Longboat Key Club officially sold to Ocean Properties, new General Manager named

The executive management team at Ocean Properties, Ltd. announced that the purchase of the Longboat Key Club & Resort by one of their affiliates, from Loeb Partners Realty, will be effective Nov. 1, 2012, at which time the 410 acre property will be the newest addition to their extensive portfolio of hotels and resorts throughout Canada and the United States.

Also newsworthy, Jeff Mayers will be taking over the reigns from Michael Welly, who was manager for the past eight years, as the new General Manager and will oversee all aspects of the resort’s operations.  Jeff comes to the Resort from Sawgrass Golf Resort & Spa located in Ponte Vedra, FL, where he served as their General

Manager. He was an active supporter of regional development and tourism initiatives while in St. John’s County, serving as the Chairman of the Board of the St. John’s County Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the St. John’s County Tourism Development Council. 

“We are extremely pleased that the deal is now complete and we can begin to move forward with the day to day operations of this beautiful resort.  We are looking forward to a great season,” said Andy Berger, Vice President of Operations for Ocean Properties, Ltd.

“I cannot think of a more exciting opportunity, or a more beautiful property than the Longboat Key Club & Resort.  I look forward to taking the Resort to its next level of excellence and prosperity,” said Jeff Mayers, newly appointed General Manager of the Longboat Key Club & Resort.  “I commend the staff for their efforts to date that have allowed the Resort to achieve such recognition.  I look forward to being a part of the Ocean Properties family and a part of this distinguished community.”

As the Longboat Key News reported in August, The Longboat Key Club, then owned and managed by Loeb Partners Realty based in New York City, entered into a joint venture with Ocean Properties, Ltd., a major hotel development and operating group.

Sarasota attorney John Patterson told Longboat Key News back in August that the contract was in the due diligence phase. Sources then said the deal was likely to close by year-end and was not contingent on the outcome of the Islandside redevelopment rights, which at the time were being challenged in court.

Those rights were challenges by resident group the Islandside Property Owners Coalition, which prevailed against the Key Club and the Town of Longboat Key in finding the redevelopment approval illegal as well as the zoning changes subsequently undertaken by the Town.

Ocean Properties already owns the Hilton Inn on Longboat Key as well as the Lido Beach Resort and the Holiday Inn on Lido Key.

The Longboat Key Club is comprised of more than 400 acres, 45 holes of golf, the golf and tennis courts and club assets as well as six restaurants, the 9,000 square–foot Island House Spa, meeting areas and the Inn on the Beach Hotel with 218 rooms. It is recognized as a AAA Four-Diamond Resort and the United States Tennis Association gave it the “Outstanding Facility Award” for its Tennis Gardens.

Earlier this year, Ocean Properties released its plans to give the Longboat Key Hilton Beachfront Resort a $25 million renovation.

The plans include: a complete renovation of the largest structure, tearing down most of the remaining existing structures, building a new reception area, large water features, a large courtyard, new swimming pool, rooms angled to optimize waterfront views and a larger meeting space that would double its current size.

 

Family owned

The family of its president, Michael Walsh, controls Ocean properties. The company was founded in the 1950s by Thomas T. Walsh, a former linen and bedding salesman from Bangor, Maine as a small family business with one hotel and since has grown into one of the largest privately held hotel operating and development groups in North America operating 107 hotels with 17,936 guestrooms. Today, the company is managed by Walsh and his five children: Mark, Mike, Patrick, Bill and Susan.

Ocean Properties is the largest hotel company in Florida operating more than 30 hotels across the State. The Company has corporate offices in Delray Beach, FL; Portsmouth, NH; Montreal, QC and Vancouver, BC.

In addition to developing and managing hotels and resorts, Ocean Properties, Ltd & Affiliates develop and operate restaurants, spas, golf courses, commercial real estate, marina operations and boating tours, often on behalf of third party investors and lenders.