News
COASTAL CHANGES
July 21, 2010
| Sea Island has been a favorite of Atlanta's well-heeled set for generations—but the resort has struggled in recent years. It undertook a $1B redevelopment just as the economy tanked. | |
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| This week, Sea Island Co. announced the sale of land to raise money to help pay down debt. Dallas-Based Stratford Land bought four tracts totaling more than 20K acres. The price was not disclosed. Stratford says it will be patient and wait for the right time, "even holding the land for years if it is advantageous to our patient investors.? The sale has hardly solved the company's financial woes. David Bansmer, president of Sea Island Co., says even as the company is completing the land sales, it continues to work with Goldman Sachs in the ongoing review of its strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company. ?This process began in February and is proceeding according to schedule,? he says. | |
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| Here?s a shot of The Cloister, part of Sea Island Co. The AJCreports that bidders for the coastal resort have been narrowed to just a few out-of-state companies and will likely be sold at a steep discount and divided up among two or more new owners. CEO Bill Jones III likely will lose control of the resort that his family has run since the ?20s, according to the AJC. |
