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Politics

Condo may be on city property

By MIKE DONILA
Published July 12, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Ron Brackett | Times]

CLEARWATER - Developers have spent more than a year constructing a $100-million high-rise condominium and retail complex in downtown Clearwater.

But they may be building on some city-owned property.

And that isn't good, it seems, for anyone - the developer, the city, a local church, a title insurance company, Clearwater voters and, possibly, the condo unit owners who are waiting to move in.

At issue? A roughly 20-foot strip of land and who owns it.

Developers of the Water's Edge project say they do.

But city officials aren't so sure.

Now attorneys for all sides want to hear what a judge says.

In the meantime, construction crews will continue to build the 25-story project's 153 luxury condos.

- - -

On Wednesday, Water's Edge sued the city of Clearwater in Pinellas County Circuit Court, asking a judge to affirm that its developer and affiliate, Opus South of Tampa, is owner of a disputed strip of land on the building's western side.

If the judge doesn't see it that way, Opus then wants the court to find a solution that doesn't involve tearing down the building.

Water's Edge also is suing Calvary Baptist Church, which sold the land to Opus in the fall of 2004 for $15-million. Water's Edge wants the church to reimburse it for any damages.

It's cut and dry if Opus wins. Developers finish the project in a year and new residents move in to what will be downtown Clearwater's first major residential development in decades.

It gets murky if they lose.

If a judge gives the property to the city, Clearwater would own at least a piece of the Water's Edge project. And if Opus offered to buy back that strip, voters would have to approve the sale, according to the city's charter.

If voters nix the sale? All parties just shook their heads Wednesday, saying they haven't thought that far ahead.

- - -

So, how did this all happen?

Attorneys trace the problem - everyone called it "a mess" Wednesday - to the 1950s when the city and church often swapped land.

In 1955, the church traded to the city the 32-foot-wide, 174-foot-long strip, a portion of which now is under the western edge of the condo tower. In return, the church got city property on nearby Pierce Street.

In April 1959, the church asked the city to give it back 3 feet of that strip in easement. The city agreed.

Also that year, city officials drew up a quit claim deed, the purpose of which was "to release forever any easement (the city) may have or claim" on the strip. But, the easement's size wasn't clearly defined and it appears that the city handed over not just 3 feet but the entire strip of land.

That would appear to sink the city. But wait.

City officials now contend that a City Commission resolution passed just prior to the issuance of the quit claim deed stated that the city's intent was to give back only the 3 feet of easement - not the entire strip. In other words, the city was to keep 29 feet.

"What happened was the deed created an inconsistent document to what the commission approved," said City Attorney Pam Akin.

But Clearwater attorney Ed Armstrong, who represents Opus, says the "resolution is inferior to the recorded document."

And if that's not enough, there is this:

A series of additional city resolutions and deeds in 1959 appear to have the affect of reducing the city's possible claim on the land to a strip 19 feet wide.

Still following along?

Maps, it turns out, aren't much help, either.

Up until the early 1960s, city zoning maps showed Clearwater - not the church - owned the now-disputed strip. A few years later, updated maps showed the church as owner.

"At some point, everyone seemed to have forgotten what happened," Akin said "And it went back to the church. But there were no documents, no council acts."

However, county property appraisal records show the city owns the land. But current city maps show Opus owns it.

As for Calvary Baptist?

Attorney and spokesman Joseph Park said the church stands behind the sale, but if a judge decides otherwise, the church could go after First American Title Insurance, which did the title search prior to Calvary's sale to Opus.

Attempts to reach officials with First American Title were unsuccessful Wednesday.

Times researcher Angie Holan contributed to this story.

[Last modified July 12, 2007, 07:33:35]