, Stewart and Freedline joined forces in South Windsor, Conn., with a proposal for a snowdome similar to Riverhead's, on 160 acres just off Interstate 291.

Stewart promised to identify his backers as the project went forward, according to the Courant. As the cost of the project mushroomed, he asked for a $150-million subsidy, $60 million in tax breaks and a special legislative act to bypass the local approval process. But official enthusiasm faded and partners backed away after Stewart and Freedline repeatedly failed to show financing commitments, according to the Courant and Galligan, the town manager, and they allowed their options on needed parcels to expire.

But Freedline and Stewart said they were actively working with underwriters and spent $250,000 to prepare a direct private offering of securities for the venture when land-use problems, including wetlands and a holdout landowner, conspired to render their fundraising pointless.

[u]Pennsylvania proposal

In 2000, about the time the Connecticut proposal was unraveling, Freedline approached economic development officials in Erie, Pa., proposing a ski mountain complex on the shores of Lake Erie. Freedline asked for 100 acres on the waterfront, said Jake Rouch, executive director of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership. Lawmakers tentatively put $40 million in the capital budget for him, too, but officials viewed the project as "hopelessly overaggressive," Rouch said.

"Very candidly, we humored the idea along, but ... we didn't comprehend how you were going to cover the debt service and the electric bill, let alone payroll," Rouch said. "... A business that is reliant on a big chunk of grant funding to make the model work is an immediate red flag."

They last heard from him in January 2001. Freedline said he abandoned the effort after a strenuous but unsuccessful search for sites in the area, which is his hometown.

A few months later, Stewart was in Scotland, where he announced he was planning to build the world's largest ski mountain in Monifieth, a small town on the east coast, featuring a hotel, chalets and dormitories for 1,000 athletes and would operate a children's sports academy charging just one British pound per day.

"The finance is in place," Stewart told the Dundee Courier. "All we need is the planning permission."

When local officials expressed skepticism, Stewart insisted the project was solid, saying Mile Rock Funding of Erie, Pa., had brokered the funding.

The financiers were Victoria Fintrade of Nottingham, and they demanded fees in advance for arranging funding, Stewart said Saturday.

Business records show Mile Rock Funding is a business name owned by Reed and Vickie Larson, who filed for bankruptcy in October 2005. Reed Larson held a seat on Stewart's board from 2001 to 2003, records show. The Larsons could not be reached.

A month after his Monifieth announcement, Stewart held a splashy press conference at the Dundee Hilton to announce he had secured $700 million in funding for a sports, leisure and retail complex outside Paris.

That was also Victoria Fintrade, Stewart says. "They stood up at the meeting and told the whole project team it's funded, but we've never seen the money and he [the Victoria Fintrade financier] disappeared to Spain," Stewart said. British government records confirm that Victoria Fintrade took more than $2 million British pounds, or $4.1 million, in processing fees and insurance deposits from numerous clients without ever obtaining any funding for them. The company is insolvent and its directors have been disqualified from doing business. Its links to Stewart International Marketing could not be independently confirmed Saturday.

Two years later, Jagadish Raja, chairman of a Virgin Island-based venture capital company, Celestial Overseas Ventures, announced he was prepared to provide hundreds of millions to Stewart's ski projects. Raja, a Dubai resident, joined Stewart's board, but his millions never materialized, Stewart said.

Supposed investor accused of fraud in India

In 2005, Raja was being sought for extradition by Indian authorities in a fraud scandal, having been accused of siphoning off some $2.5 million in economic development funds to private accounts for his sister-in-law and others, according to news accounts. She was jailed in October 2005; as of last November Raja was "still at large," the Indo-Asian News Service reported.

Though Stewart cited the Monifieth project for Riverhead officials, he admits he hasn't raised any money for it nor submitted an application to build it, though he believes officials would approve it now to boost the area after a recent plant closing that left 2,300 unemployed.

Turkish officials announced last summer that studies would begin on Stewart's proposal in the city of Afyon, where railroad lands have been set aside for a SnowValley resort geared to attract foreign tourists.

Last Wednesday, one of Stewart's local attorneys, Mitch Pally, told the Riverhead board that construction in Turkey would begin next month. His partner, Morton Weber, told Newsday on Thursday that he had the deed to 200 acres of Turkish land. When Stewart's Riverhead qualifications are reviewed, he said, "we will have one of the Turkish ministers and maybe the Turkish ambassador have a conference with Supervisor Cardinale."

But by Friday Weber and Pally were less certain where the project stood. They also were unaware Stewart was involved in a bankruptcy proceeding and not the company chairman until asked about it by Newsday.

After a flurry of e-mails across several time zones, they produced a copy of a letter on Turkish government letterhead yesterday, attesting that Prime Minister Tayip Erdogan attaches high importance to the Afyon project and has directed that it be finished "immediately."

Turkish government officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Cardinale said he hopes Stewart succeeds in clarifying his bona fides for a project he calls "intriguing." But he's learned to keep his guard up when it comes to economic developers from far away.

Stewart, partners see failures as learning experiences

For their part, Stewart and his partners view the past decade of failed efforts as a learning experience. It has allowed them to hone their vision for a sports center that will transcend pure pursuit of profit and create an experience that benefits society on many levels.

