The Old Dixie motel lives to hobble another day.
The special magistrate the county newly hired to conduct its code enforcement hearings agreed with a county finding that the decrepit motel on Old Dixie Highway is “unsafe,” “dangerous” and not habitable. The magistrate nevertheless sided with the hotel owners, rebuffing a county move to demolish the building.
“Ordering demolition is the most extraordinary remedy or order you can give in that respect,” Sean McDermot, the magistrate, said. “I don’t think there’s been adequate evidence submitted that would that would meet that burden to demonstrate that the structure is unreasonable to repair and therefore must be demolished.” McDermott is the city attorney for Gainesville. He will be conducting regular hearings for the county’s code enforcement cases that reach that level.
Robert Snowden, the county’s chief building official, issued a demolition order on Feb. 13. The owners appealed. The magistrate was hearing that appeal today.
“We’re not appealing” today’s decision, Assistant County Attorney Sean Moylan said. Had there been an appeal, it would have had to be filed in circuit court. The county is not ready to take that step just yet.
The result of today’s hearing is not a surprise, not when the bar is so high for demolition: it would have been surprising had the magistrate, on the county’s first try, cleared the way for bulldozers. But the magistrate, signaling clear understanding of the county’s case, is leaving the way open for the county to return to a future hearing and again ask for demolition, if the motel owners don’t stick to whatever timeline is now in play.
The owners provided just such a timeline to the county. The timeline sets out a plan for construction permits to be filed in October. If that new deadline is not respected, the county will return to the offensive. Today’s hearing, in sum, let the owners know that the county will not let up if they keep dragging things out.
“They just haven’t been serious about this project,” Moylan said.
But for two additional comments from members of the public–including from Jane Gentile-Youd, who told the magistrate he’d been “duped” by the motel property’s representatives–McDermott’s determination concluded a nearly two-hour hearing, most of it taken up by the Old Dixie motel case.
The county and representatives of the motel property each presented their case, questioning witnesses in turn. The owners of the motel were represented by Greg Kong, a local realtor who has coordinated much of their local business and been their chief spokesperson since they took ownership three years ago, when they also pledged to carry out in three months a list of works at the property that the county handed them, and to put up a $250,000 bond.
They did neither, though the list of works was eventually accomplished. That included clearing the site of debris, filling in the pool and installing a perimeter fence. The bond was never put up. The county is litigating that and awaiting a judge’s order on whether the owners should put up the bond. (See: “Old Dixie Motel Owners Tell Skeptical Judge They Have No Intention of Abiding by Repair Contract with County.”)
The property owners were also represented by Ofer Biton, who described himself as Gomez’s “right-hand man” but who the county considers to be among the owners himself.
Biton is a former supermarket operator in Israel who migrated with his wife and children to Los Angeles in 2000, working as a store clerk in a clothing store before moving to New York and starting a commercial real estate company. He lied on immigration documents and was federally indicted, pleading guilty to one count and serving a brief time in jail then a few months on house arrest before a year’s supervised release.
The county’s cases is simple: the property owners and their representatives made promises to redevelop the motel into a viable property. Kong in a March 2021 presentation to the County Commission promised what was to be the “Hotel Henry,” with a fabulous steakhouse. They have not kept that promise, nor have so much as filed for permits to indicate that work was at least ready to proceed, nor have they filed a site plan to indicate to the county that plans were proceeding.
“Do you think that three years is impossible” to get some of those pledges fulfilled, Moylan asked Kong.
“Based on the circumstances that they’ve been faced with,” Kong said, rattling off a series of challenges, from war in Ukraine, where one of the loans for the project was apparently hung up, to other issues, “I think it’s just kind of par for the course.”
“But didn’t you say that they purchased 28 commercial parcels close to the hotel?” Moylan asked Kong.
They had, in fact, bought 25 parcels plus a storage facility, Kong conceded. So they had money. It still wasn’t clear why they had not spent some money on getting the motel project built. “It sounds like they have resources,” Moylan said wryly. “it sounds like they have resources. Can you explain why after three years, we haven’t got a signed or stamped set of plans by which we could issue a building permit?”
“Again, this is my opinion. I think there’s been changes to the plans,” Kong said. “Along the way, there’s been some, you know, some confusion and just the changes that they’ve been making along the way.”
