Islamorada

Lorelei Associates, led by local developer Carl Lindback, purchased the The Lorelei Restaurant & Cabana Bar in August for $10 million and recently completed a remodel of the Cabana Bar which was severly damaged by hurricane Wilma.

Plans call for the famous watering hole to remain open to the public and the approximately 40 backcountry fishermen that launch from its docks.

The investment group's attempt to build a 10-unit gated condominium complex, on the bayside property at mile marker 82, was dealt a substantial setback Thursday, March 2, 2006, when the Islamorada Village Council recognized only two lawful dwellings on the site.



But in order to recoup its sizable investment, Lorelei Associates has bigger ideas for the rest of the property. Already, the group is selling dockuminium boat slips in the Lorelei marina for $200,000 each. The cornerstone of the plan is the condo complex on the southern end of the site, where Anthony's Clothing now sits.

That plan, however, hinges upon Lorelei Associates ability to secure 10 residential building rights under Islamorada's strict growth regulations. Eight of those rights, the Lorelei argued in a November application submitted to the village, already exist on the Lorelei property. Under a complicated new village ordinance, dwelling rights are deemed to exist if they can be proven to have been counted by officials in 1990, when Monroe County first instated its rate-of-growth ordinance, better known as ROGO. In the absence of such evidence, applicants can submit alternative documentation, such as aerial photographs and utility bills, that demonstrate the presence of units.

On Thursday, Lorelei Associates appeared before the Village Council to ask that seven mobile homes that once existed on the property and the Anthony's store site be deemed lawfully established dwellings. Four of those trailers were removed from the Lorelei in 1989, records show. Another two were gone by 1992 and one still remains. The store site was converted over from a residence in 1992 as well, Lorelei officials asserted.

Other developers have purchased and eliminated dwellings on other properties to transfer those rights to properties they wish to development. They have also traded dwelling rights between properties. Both of these alternatives are expensive. Stay tuned on this one.

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