"Our primary purpose is to attract and empower children," Stewart told the Riverhead board last Wednesday. On Friday, he added he hasn't been paid for his efforts to date, although he does have the ownership stake. "I don't take one dime," he said. "I can assure you I donated all my time and all my moneys to assure the success of a project called SnowValley being located anywhere."

But some veterans of his pitch say however pure Stewart's heart, communities pay a price every time they throw their efforts behind dreams that don't come true.

In Connecticut, a wealthy family was inspired by Freedline and Stewart's pitch and jumped in, designating their own land for the project and spending more than $1 million on development costs, according to Galligan and Stewart. Records show one family member, Jean Shepard III, joined Stewart's board and the family owns a 30 percent stake in the company to this day.

"I have seen the names [of the backers] and I have no doubt that it can be done," Shepard told the Hartford Courant in 1998.

He did not return calls for comment this week.

[bryson662001]

"hopelessly overaggressive"......I love that.

[Scruffy]

This is such a joke. For one thing, i doubt Suffolk County residents will let this one go through

[NYguy]

This is such a joke. For one thing, i doubt Suffolk County residents will let this one go through

It remains to be seen if that "developer" can even pull it off...

Tom Stewart, the 68-year-old Scottish entrepreneur pitching the visionary resort, has established a consistent business record over the past quarter century, Newsday has found: Dramatic press conferences and public announcements. Extraordinary projects offering something for everyone. And no visible means of financial support.

Stewart would be the first to admit he's neither a builder nor a financier -- "I don't know what a bank guarantee even looks like," he said. On Saturday, he acknowledged that he's tried to build the same type of resort in cities all over the world, only to be scammed by business partners a half dozen times. None of his projects have yet been built.

[Scruffy]

Nassau County is actually shrinking. There is the beginning of a exodus. I think it peaked in all honesty. Which is a shame. Its biggest issue imo, aside from the astronomical taxes, is lack of public transport. There are way too many cars per person in nassau. it feels like LA. LIRR doesn't do much for intercounty travel, only for NYC-Nassau travel. It needs some kind of light rail, but i prefer heavy rail going north south from glen cove to jones beach. but the economics of it wont work. they are always in debt. Projects like the lighthouse were a good idea. Too bad its not happening.

[kenratboy]

Where will they build the power plant to keep this thing chilled?

[zerokarma]

This will never be built.

[NYguy]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-liriv0920,0,6979056.story?coll=ny_home_rail_headlines

Town board chooses indoor ski mountain plan for Calverton property

BY MITCHELL FREEDMAN
September 20, 2007

Opening the door to the biggest recreational project ever proposed on Long Island, Riverhead officials have picked the firm to build a huge theme park and resort featuring a 350-foot indoor ski mountain that could be seen for miles.

The project would transform 755 acres, one of the last remaining large vacant parcels in downstate New York.

Riverhead's town board, hoping to lure millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tourists, voted 4-1 to start negotiations with Riverhead Resorts to build the theme park, including a water park and sports complex, in Calverton.

The $155 million pricetag on the land would be enough "to let us retire all of our town debt and still have $100 million bucks in the bank from this one deal," Supervisor Philip Cardinale said.

Cardinale said the project would have an immediate fiscal impact, significantly reducing taxes by providing a steady annual revenue stream of $10 million and swelling Riverhead's tax base.

"They will have 3.8 million square feet of floor area ... our assessor estimates that could be 10 percent of our town's tax base," he said.

Not everyone was so confident. Town Councilman Ed Densieski, the sole vote against it, said he thought the proposed resort was overly ambitious and would never be built.

"The town board is making a big mistake," Densieski said, saying the competing developer had offered a more realistic proposal, an auto racing center.

The board picked Riverhead Resorts' plan to buy and develop 755 acres of vacant town-owned land. Riverhead Resorts expects to spend between $1 billion and $1.5 billion over the next decade to construct a park that will also feature a snowboarding center, spa, wilderness resort and camping area.

There will also be a conference center with a 100,000 square-foot exposition hall for product and trade shows and conferences, 2,200 hotel rooms and 2,000 timeshare units.

The project will stand where Grumman Aerospace used to assemble and test F-14 jet fighters. That runway will be torn out and some of the pine woods that surround it leveled.

The vote by the town board, acting as the Riverhead Community Development Agency, does not close the sale, but simply designates Riverhead Resorts Llc as the developer.

Town officials are already talking about using a rail spur to bring in supplies, and carving out new roads, park and ride centers or bus routes to bring visitors. But construction -- under the most optimistic schedule -- would not start until 2010.

Mitch Pally, attorney for Riverhead Resorts, expects the two sides to reach an agreement by the end of the year, but the required state environmental review will mean actual construction won't start for more than two years.

"The full project will probably take 10 years to complete," he said.

There was one other bidder for the property, RexCorp/Long Island Destination Group, which offered $152.5 million for the land. The group planned to develop it as an auto racing and recreation center, with three tracks, an equestrian center, an indoor water park, ice rink, and stands to seat 10,000 people.

