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NICOLE JOHNSONThe resort's sale is expected to be final by the end of the month.
PALM HARBOR - After seven months of searching for a buyer, the owners of the Westin Innisbrook Golf Resort have found some takers.
Two companies, Palm Harbor-based CMI Financial Network Inc. and Clearwater-based RoBEL Investments LLC, have jointly offered Golf Trust of America Inc. $45-million for the resort.
The 850-acre resort is assessed for tax purposes at about $28-million, according to the Pinellas County Property Appraiser.
The sale is expected to be finalized by the end of November, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month.
If all goes according to plan, it would mean the second change of hands for the golf course resort in as many years.
In July 2004, South Carolina-based Golf Trust of America Inc. purchased the resort from Golf Host Resorts Inc .
Residents hope this sale would be the last ownership switch.
"The (condominium) owners' primary concern is to make sure whoever buys this property this time has a long-term commitment of getting the resort back on track," said William Piper, who has owned a condominium at the resort since 1974.
The pristine resort has been home to numerous PGA championships and is widely regarded for its Copperhead course.
But there has been a fair share of red ink amid all that green.
Before the sale to Golf Trust, the resort's former owners, Golf Host, racked up more than $100-million in debt. Owners pointed to a saturated market and lagging profits as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
While the resort continues to lose money in 2005, according to a SEC report filed Monday, bookings were up 25 percent over last year and hotel revenues increased 17 percent.
But profits aren't the resort's only problem.
There is a pending lawsuit filed by residents over 39 acres of undeveloped land known as Parcel F.
County officials approved site plans for 35 condominiums on the land. That decision drew the ire of some residents and David Healey, the executive director of the Pinellas Planning Council, who say the land should not be developed. The residents filed a suit against the developer and the county's development review services.
That case is pending.
In April, Golf Trust hired a California investment bank to find potential buyers for the property . Golf Trust representatives did not return calls for comment Monday.
It is not clear whether CMI and RoBEL would inherit Innisbrook's legal problems or whether they would continue the $5-million-a-year management contract with Westin, which maintains the guest rooms, clubhouses, pools and tennis courts. Troon Golf manages the courses.
David Hooks, a spokesman for the buyers, declined to discuss the terms of the deal Monday . Until the buyers close on the property, "it's inappropriate to talk about what may or may not happen," Hooks said.
But Piper, who with a handful of other residents made an unsuccessful move to purchase the property this year, said CMI has talked about building a hotel on the property.
"For them to do more business, they've got to have more room capacity," said Piper, who said he and others met with CMI representatives last week.
CMI, formerly based in New York under the name Crown Marketing Travel and Incentives of N.Y. Inc., is a marketing firm headed by H.T. Grinnon.
RoBEL Investments is headed by Patrick Sheppard. The company specializes in waterfront property, and is one of the local partners building Trump Tower Tampa in downtown Tampa.
--Times staff writer Aaron Sharockman contributed to this report. Nicole Johnson can be reached at 727 445-4162 or njohnson@sptimes.com