Quail West owners give away amenities

Quail West owners give away amenities

The Bonita Bay Group's club sales in Lee and Collier counties showed clearly that community amenities have a lot of value to homeowners in the communities.

Late last year, the Bonita Springs-based developer sold amenities in The Club At Mediterra, The Commons Club at The Brooks and Shadow Wood Country Club to its respective member groups for about $15 million.

So then why would Quail West Development Co., the owner of much of the 1,180-acre Quail West community in Naples, give control of club assets and amenities to the member-run group, Quail West Foundation? The developer's own press information appraises the club assets and amenities at more than $20 million.

The main reason, according to Bill Price, part owner of Quail West Development, is the small price the group paid for the property. The partnership paid just $13.5 million to acquire 262 undeveloped home lots, the country club, two golf courses and the amenities from the community developer, a bankrupt affiliate of the Ginn Cos.

“When we bought it for that price we were comfortable with just being developers,” Price says. “We retained ownership of the unsold memberships, so we receive revenue from selling them and the sale the lots. The economics worked for us. We felt that was good enough.”

In addition, the transfer also served a goodwill gesture to members and homeowners, according to Price.