But Rex Farr, president of the Greater Calverton Civic Association, said he was pleased with the town board's vote. "We've been against auto racing from the get-go," he said. "Most of us believe that something will be done out there and we prefer Riverhead Resorts more passive use."

He said that, given his choice, the 755 acres would remain undeveloped, or perhaps farmed with oats and corn. But, Farr added, the property is too valuable to remain unsold. "This is 800 acres of the last prime real estate on the East End. People have been salivating over this for the last 10 years," he said.

In February, Newsday disclosed that Scottish developer Tom Stewart, the key backer of a plan to build a 500-foot high indoor ski resort on the Calverton property, did not have the $100 million in equity that he claimed. Stewart is no longer associated with the group.

Matt Frank of RexCorp, who made the group's presentation to the town, said he was disappointed in the town's decision. "I believe the other proposal was what the town wanted to be representative at the gateway to Riverhead," he said. "They feel that type of project is more in keeping with the nature of how they see their community. I have serious concerns if it will come to fruition as presented."

[STERNyc]

Before even considering this project they should attack the nightmare that is Long Island transportation and I'm not suggesting more highways, they should spend some money on a real mass-transit system, one with express stops and trains and north and south trains as well.

[dallasbrink]

are they serious?

[NYguy]

http://www.riverheadnewsreview.com/SUN/index/290028743653187.php

Riverhead Resorts gets nod
Ski mountain developers chosen over EPCAL Centre at 755 acre site

http://www.riverheadnewsreview.com/temporaryimages/bp47229.jpg

A drawing of the 90-acre lake and mountain resort proposed for the 755 acres at EPCAL in Calverton.

By Tim Gannon
9/21/07


The envelope, please.

And the winner is ... Riverhead Resorts.

The Riverhead Town Board voted 4-1 yesterday to begin exclusive negotiations with Riverhead Resorts for the sale of 755 acres at the Calverton Enterprise Park for $155 million.

The board had postponed a vote on Monday and asked Riverhead Resorts and EPCAL Centre, the other firm bidding for the land, to submit sealed envelopes with their revised purchase prices.

Both firms had come into Monday's meeting offering $125 million for the land, but prior to a Town Board vote, Supervisor Phil Cardinale asked both if they would like to increase their offer. Initially, he asked them to do so verbally at the public meeting, and had even recessed the meeting to meet privately with the principals of the two firms to discuss increasing their offer.

But when both sides said that making verbal offers would enable the other to increase their proposals based on what the other offers, it was agreed that the two sides would submit envelopes with their new offers in writing, and that these offers would not be made public until Wednesday morning, when the vote was rescheduled.

By Wednesday morning, Riverhead Resorts' bid was $155 million, while EPCAL Centre's bid was $152,484,043.99.

Riverhead Resorts also said it would offer revenue sharing in which the town would get $5 per person who paid to go to any portion of their complex. EPCAL Centre said it was offering the town 3 percent of the gross revenue of their entire project up to a maximum of $10 million per year.

Councilman Ed Densieski was the only board member in support of EPCAL Centre's proposal, although board members all agreed that both were good offers.

Riverhead Resorts' proposal called for eight separate resort areas, including an indoor ski mountain resort, an indoor water park resort, an equestrian resort, a heritage and entertainment resort and an indoor/outdoor sports resort and other features.

It proposes the construction of a 350-foot-high indoor mountain and a 92-acre man-made lake where the 7,000-foot runway sits now, as well as a hotel and conference center.

Its principals include Bayrock Group, an international real estate investment and development firm that is currently working on several projects with Donald Trump, and Baldragon Homes, a Scottish company that builds luxury homes in Scotland.

Jody Kriss, a senior vice president of Bayrock, said he was leaving the Riverhead Town Board meeting on Wednesday morning to attend a press conference with Mr. Trump in Manhattan to announce the opening of a new Trump Soho hotel project. John Niven, the chairman of Baldragon, said his company's work has been limited to Scotland until now, although he said he personally is buying a home in Wading River.

"We really wanted this," Mr. Kriss said when asked about their decision to increase their offer by $30 million in two days. "We think the notion of developing a resort in Riverhead will re-create the East End of Long Island."

He said the proximity to New York City also makes the site attractive.

"There's 50 million visitors to New York City every year," he said.

EPCAL Centre proposed a motor sports facility that included a 10,000-seat racetrack, along with an equestrian center, a hotel and conference center, an 8,000-seat indoor arena and other retail and entertainment ventures.

Its principals include RexCorp Realty, a major Long Island developer that is also working on the redevelopment of Nassau County's "hub" area near the Nassau Coliseum, and Long Island Destination Group, which includes Petrocelli Contracting, the firm that built the Atlantis Marine World aquarium in Riverhead and the Long Island Ducks' stadium in Central Islip.

"We felt we had the vision and the better proposal for the people of Riverhead," said Jim Petrocelli afterward.

Town Board members said their votes were based more on the proposals than on the money.

"I do feel that the difference between the types of development proposed, the anticipated impacts of each, and the financial benefits to the town and its taxpayers are weighed in the favor of the Riverhead Resorts project," said Councilman John Dunleavy. He added, "I respect the concerns of families with loved ones at the Calverton National Cemetery."

Some residents had expressed concerns about the effect of noise from a racetrack on the cemetery.