Biton, when he was questioned by the attorneys–Flagler Beach’s Dennis Bayer represented the property representatives–said $2.6 million had been invested in the motel property so far, drawing snickers from Gentile-Youd and a request by Bayer that the magistrate intervene to stop the disruption. Biton then added that the owners have a $6 million loan with Bank of America.
Under questioning from Bayer, Biton said the county’s expectations were impossible to meet during Covid. Bayer then went through a series of contracts the property representatives signed for surveying ($3,800), landscaping and irrigation design ($8,358), engineering (over $30,000), architect ($20,000), and so on.
Then Moylan asked him why the taxes on the property had not been paid. They were paid, Biton told him. “Today.”
Moylan pointed out that the loan agreement with Bank of America, that Biton had apparently just shared with the county, “was not signed by the bank. It’s not executed,” Moylan said. And it lists the borrower as “a real estate company to be determined. So is there in fact a loan agreement or not?”
Biton said Bank of America had provided a loan for the storage facility across the street from the motel. It isn’t clear how that related to the question Moylan asked. But so it went, with not a little touch of the surreal. He said the property owners engaged a new contractor called Calma Construction of Orlando.
The magistrate then issued his determination.
Keep Flagler Beautiful says
The magistrate from Gainesville wouldn’t order the most dismal dump in Flagler County to be razed, but if it had been a grove of irreplaceable oak trees? No problem. He doesn’t have to look at it every day, and I guess that’s how we roll in Flagler County. Destroy beauty and make us all feel like idiots for having moved here under the premise that yes, some of Florida is still unspoiled.
If that sparkling architectural gem is too important to tear down, why hasn’t the owner cleared out, repaired and painted the place of his own volition? Or is he waiting for the state to name it a historical Florida landmark and send him a plaque for the front door? Maybe when the roof caves in on a squatter and there’s a lawsuit, he’ll be moved to do something about it.
Atwp says
The old building saga continues.
Just keep driving says
Unbelievable, Flagler County can’t even win a lawsuit with a judge they hired and paid for.
Yes, citizens of Flagler it’s just your county tax dollars at work.
Now watch them spend a few more millions on dune restoration for private residents beach properties along A1A. Meanwhile they are planning to raise your taxes in order to pay for it and as history has proved over and over watch those very same millions wash right back out to sea when the next storm hits.
Flagler County Fl. USA where logic & competence are always on VACATION.
dave says
Another atty with NO FREAKING clue. ,. And this statement by the so called developer ” construction permits to be filed in October”. This is Nothing but tongue flapping. A delay tactic, they guy can blame his no action in October on the weather, hemorrhoids etc…
Mary Jane says
A Judge says the property is unsafe and dangerous but won’t allow it to be demolished??????Something wrong with that picture.
c says
“Maybe when the roof caves in on a squatter and there’s a lawsuit, he’ll be moved to do something about it.”
Yeah – there will then be a lawsuit filed against Flagler County for negligence in allowing this property to get into this dangerous state.
the stupidity just goes on and on.
Jane Gentile Youd says
What is amazing is that 90% of the blah blah from the ‘owners’ and their attorney was HEARSAY. Not one document was offered to the magistrate nor the county ( other than a blank Bank of America loan app). The Agreement signed willingly , one day before taking title to the property, executed a recorded Agreement giving the county permission to use the $250,000 to DEMOLISH the building if ALL permits were not in place and work in full progress no later than August 21, 2021. Neither the county attorney during this hearing, nor last week’s hearing in Circuit Court (on the county Motion for Partial Summary Judgment) ever READ the Agreement into the record, specifically requiring the latest date to pay the bond nor the permission to demolish. WHY?
Without any actual proof it is, and has been my opinion that the County Attorney and Growth Management Director are and have been playing footsies with this Biton and his gang for over 3 years and will continue until the citizens protest and get the media involved. Over $35,000 of our tax dollars have done to an ‘outside’ attorney who happens to be the former County Attorney even though our county attorney has a budget of close to $1million a year.
Smell a rat? I smell hundreds.
Here we go again says
You can walk right into the property. The fence is torn down and has been for many months. Why didn’t the Magistrate order them to secure the fence and remove existing debris? The developer and others on behalf of the developer was very happy and shaking hands with the county officials afterwards.