South Padre Island 700 Acre Land Auction > South Padre Island Real Estate - Alice Donahue

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South Padre Island 700 Acre Land Auction
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The Houston office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) sale listing of 730 acres (538 developable) of unimproved land in South Padre Island, Texas is being sold at a live auction on Tuesday, July 24th in Corpus Christi.

HFF managing directors Jeff Hollinden and Robert Williamson and associate director Barbara Guffey are representing the seller, Michael B. Schmidt, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee for the Zohouri Group South Padre, L.P. Bankruptcy Case No. 06-10875. The basic terms of the auction include:

Price: $38.0 million
Required Deposit to Attend: $150,000
Minimum Initial Overbid: $300,000 ($38.3 million)
Subsequent Increments: $50,000

In addition to price, improved terms such as increased deposit, shortened feasibility and closing periods will be taken into consideration in making the final award of the sale.

Parties interested in attending, please email Candace Wise (cwise@hfflp.com) and copy Mr. Schmidt (m_schmidt@swbell.com). Interested parties will then be provided a current form of contract, current title policy, wiring instructions for the title company deposit, the Motion to Sell, exact location and other pertinent details.

The development site, situated three miles north of the city of South Padre, encompasses the full half-mile width of the island and provides approximately 7,785 feet of beachfront footage along the Gulf of Mexico and the Laguna Madre Bay. South Padre Island is a 34-mile long barrier reef island at the southernmost tip of the Texas Gulf Coast. The buyer of the site will be able to establish all zoning and master planning, which could include uses such as mixed-use, high-rise condominiums, multifamily, single-family, entertainment, lodging, recreation, marina and retail pad sites.

HFF (NYSE:HF) operates out of 18 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital market services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF offers clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, structured finance, private equity, note sale and note sales advisory services and commercial loan servicing.

South Padre Island has seen its share of developers who have come and gone over the years which is why it is important when looking into new developments to check out who is behind the project.

The new Wild Sands development on the north-end is a Seaoats Group project, the same developers of the nationally acclaimed Cinnamon Shore project on Port Aransas' Mustang Island. With a developer like Seaoats Group who has a proven track record of quality and success, you can feel comfortable that the project will be completed and also that it will be completed as designed.

We think that the mega-size plans that the Zohouri Group had for all that property on South Padre Island and Mustang Island were a stretch for our area to begin with.

Wild Dunes is now Wild Sands - New Name with Larger lots!

Wild Sands is located on the most ideal spot of the north end of South Padre Island. This is one of the widest buildable areas and has some of the tallest sand dunes on the entire Padre Island chain. We shot some video standing on a 25' sand dune on the ocean side, just wait until you see this! There is nothing else like it on Padre Island. You'll think we took the video from an aerial shot.

South Padre Island is growing to the North and Wild Sands is one of the first new neighborhoods available at an attractive price. It will offer residential lots from beach to bay and create a remarkable living environment on this pristine section of our Island. Comprised of 60 lots, Wild Sands will be a master planned community with upscale design guidelines and amenities.

The name of Wild Sands was changed because the "Wild Dunes" name was already trademarked by another development on the east coast. Those yankees took our name, but not our fame!

Click here to learn more about this great new development!

Comments

By TD @ Monday, July 16, 2007 4:06 PM

What does this do to Wild Sands? Seems like very bad news that Zol decided not to develop in South Padre.

By Ben @ Tuesday, July 17, 2007 8:30 AM

Did they decide not to develop or go bankrupt? Are they still proceeding with other projects on Mustang Island, etc.? Seems like this could be a great opportunity for a large scale multi-use developer...

By Ben @ Tuesday, July 17, 2007 8:30 AM

By Yvette @ Tuesday, July 17, 2007 9:06 AM

By Deleep @ Saturday, July 21, 2007 8:43 AM

This land does not have power or water? How can land north of this claim to have power and water on the way? These things have to be done in a linear fashion. Confusing.

By mikead @ Saturday, July 21, 2007 11:49 AM

Plans have been firmed up to track 14 so far. - for all utilities.

By Globest.com @ Saturday, July 21, 2007 11:51 AM

Jeff Hollinden, managing director with Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP's Houston office, says that, given the interest in the site, there should be a lively bidding war for the land, which is on Texas 100, three miles north of the island's business center. "We've gotten a lot of inquiries from traditional developers, land investors, private investors and opportunity funds," he says.

Hollinden, along with HFF managing director Robert Williamson and associate director Barbara Guffey are representing the seller, Michael B. Schmidt, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee for the Zohouri Group South Padre LP. The former owner was Atlanta, GA-based developer Fred Zohouri, who in conjunction with Houston real estate executive Jose Lora, had acquired the land in May 2006. The developers planned to build high-end, mixed-use developments on the site, as well as on other sites in Texas and Florida, but filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2006.

Hollinden tells GlobeSt.com that the developers' economic woes shouldn't impact the property's potential for future uses and development. "There wasn't a problem with the land. The developer went bankrupt on a corporate level because of cash-flow difficulties," Hollinden comments. "He simply didn't have enough cash with all the investments he had around the country."

The land has approximately 7,785 feet of beachfront footage along the Gulf of Mexico and the Laguna Madre Bay, and encompasses the entire width of the island. The site's buyer will have the ability to establish zoning and master planning upon acquisition.

ByJennifer Hiller MySA.com @ Sunday, July 22, 2007 7:29 AM

The Zohouri Group South Padre purchased the property a few years ago and showed off renderings of their plans for the property, said Roxanne Gunezel, president of the South Padre Island Chamber of Commerce.

The company had planned a condominium and single-family development called Renace.

"They were upbeat," she said. "They certainly gave the appearance of solid financing. They had pretty grand plans. After a time period, we just didn't hear from them."

There's a reserve buyer willing to purchase the land for $38 million. The opening bid for the property will have to be $38.3 million, under the rules of the auction.

Subsequent bids will have to come in $50,000 increments.

Bankruptcy documents estimate the value of the property at $70 million.

The buyer would be able to establish all zoning and master planning, Hollinden said, or would be able to subdivide the property and to resell it in smaller parcels.

There are no utilities serving the property, but a paved road cuts through the land.

Gunezel said the land may seem remote, but development and the city limits are growing in that direction.

"That's getting to be pretty close into town," she said. "If they're auctioning it, they should get some interest. It would be a pretty prime development area."

Finding large tracts of undeveloped coastal property is becoming increasingly rare.

According to the state's General Land Office, just 26 miles, or 7 percent of the Texas coast, is considered available for development. Most of the coastline — around 78 percent — is either parkland or wildlife refuge, or is considered undevelopable because federal flood insurance is unavailable.

The auction will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Corpus Christi.

Those interested in bidding on the property should contact Holliday Fenoglio Fowler at (713) 852-3500.

By Ken T. @ Wednesday, July 25, 2007 8:22 AM

So, who bought this parcel? How much?

By mikead @ Wednesday, July 25, 2007 12:07 PM

730 acres of land on the north-end of South Padre Island was sold at a live auction on Tuesday, July 24th in Corpus Christi for 81.5 million dollars by a group from Dubai.

By BHC @ Thursday, November 08, 2007 2:00 PM

what is latest with this tract of land? Is it coming back to market....or planned for development? Who controls it?

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