Winter Park seeks help to sell properties

One infamous Winter Park property still remains vacant two years after the city purchased it for above its appraised value – but help is on the way to finally bring about a deal.

The city of Winter Park recently brought on commercial real estate company CRBE to help assist them in their ongoing struggles to sell pieces of city land.

Under a three-year agreement with the city of Winter Park that kicked off in September, CRBE will help the city cut its real estate costs, monetize underused land and help the city in selling surplus land.

That could come in handy with lots like the one at 2600 Lee Road, which has seen little activity on the market since it was bought up by the city of Winter Park. That piece of land was once the site of a breast-shaped building – home to the city’s last remaining strip club.

The twin-domed profile of Christie’s Cabaret, formerly known as Club Harem, Club Rio and the Booby Trap, had drawn stares along Lee Road just east of Interstate 4 since the 1970s. The club changed hands several times over the years; but was finally razed to the ground in February 2015 after the city purchased the property in December 2014 for $990,000, a much greater sum than its appraised value at $830,000.

The city had been facing litigation regarding whether a previous adult entertainment business had “gone dark” for more than 90 days, thus depriving them of their right to operate. Winter Park staff advised that overpaying for the property would still outweigh the pending legal costs the city was facing.

That still didn’t sit well with Winter Park residents at the time.

“I don’t have any real problem with the building being there and I don’t have a problem getting rid of it,” resident Steven Roberts told the City Commission following their decision to purchase the property in late 2014. “What I have a problem with is losing money doing it.”

“That’s $160,000 for the sake of getting rid of a couple of boobs on Lee Road. That to me seems extreme.”

Ken Bradley, the mayor of Winter Park at the time, reasoned that the business had a history of crime and drug trafficking, and that getting rid of it was for the best.

“I think this is the right thing for Winter Park to do,” Bradley said outside the building moments before it was destroyed. “I’m proud to be here not because of what this stood for, but because of what it’s going to stand for in our city’s future.”

“It’s symbolic of what we’re doing in Winter Park to continue to improve.”

In May of this year the city had received an offer to purchase the property from a buyer named Nagi Youssef, who planned to start a medical office at the site. That deal never came to fruition though, and the city hasn’t received an offer since.

Winter Park Director of Planning and Community Development Dori Stone admitted the city has struggled to sell multiple properties within the city, including the old Progress Point site at the six-way intersection of Orange Avenue, Denning Drive and Minnesota Avenue that received few offers during a stint on the market.

The Blake Yard property, a vacant city-owned lot located at 301 W. Comstock Ave., is expected to be up for a notice of disposal and welcoming offers for purchase early next year. Many residents have spoken outwardly about their desire to see the piece of land turned into park space over the past several months.

Stone said she’s hopeful CRBE’s help will make a difference in getting city properties sold.

“We’re not in the business of selling real estate as a city,” Stone said. “There are people out there who do that better.”

“We brought CBRE in as our real estate brokers. So we’re leaning on them to help us do this.”