Harts buy $5M luxury Florida condoBy Andre Bagoo Sunday, August 9 2009
UDECOTT executive chairman Calder Hart and his wife Sherrine Hart have purchased a $5 million luxury Florida condominium in a complex built by contractor Turner Construction Limited, according to United States county records.
According to a warranty deed dated June 12, and filed at Florida’s Broward County Commission on June 22, the Harts acquired the luxury three-bedroom condominium at the Las Olas Grand complex at 441 North New River Drive East, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The Las Olas Grand project was built by the contractor Turner Construction Limited, according to Turner’s website. The company is a part of the consortium, Turner Alpha Limited, which has worked on the controversial behind-schedule $800 million Brian Lara Stadium project at Tarouba.
According to Broward County Commission records, Hart purchased the 2,635 square foot condominium from the Richard S Gore Trust at a price tag of US$800,000 (TT$5 million). But the warranty deed, which has been obtained by Sunday Newsday, notes a peppercorn payment of US$10 in exchange for the property in addition to any “other good and valuable considerations…in hand paid”.
The Las Olas Grand condominiums are housed in a 39-storey skyscraper overlooking the New River in Fort Lauderdale. The building houses 206 luxury residences.
“Come home to unsurpassed views of the New River,” boasts a greeting on the home page of the Las Olas Grand website. “That is just the beginning of what you’ll find at Las Olas Grand.” Under a header that reads, “Could it be any grander?” it continues, “Everything about this luxurious condominium is of the highest calibre to suit the lifestyle you’ve always wanted!”
According to the website, Las Olas Grand condominiums feature an array of amenities including:
“lavish” master bedroom suites with spacious walk-in closets;
“elegant” marble master baths with marble vanity tops, floors, shower/tubs and air conditioning;
kitchens with custom luxury Poggenpohl cabinetry, granite counter tops and “sub-zero” refrigerators.
jacuzzis, whirlpool tubs and “private water closet” areas;
vitreous china sinks and Kohler plumbing fixtures;
floor to ceiling sliding glass doors with tinted glass;
“expansive” terraces with tinted glass railings.
Additionally, every condominium in the building has access to common facilities such as billiards and card rooms as well as a sports bar and optional 24-hour valet parking.
Under the terms of the warranty deed for the condominium, the Harts are to pay the taxes owed on the property up to December 31, 2008. As at Friday, the Broward County Board assessed the taxes due for the year 2008 as US$13,934.49 (TT$88,000).
The Harts will be expected to pay real estate tax at about this rate annually as well as a “condominium fee” of a reported US$1,605 (TT$10,000) per month (TT$120,000 annually) to cover services such as security and maintenance.
This year, a Broward County property appraiser, Lori Parrish, valued the property at US $741,080 (TT$4.7 million). Her appraisal, which is referenced in the official Broward Country records on the transactions, noted a marginal increase in the value of the property for the year 2009 notwithstanding apparent declines in the land and building values for it based on figures for the years 2008 and 2007.
Before the sale to the Harts, the property had initially been put on the market at $999,000 (TT$ 6.3 million). Previously, the property had been sold to Richard S Gore, trustee of the Richard S Gore trust by Las Olas Grand Limited on August 2, 2005 at a price tag of US$794,430 (TT$4.9 million).
In an affidavit, also filed with the Broward County Commission on June 22, Gore noted that the property was subject to a mortgage by the GMAC Mortgage Corporation of Pennsylvania. However, as at June 2009, the outstanding principle amount had been completely paid off.
The Harts’ purchase of the $5 million luxury condominium comes after Sunday Newsday on June 7 exclusively reported the Harts’ purchase of a Home Mortgage Bank Cascade property at bargain real estate and mortgage rates in 2004.
At the time of that transaction Hart was a director of the HMB under its then chairman Andre Monteil. The Harts purchased the hill-top Cascade home at 6 De Lima Road, Cascade at a bargain $612,000 from the HMB on a Clico mortgage with a 5 percent interest rate. A stamp duty of $18,663 was also paid on the property despite the fact that at the time it would have been worth about $3 million, according to realtors.
In a certificate taken out for the sale of the new million-dollar Florida condominium on June 15, the Hart’s listed the Cascade property as their current address.
But while the Harts now appear to own two homes, questions were raised this month over the current residence of Mrs Hart, who was said by a former domestic employee to no longer reside at the Cascade address. The employee, who was let go by the Harts more than a month ago, said they could not say for sure whether Mrs Hart still resides at the Cascade property, or the new Florida home.
Mrs Hart’s reported relationship with two former directors of a company which the Calder Hart-led Udecott board awarded a $368 million contract is expected to be a key issue during the fourth phase of the Uff Commission of Inquiry carded to begin next month.
The inquiry proceedings have thus far seen parties, some commissioned by Udecott, criticise Turner Alpha for work done on the Brian Lara Tarouba project. At the same time, Turner Alpha was said to have left the project after it objected to the payment of millions worth of advances to contractor Hafeez Karamath Limited.
While the departure of Turner Alpha was reportedly set to snowball into court action, during the course of inquiry proceedings in May, Turner Alpha Limited project executive Mark Cytrynowicz said the company had reached a settlement with Udecott on the issue of fees. He also said it was paid $80 million by Udecott for work on the Brian Lara project up to November last year, but did not say when settlement with Udecott was brokered.
Lawyers acting on behalf of Udecott last month threatened legal action unless all of the inquiry’s commissioners stepped down. The commissioners, however, have refused to do so. Also last month, Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley called on Hart to be removed from the Udecott board. Contacted then for comment, Hart said, “Sorry, I have nothing to say to you.”