While a number of racing enthusiasts from throughout Long Island had backed EPCAL Centre, Mr. Dunleavy said, "this vote should not be about what Long Island needs, it should be what's best for the entire Town of Riverhead."

Councilman George Bartunek said his decision was based on the concerns of residents in the Calverton and Wading River areas and on his own preference for more passive recreational activities.

"Both projects have many venues in common, both substantially comply with the zoning standards that were adopted for the site and both organizations have practically offered to pay the town the same amount of money for the property," Mr. Bartunek said. "The choice comes down to one's preference of the type of recreation activity that will eventually be constructed and will most certainly alter the nature of the western area of the town forever."

Councilwoman Barbara Blass said both projects could be substantially altered in the future, should Riverhead Resorts not secure a height variance for the 350-foot-high ski mountain, or should EPCAL Centre not have been able to show it could eliminate noise problems at the racetrack.

"Why should we select either one of these now, knowing we could be dealing with a very different project in a few months?" she asked.

But Ms. Blass said that since she had to choose between the two, she chose Riverhead Resorts.

Supervisor Phil Cardinale said both applicants had indicated they were prepared to eliminate elements of their plan and come up with alternate proposals should the racetrack or the indoor ski mountain not prove feasible.

Mr. Cardinale said the next step is negotiations, then a qualified and eligible sponsor hearing to show that Riverhead Resorts has the resources and experience to do the project, and then a State Environmental Quality Review Act study of the project, which will take more than a year and which will most likely recommend changes in the project. He said both proposals also would probably need a direct-access road from the Long Island Expressway to the site in order to succeed.

Mr. Niven said there are many possible alternate uses if the ski mountain is not feasible.

Mr. Densieski, who for 25 years had raced stock cars at Riverhead Raceway, had supported the EPCAL Centre proposal all along. Mr. Densieski said he doesn't believe the indoor ski mountain will ever happen or succeed.

"Within a couple hours of Riverhead are some of the best God-made mountains and ski slopes around," he said.

"This is a very ambitious plan, and normally I like that, but this mountain is just over the top to me," he said.

Mr. Densieski said most people he spoke to preferred EPCAL Centre.

On Monday, Sid Bail of the Wading River Civic Association said his association was not supporting EPCAL Centre.

"We are not comfortable that the noise and traffic issues can be properly mitigated," he said. "Therefore, we don't support EPCAL Centre at this stage."

Rex Farr, the president of the Greater Calverton Civic Association, read a letter Monday saying his civic association felt the Town Board should not vote on either proposal yet and shouldn't be "bullied" by EPCAL Centre into making a decision; EPCAL Centre had threatened to withdraw its project if no decision was made by Monday.

On Wednesday, Mr. Farr said he was "delighted" with the decision to go with Riverhead Resorts, which had made a presentation at the civic association's meeting last Wednesday.

"We didn't take a straw poll, but the comments of people after the meeting were more in favor of Riverhead Resorts," he said.

Riverhead Resorts says it has no connection to Snow Valley, a similar indoor ski mountain proposal made in March. The leader of the Snow Valley proposal, Thomas Stewart of Stewart International Management in Scotland, had failed to disclose that he was in bankruptcy in Scotland and is no longer involved in the project, according to Mitch Pally, an attorney for Riverhead Resorts, as well as Snow Valley. He said Mr. Niven was an investor in Snow Valley, but has since walked away from that proposal.

Last Thursday, Mr. Cardinale asked Mr. Pally about reports that some former members of Stewart International Management) are planning legal action against Riverhead Resorts, claiming it stole their idea.

Mr. Pally said SIM was declared insolvent under Scottish law and that Riverhead Resorts has legal opinions from a liquidator that there are no outstanding claims against anybody involved.

"This is completely separate from anything before," Mr. Pally said.

[NYguy]

The other proposal...
http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/realestate/01lizo.html

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/04/01/realestate/01lizo.600.jpg

[NYguy]

Meanwhile...
http://www.riverheadnewsreview.com/NR/index/289921228916528.php

They can do it, so why can't I?
Downtown skyscraper proposed

http://www.riverheadnewsreview.com/temporaryimages/bp47320.jpg

Architect Martin Sendlewski with a drawing of the proposed 38-story condo building he wants to build on property he owns on East Avenue in downtown Riverhead.

By Tim Gannon
9/26/07


If a 350-foot-high building works at the Calverton Enterprise Park, how about a 347-foot-high building downtown?

Shortly after the Riverhead Town Board selected Riverhead Resorts as the company it sought to negotiate with for the sale of 755 acres at the Calverton Enterprise Park last Wednesday, architect Martin Sendlewski said he filed an application with the town building department seeking a Zoning Board of Appeals variance for a 346-foot-high building on East Avenue in downtown Riverhead, behind the former Woolworth building.

A centerpiece of the Riverhead Resorts proposal is a 350-foot-high indoor ski mountain that would require a height variance from the town ZBA in order to be built to that height.

The downtown building in question is located on 209 East Avenue and is owned by Mr. Sendlewski, who used to have his office located there. That building had previously received site plan approval for a five-story mixed use building with three apartments on the upper floors and office and retail uses on the lower floors. The new application is filed by a group called 215 Roanoke Avenue Corp., in which Mr. Sendlewski, whose office is located at 215 Roanoke Avenue, is a principal.

