SandBoxBlogs: Snowmass Sun "Questions pile up about Base Village"

Update on May 19, 2012:

How much is Pat Smith of Related Cos and the same Pat Smith as a human being, "worth"? 

"Worth" more than say....Scott DeGraff?

"Worth" more than say....Tom DiVenere? 

How important is it to track the real money path? 

Not just the surface money. 

But every dime of late fees, charges, interest fluctuations as against cash flow, cash flow that is literally hijacked for years but then ending up right back at the same point of ownership as there was prior to the hijacking?

The money path of the collateral damage to everyone involved, including the communities, workers, vendors, suppliers and every dotted i and crossed t in-between?

Whose job is it?  The job of figuring out if harm has been done to someone with the former power of Pat Smith and all he touches?  The job of a reporter?  The job of voices in the shadows?  Or is it the duty of authorities to find out the real money trail and what happened?

Who decides whose job it is?  Is there really anyone in control of the laws?  Or do we even have law that covers this growing pattern of corrosive and systemic financial destruction of a powerful entity?

Personally, I am very sorry to hear Pat Smith is not involved in the present rebirth of Base Village.

After all, a person of such talent, vision and moxy to create such a wonderful concept and vision for a community he cares for and who now has a birdseye view from the sidelines of how far off course having not an authority in sight or his voice being listened to for years, Snowmass Village and the world of Aspen, Colorado really is.  It is a loss to not have Smith on board and should be of serious concern that success is going to be possible at all in the end.

I personally hope that view from the sidelines, as he watches the fruits of giving everyone what they asked for as an outcome come to pass, is a view that eventually holds the success of his original creation.

The best absolution, vindication and protection for those one leads through crisis is to forgive and live a happy life.

Here's to the outrageously profitable success (eventually) of the Base Village project.

On a side note, I also personally think Johnny Boyd's idea of an ultra high end casino (think Monte Carlo) is a fantastic idea...
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Original post on 5/17/12:
I'm having a very busy day today and will come back to this post with some commentary later on today or tomorrow.


 Brent Gardner-Smith:
"SNOWMASS VILLAGE — When Related Cos. announced May 1 that it had reached an agreement to buy its Base Village back from four European banks and settle ongoing litigation with those banks, executives at the private real estate company characteristically left many questions unanswered.

But after talking with a number of sources close to the deal, a few blanks can be filled in.

Is Related alone in the deal to acquire Base Village?

Yes, and no.

There are no other development partners besides Related, but there is a new financial lender involved who has not been disclosed, according to Snowmass Village Town Manager Russ Forrest.

Forrest was briefed on the deal earlier this month along with Snowmass Village Mayor Bill Boineau by representatives from Related, the banking consortium and Lowe Enterprises, which has been managing the asset for the lenders during and after foreclosure.

Pat Smith has no role in the new deal for Base Village, according to Forrest.

Smith, a developer from California, brought Related to Snowmass Village. He served as the first local point person for Related WestPac, the joint venture entity formed by Smith and Related Cos. to buy and develop Base Village and redevelop a long list of other property in Snowmass as part of a $2 billion project. Smith did not respond to requests for comment.

Aspen Skiing Co. is not in the deal either.

“We are not a financial partner with Related in any way on the Base Village project,” said Skico spokesman Jeff Hanle.......

.......The $96 million figure, however, might have been put forward by the banks for tax purposes, and might not have been the banks' desired selling price.

Related originally took out a $520 million acquisition and construction loan from Hypo Real Estate Capital Corp. and other banks in 2007, which was enough to build most, but not all, of the project.

In early 2009, Related defaulted on its loan package and was sued by Hypo Real Estate Capital on behalf of the lending consortium.

By 2011, the banks said Related owed them $399 million in principal, $90 million in interest, $3 million in attorney's fees, $2.7 million to pay for the receivership during foreclosure and other expenses. In all, the banks were seeking $507 million from Related.

In a foreclosure sale in November 2011, the banks put forward a credit bid of $138 million to take possession of the asset.

Related had earlier countersued the banks for failing to keep lending it money to build the project. The company told the court it had lost $213 million in investment funds in Base Village, as well as the chance to make $193 million in profits on the sale of $1.3 billion worth of real estate.