"I never would have imagined the Town Board would promote a 40-story building, but that's what they are promoting in an Empire Zone," Mr. Sendlewski said. "It's the same Empire Zone as in downtown, so this application just follows their lead."

The state Empire Zone, which covers EPCAL and downtown, provides tax breaks and other incentives to businesses locating within its boundaries. It is not a zoning category.

The Riverhead Resorts project is in a Planned Recreational Park zone in EPCAL, which has a height limit of 75 feet.

The town's zoning downtown would allow buildings up to 60 feet high, although currently, the tallest buildings downtown are said to be about 30 feet high.

Mr. Sendlewski said the proposed 347-foot-high building downtown would have 36 apartments and 38 floors. It would have retail and office uses on the ground floor and one apartment on each floor, although he said they may consider applying for a variance to put a restaurant on the top floor.

"It was very humorous. I was doubled over in laughter when I learned of it," Riverhead Supervisor Phil Cardinale said the downtown proposal. "The selection at EPCAL was of a year-round themed destination resort of world class and doesn't necessarily require a ski mountain."

He said Riverhead Resorts has indicated that it can substitute other uses if the ski mountain falls through.

Mr. Cardinale said he would not predict what the ZBA would be likely to do, but he feels it would be more unlikely that they would approve a 347-foot-high building downtown than one in a 755-acre recreation park in which 500 acres will be left undeveloped.

Mr. Sendlewski insists that the downtown application is serious, and said that in sending Riverhead Resorts to the ZBA and supporting their proposal the town will set a precedent.

"This is not a shot in the dark," he said. "It's obvious that the ZBA is going to be looking at other 40-story buildings in the future."

At presstime, no date for the ZBA hearing had been set.

[gripja]

They gonna need a 350 foot hill on Long Island since the amount of energy that will be needed to run that monstrocity will no doubt lead to quicker global warming. :cool:

[NYguy]

http://www.globest.com/news/1065_1065/newyork/167150-1.html

Town Board Approves $1.5B Resort Project

http://www.globest.com/newspics/lny_riverheadresortsrendering.jpg

By Natalie Dolce
January 3, 2008

RIVERHEAD, NY-Riverhead Resorts LLC contract with the town here was approved, following consideration of the draft contract and the Qualified and Eligible Sponsor evaluation in which the Riverhead Town Board determined it has the financial capability and qualifications to develop its proposed $1-billion to $1.5-billion project. The proposed project is a multiple-themed destination resort plan for the 755-acre former Grumman property designated by Riverhead Town on the Enterprise Park Calverton. The town approval authorizes the town supervisor to sign the contract negotiated with Riverhead Resorts over the past several months.

“Riverhead Resorts is thrilled to have satisfied this prerequisite and can now move forward with the engineering and environmental work which are the foundation of project and site development,” says Don Secunda Esq. of Weber Law Group, counsel to the project. Secunda tells GlobeSt.com that he expects that within about two to three years, all the permits for construction should be secure and construction can begin. “Not only are we confident that this project represents the highest and best use for this property but the down payment and community benefit payment which will be released to the town in 2008 are the first of the tremendous economic outcomes this project represents for the town and region.”

The completion of the QES process and the contract authorization allow the project to proceed with the detailed environmental studies and to initiate the State Environmental Quality Review Act including active community participation. Riverhead Resorts developed its project concept based on environmental parameters before its proposal to the town. The project team first outlined environmental protection zones for Pine Barrens, tiger salamander habitat, and other wetland and surface water features.

Multi-modal on and off site transportation planning for staff and the extended stay guests will reduce traffic impacts bringing visitors and workers to the site utilizing a variety of transportation modes. Guest transportation is provided to regional attractions including Riverhead shopping, entertainment and museum destinations, regional wineries, and East End beaches and locales expanding the economic impact and benefit of the year-round, extended-stay business and family guests from the metropolitan area, 100-mile northeast region, national and international air traveler markets.

[NYguy]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-liriv035523434jan03,0,892280.story

Riverhead officials approve ski mountain project

BY MITCHELL FREEDMAN
January 3, 2008


In the biggest real estate deal in Riverhead's history, the town has agreed to sell 755 acres of town-owned land in Calverton to Riverhead Resorts, which plans to construct a billion-dollar park featuring a man-made ski mountain.

Construction on the project, which must undergo an environmental review, is expected to begin in about three years with completion slated for 2012. The park would create about 2,000 year-round jobs, according to town officials.

In addition to the $155-million sale price for the land, Riverhead Resorts agreed to guaranteed payments of between $2 million and $16 million as the project goes through environmental reviews and a permit process that is expected to take from 23 to 36 months. Another part of the pact includes a proposal to return 15 acres to the town for park and recreation purposes.

Once the park is operating, Riverhead also would get 3 percent of gross revenue, as well as separate tax payments from the project and its hotel rooms.

The Riverhead Resorts proposal for the land at Enterprise Park features a 350-foot-high man-made ski mountain, an indoor water park, a sports resort, a white-water wilderness resort, a conference center and an equestrian resort. It would have about 2,200 hotel rooms and 2,000 timeshare units.

Morton Weber, attorney for Riverhead Resorts, said that, regardless of the economic conditions when construction begins, Riverhead Resorts has the financial guarantees to build the project.

"The financing is secure, and will be secure," he said.

Before the board voted, there was an hourlong public comment period on the resolution authorizing Supervisor Phil Cardinale to sign the contract. As in numerous previous hearings, a group of auto-racing enthusiasts who support an alternate development plan featuring three racetracks spoke against the sale.

But several town residents also came out and said they do not want the traffic and noise that weekend auto races would bring. Dave Macknee of Riverhead said the idea of building a noisy racetrack near Long Island National Cemetery at Calverton was disrespectful.

"They wouldn't build a racetrack across from Arlington [National Cemetery]," he said.

Mark Lembo of Wading River, who a decade ago opposed the use of Calverton as an active jetport because of the attendant noise and congestion, said this was the same battle. "A racetrack is just a jetport on wheels," he said.

The board vote to authorize the signing was 3-2, with newly elected town board members James Wooten and Timothy Buckley voting against it.

Wooten said he had not had enough time to study the detailed contract. Buckley said a 7,000-foot-long runway at Calverton - left over from when Grumman Corp. used the facility to build and test F-14 Tomcat fighters - would be destroyed and replaced with a man-made lake.

He called it "an irreplaceable resource" that would be lost if the Riverhead Resorts project is not completed.

Issues the project must navigate

The Riverhead Resorts project in Calverton faces a series of environmental reviews and permit applications, which could take two to three years. They include:

Environmental impact. Assessment of the 755-acre resort's effect on local wetlands and the nearby Peconic River.

Height waiver. Riverhead Resorts must get an exemption from the height requirements in the existing Riverhead building code for its proposed 350-foot man-made ski mountain. Riverhead Resorts officials have said that if such an exemption is not granted they would modify that part of the project to meet town height limits.

Sewer service. The county Health Department must approve the sewer system that will serve the complex.

Construction plan. The town Building Department must approve the site plan for the land and actual plans for construction.

[Roy McDowell]

Jeff Gordon's new retreat? ;) I thought NY already has a NASCAR track over in Staten Island..why another one? Don't get me wrong I absolutely hate NASCAR with a passion. They should take out the golf course over in Brentwood and build the resort right next to the LIRR station just off Long Island Avenue but then the access to I495 would be a little off.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/04/01/realestate/01lizo.600.jpg

[NYguy]

Jeff Gordon's new retreat? ;) I thought NY already has a NASCAR track over in Staten Island..

NASCAR has backed out, and has been trying to sell that land. Something else was planned, but I forget what.

[the urban politician]

Wow, a ski slope in Long Island?

There goes Vermont's tourist industry...

[NYguy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/realestate/20lizo.html?_r=1&ref=realestate&oref=slogin

Riverhead Beholds a Mountain

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/01/20/realestate/lizo-600.jpg
ASCENDANT VISION Riverhead has signed a contract for a year-round complex whose centerpiece would be an indoor ski mountain.


By VALERIE COTSALAS
January 20, 2008

EXCEPT for its hilly western North Shore, most of Long Island is as flat as a Midwestern prairie. But if a group of developers and resort designers succeed in building a year-round resort in Riverhead, a new mountain will rise in Suffolk County.

A developer, Riverhead Resorts, struck a deal with the town of Riverhead early this month to pay $155 million for 755 acres of flat land in Calverton and build a complex whose centerpiece would be an indoor ski mountain. At 350 feet, the mountain would be about 50 feet shy of Jayne’s Hill, Long Island’s highest point, farther west in Huntington.

“This is the largest and potentially most significant contract that Riverhead has signed at that site, which it has been trying to develop since 1998,” said Phil Cardinale, the Riverhead town supervisor.

That was the year that the United States Navy transferred to the town a 2,900-acre parcel — land that, for 40 years prior, had been leased to Northrop-Grumman to build and test F-14s and other Navy aircraft.

Various proposals over the last decade have stalled and failed, including two for golf-course communities with hotels and one for a motor sports racing resort. An earlier proposal for a ski mountain was scuttled after it became known that the developer was counting on proceeds from a not-yet-built resort in Turkey to finance the Riverhead project.

The Riverhead Resorts proposal is the first to reach the contract stage, Mr. Cardinale said. In addition to the ski mountain, the plan calls for seven other parks around a 90-acre man-made lake, and a conference center with a 100,000-square-foot exhibition hall. Each park is associated with a hotel offering both rooms and time-share units, according to Mitchell Pally, a lawyer with Weber Law Group, which represents Riverhead Resorts.

Among the units to be incorporated are a water park, an equestrian center with trails, a spa and botanical garden, a wilderness resort with camping facilities, a sports park with fields and courts, and a seaport-style village with a farmer’s market.

The town council backed the sale by a vote of 3 to 2. The contract includes clauses that would ensure income for the town even if the developer ultimately failed to buy the land or build the resort, Mr. Cardinale said.