Once the deal closes, the transaction price will be disclosed, but it is not clear if the transaction price will be a clear indicator of the true market value of the project, as it might have been had a new developer stepped in to buy the project...."  (Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Who needs Siskel and Ebert"

"When the power is greater, the responsibility becomes greater."

Johnny Boyd has a powerful voice that he cultivates.

If Johnny Boyd had all the facts and only the facts minus third-party perception, I trust that he is reputable enough to have never made comments regarding Related Cos. 'default' on the original loan as he does today in the Aspen Daily News.

His voice is far too powerful to sway gossip and I trust that my high opinion and respect for Johnny Boyd's voice is not in vain.

Johnny Boyd:
"....Thumbs up: Related Companies has managed to purchase the Base Village from the German banks. Finally, the company that reneged on its loan to the German banks is able to pay less to get the same property back. After you walk away from a mortgage I have to wonder: Where do you get the credit to ever buy anything again? Can I just walk away from mine and turn around and buy my house back for pennies on the dollar? This is another example of no respect for the rules, because you make them...."
(Read more?  Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Related again takes Base Village reins'

To Related Cos.:   Well done.

There are many in the construction industry who will likely feel same or similar.   While at the same time,  also sending out a little wish that you can future recover, by the major success you will surely be at Base Village, the deep financial loss suffered at the hands of tort interference.

Think those black hearts and unscrupulous, borderline legal sharks that pulled what they did at Base Village  will ever be brought back into the fold of top level Aspen development  again?  Lordy, we all hope not.  Quite a few out here are very weary of seeing the good guys like Pat Smith and Tom Divenere taken such advantage of.

How much money do y'all think those allegedly corrupt scallywags made in their boondoggle?

.....hmmmm....let's speculate.... (in order of event...) a boondoggle done by yanking the cash flow, dangling carrots, upping the game in dollars and cents...yanking the cash flow again, throwing it all into bankruptcy, upping the game again in dollars and cents only this time dragging in homeowners too, dangling carrots, stringing along everyone including the local justice system and owners, yanking any glimmer of cash support but still collecting years of rents, etc. etc. etc.......and then finally...

(whisper...whisper...yes, this is  a "whispering campaign" ......hmmmm....interesting how fast this thing started shaking out as soon as the power of the Crowns and Skico got named in a lawsuit for alleged fraud)

..."allowing" "resolution"?  How much?  A few thousand?  A few hundred thousand?  A few million?  A few billion?

Nice work, if you can get it.  

Funny how these things never, ever get to full trial where the details that clear the good guys can get extracted out from the layers upon layers of spin and lawyers.

Gosh, sort of sounds like our affordable and employee housing boondoggles from certain developers end, doesn't it?  Nothing like generating the same sales over and over again every time there is a "default".  Great work, if you can take it.

Sincere congratulations to Pat Smith and Related Cos.  Whether he is a part of this next life of Base Village or not, there is a priceless value on getting your name and your pride back.

Well done.  Now, all the collateral damaged folks in the area have to do is forget their own losses  and move on.

(Be a good time to remember some related stories from the past, by clicking here and here.  And some current, similar stories here and here. )

Chad Abraham:
"Ending a tumultuous period of multiple lawsuits and uncertainty in Snowmass Village, The Related Companies announced Tuesday that it will reclaim control of the Base Village project from the consortium of European banks that foreclosed on the stalled development last year.

Related Colorado president Dwayne Romero said the “massive” agreement between his company and the banks’ affiliate resolves nearly all of the pending litigation over the project. The deal will transfer to a Related subsidiary, Snowmass Acquisition Co. LLC, the titles for: the Viceroy Hotel, the arrival center and parking garage, retail units, unsold condominium units in the Capitol Peak and Hayden lodges, the Little Nell building and other land parcels, according to a press release.

Town officials said they were cautiously optimistic that construction of the partially finished Base Village — which voters approved in 2004 as a way to transform Snowmass into a year-round resort — will resume sometime after the closing between Related and the banks is finalized. The closing could happen this fall, said Related spokesman Steve Alldredge...."  (Read more? Click title)

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."