To start with, Riverhead Resorts would pay $2 million just to sign the contract, he said. It has six months to back out, but if it did, it would pay an additional $4 million. After 23 months, the developer must close on the sale, or pay $2 million for each of five three-month extensions. The developer must also pay the town’s attorney and consultant fees up to $350,000.

If the developer buys the land for the $155 million stipulated in the contract, it will pay the town an additional $5 million for a new town animal shelter and a recreation center with swimming pool, and another $1 million for sewer district improvements unrelated to the resort project. When the resort starts operation, most likely by 2012, the town will receive 3 percent of gross revenues, Mr. Cardinale said.

“There is some skepticism within the town that we will build the project,” said Mr. Pally, the Riverhead Resorts lawyer. “But we are so confident that we will build the project that we can agree to give the town money even if we don’t.”

One of the dissenters on the town council, James Wooten, thinks the plan is short on detail and long on ambition. There has been no mention of the resort’s electrical power sources, he said, or sewage treatment and zoning issues, including the height of the ski mountain. The maximum building height allowed in Riverhead is 75 feet, he said.

“That particular part of the project will have to go through so many hurdles,” Mr. Wooten said.

Aside from the Riverhead zoning variance, the mountain would need Federal Aviation Administration approval. Jim Peters, an F.A.A. spokesman, explained that air traffic experts would need a detailed site plan for the project, to determine whether the ski mountain would interfere with flight patterns.

The ski mountain is the anchor for the project, Mr. Wooten said, so if it cannot be approved, the project that Riverhead Resorts presented may never be built. “They may come to the realization that they have to change the whole scheme,” Mr. Wooten said. “I can’t vote for something that’s just not tangible.”

Some civic associations have taken a wait-and-see attitude that has amounted to tacit support, but Mr. Wooten believes that is because they so disliked an earlier proposal from the Long Island developer Scott Rechler of Rexcorp Realty.

Mr. Rechler had sought to create a motor sports resort with racetracks and a rally course, but local residents were worried about noise and traffic, according to Sidney Bail, president of the Wading River civic association, which is partly in Riverhead and partly in neighboring Brookhaven.

And even though there will be less noise associated with the Riverhead Resorts proposal, Mr. Bail’s group is still concerned about the traffic it might generate. “There are no economic benefits outside of Riverhead,” he said.

According to Mr. Pally, the year-round ski-mountain resort may use a combination of off-site parking and shuttle buses to take visitors to the resort and to nearby shopping, beaches and wineries. He added that planners expected tourists to visit for several days, much as they would at Walt Disney World.

The resort would be part of a bigger plan for the 2,900 acres. The developer Jan Burman bought 500 acres for industrial development in 2001 and has sold 200 to manufacturing companies. Last September, Rechler Equity Partners, owned by Mr. Rechler’s relatives, went into contract with the town to buy another 300 acres for $35 million to build a light industrial park.

But residents stand to gain perhaps the most from the Riverhead Resorts proposal, Mr. Cardinale said. If it is built, the resort will add up to 3,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs, he said, and increase the assessed value of taxable properties in the town by nearly 15 percent.

[NYguy]

http://www.globest.com/news/1120_1120/newyork/169281-1.html?sector=newyork

Large-Scale Projects Must Know Playing Field

By Natalie Dolce
March 24, 2008


RIVERHEAD, NY-How many hoops must be jumped through to get to the end of a $1.5-billion project? A lot, according to attorney Don Secunda of Weber Law Group LLP, who takes GlobeSt.com on a behind the scenes look at the Riverhead project, one of Long Island’s largest developments. "Behind every deal, whether it is a large-scale development or small acquisition, there are number of things to consider before reaching the closing gate," explains Secunda. "An important aspect to consider is the need for those behind the scenes who know the playing field."

Secunda, the legal counsel behind Riverhead Resorts LLC's proposed 4.8 million gross sf of upscale hotels, condos and resorts project on 755 acres on the East End of Long Island, tells GlobeSt.com that it isn't as easy as just creating a concept and then developing it. "The project will take four development phases over 10 years," Secunda says. "It will be at least two years from now before a shovel goes into the ground."

More than a year was consumed in negotiating the contract with the Town of Riverhead and getting through the required hearings, Secunda explains. "My client, John Niven, spent years ruminating over the details of his ambitious project and deciding who might constitute his 'dream team' of professionals which could actualize the concept." Niven, the chairman of Baldragon Homes Ltd., a builder of luxury homes in Scotland, had built more than his share of large residential developments, according to Secunda, however, this would be his first foray “across the Pond” for business.

"His vision of the project was of a magnitude that would make any experienced builder in New York flinch," Secunda says. Niven decided that the first thing to do was to find a good law firm. The firm would need to have attorneys who knew the playing field of development work on both the legal and business sides of the fence, Secunda explains, adding that "the attorneys would be his eyes and ears in this country. They would need to know the correct people in government and in the real estate community who paralleled those he dealt with at home."

Weber Law Group was recommended by the broker for the Town of Riverhead, Jack O’Connor of Newmark Knight Frank. "Brokers have always been a good source of referrals for law firms, particularly for those lawyers who are deal makers as opposed to deal breakers," Secunda says. "As legal counsel, we helped identify the key professionals in various disciplines and negotiated their contracts."

Legal council and the developers are only a few of the players involved The Riverhead team consists of Leisure Entertainment Development and Operations International Inc., to define and validate the project and to operate it upon completion; HOK and HOK Sport, to be architects of record; San Francisco-based EDAW, to perform site planning duties; Cameron Engineering, for all engineering including spearheading environmental impact studies; and Rubenstein Associates, for public relations.

Secunda explains that the team's first task was to analyze the zoning to see if the project was feasible; the zoning is Planned Recreational Park. "All of the proposed uses are as-of-right."

Secunda says that the only glitch is that the mountain which would house the indoor ski facility was planned to be 500 feet above grade. Zoning allows 75 feet, and 500 feet or taller presents an FAA issue as a hazard to air traffic. “We dropped the height to 350 feet, which also is more palatable to the local community. Understand that from the outside, the mountain would be just that: an integrated piece of the landscape with terraced plantings so as to not intrude on the vistas."

Secunda says that all of the resort is contained inside, which means that there are a lot of coverage issues to deal with. "Our concept is to build the structures in the other seven resorts lower than allowed and to transfer the air rights to the mountain. Either we will seek a variance or the zoning ordinance will be re-written to allow for transferable air rights. This is still a pending issue. We are working with the planning department to obtain the result that benefits the town and the project."

These are only a few of the many issues that surround a project of this size, and it is only one of the many developments on the boards here that will play a key role in the advancement of Long Island's economy. Another development that will add to the island's fiscal soundness includes the $2-billion mixed-use project being proposed by the Lighthouse Development Group in Nassau County.

[NYguy]

http://www.nysun.com/new-york/proposed-resort-has-indoor-skiing-water-park/78806/

Proposed Resort Has Indoor Skiing, Water Park

http://www.nysun.com/pics/1059.jpg

Indoor Fun A planned indoor water park would be set amid the bucolic pine barrens and farms on eastern Long Island. Developers envision a gleaming $2 billion complex of eight resorts in one, including a 35-story indoor ski mountain.


By Associated Press
May 29, 2008

GARDEN CITY — The 35-story indoor ski mountain would soar over bucolic pine barrens and farms at the twin forks of Long Island.

Developers envision a gleaming $2 billion resort complex, rising out of a Cold War airfield where the Navy once tested fighter jets for "Top Gun" pilots.

But environmentalists are already lining up to fight the ambitious project, which also would feature an indoor water park, a convention center and hotel, a winery, equestrian trails, campgrounds, an artificial lake, and a spa surrounded by botanical gardens.

"Mega-development ... could turn rural Calverton into modern-day Orlando," a recent press release from the Long Island Pine Barrens Society stated.

It's been a decade since the Navy gave the town of Riverhead — some 75 miles east of New York City — about 6,000 acres of property once used by defense contractor Northrup-Grumman to test F-14s and other aircraft.

Half of the land has already been set aside as a preserve; the other half is designated for development.

Now a group of investors including Scottish home builders, Baldragon Homes Ltd, and real estate developers Bayrock Group LLC, have signed a $163 million deal with the town to transform 750 acres into what they call Riverhead Resorts.

An attorney for the proposed resort, Mitch Pally, tries to emphasize the diverse features of the project, but concedes most of the questions he gets are about the ski dome.

"Americans are very parochial," he explained. "If we don't have one in this country, we assume they don't exist. There are over 50 of them operating in the world today."

Indeed, from Australia to Scotland to Dubai, ski enthusiasts have been schussing down indoor ski resorts for years.

In America, an indoor ski slope is due to open later this year in the New Jersey Meadowlands, and other projects are in various forms of development outside Atlanta and in Las Vegas and elsewhere.

The project is at the confluence of two popular tourist destinations — the south shore Hamptons and the north shore wine region — that draw big crowds in summer. The developers want the business year-round.

"This has to be a 365-day resort or we're not making money," Mr. Pally said. "We have to provide basically the same guest experience in January that we do in July."

Marketing surveys, he said, have found that 40 million people live within a six-hour drive of the site, and he has designs on the international traveler, as well.

"There are 50 million visitors who go to New York City every year," Mr. Pally said, applauding Mayor Bloomberg's tourism push. "As I always say, the mayor's getting them from Germany to New York. All I got to do is get them from New York to Riverhead."

But before Mr. Pally starts loading tourists onto the Long Island Railroad for the hour-plus trip from Manhattan, he must get at least 18 regulatory approvals from various government agencies, many of which focus on environmental concerns.

That's where opponents are gathering for a brawl.The property is considered part of the Pine Barrens of Long Island, 100,000 acres of relatively undeveloped land that sits atop an aquifer system that is the sole natural source of drinking water for the island's nearly 3 million residents. Because of its critical ecological role, state and local laws limit the type and scope of development in the region.

[Scruffy]

this project has gone on far further than i thought possible. I thought it was gonna be a dead proposal after a week. very interesting to see how this plays out

[NYguy]

this project has gone on far further than i thought possible. I thought it was gonna be a dead proposal after a week. very interesting to see how this plays out

It'll be another battle with NIMBYs for sure...

"Mega-development ... could turn rural Calverton into modern-day Orlando," a recent press release from the Long Island Pine Barrens Society stated.