Condo property gets restored

Developers breathe new life into Lake Sinclair condo project

Alexander Cain

A Milledgeville native is looking to complete a Lake Sinclair condominium project that was left abandoned after the former owner filed for bankruptcy and was unable to pay contractors associated with the site.

Gray Spillers, who owns a lake house on Sinclair and frequently commutes to the home from his Atlanta-based business, Collegiate Ventures, where Spillers is president, is working with a group of investors and current property owner Colonial Bank to restore the nearly three-year-old incomplete site.

“Right now that piece of land is a black eye to Baldwin County and it’s on the front door coming into Milledgeville from Atlanta,” Spillers said. “I kept driving by it and kept noticing work was slowing down on the site, and knew that wasn’t good in this type of business. I started making inquiries and found out the former owner had declared bankruptcy.”

In January, Milledgeville resident Joe Milholen, represented under the company name Harbors at Sinclair Development Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Macon.

Milholen obtained the property from Comer and Mary B. Gheesling on Aug. 31, 2005, according to legal records.

Milholen had attempted to develop a property called The Harbors at Lake Sinclair, a condominium complex on Ga. Highway 441 that was advertised as “luxury 2 and 3 bedroom condos” with a “clubhouse, swimming pool, hot tub, exercise room and gated private access.”

At the time of Milholen’s bankruptcy claim, records from U.S. Bankruptcy Court listed more than 20 unsecured claims against Harbors at Lake Sinclair Development Inc., including Milledgeville-based LL Grimes & Sons Inc. who claimed a debt of more than $43,000 and Vidalia-based VNS Corporation with a claim of $292,167.96.

After purchasing the property through Colonial Bank, which had taken over ownership through foreclosure after Milholen ended his association with the project, Spillers chose to re-name the site Harbor Town on Sinclair.

Almost all the financial claims against the project had been settled by the time of purchase, and with work continuing to restore the condominiums from the condition they had been left in for nearly a year, tenants could move in as early as December, according to Spillers.

“My company develops similar sites on a national basis. We’ve done other projects in Athens and Purdue University. The former owner did not build these sites to code, so right now we’re going back in and making those changes. The former owner did do a couple of things right, such as making everything really large, and ensuring that every unit has a view of the lake,” Spillers said.

It’s a big job that means a big commitment, but it’s a commitment that is already working to be put into place.

“The work to bring all of the buildings up to code and get them ready ... will begin soon and should be completed in sixty days. Other areas of work will have to do with making and completing a ‘punch list’ for each home, adding heat and air units, and repairing and installing trim packages, flooring, and appliances for homes that currently do not have them in place,” Ray Fordham, of Fordham & Company, stated.

There will be 36 units once construction is completed, Spillers said.

“We want to give Milledgeville the opportunity to buy into a luxury development that has one level living and no maintenance problems,” Spillers said. “There will also be a clubhouse and pool available on site.”

Even more will be available within the next few years — in a phone interview Tuesday with The Union-Recorder, Spillers stated he had drafted plans to construct an 80-room boutique hotel and shopping village on the site after condominium construction completes.

“It’s a natural for a mixed development, and that’s what we do. For instance, we put an 8,000 square foot retail restaurant at Purdue,” Spillers said.

Though there have been talks with hotel companies for brand name possibilities, none had been chosen as of last week, according to Spillers.

“We’re doing a Marriott at Purdue right now, but because Marriott is building a Fairfield nearby they would not do it with our project. Some of my financial partners feel that we’d actually be better off without a brand,” Spillers said. “We believe that once construction would start on the hotel and shopping village, that it could be completed within a year and a half.”

Spillers and other representatives associated with The Harbors on Sinclair site have already met with county officials and are examining the land in and around the Harbors property to determine the best possibilities of creating and constructing the hotel portion of the project.

The current property boasts an infinity swimming pool and a heated Jacuzzi tub overlooking the lake with a tennis court already finished and ready for play.

Each home features a wood burning fireplace, multiple windows, granite countertops, upscale cabinetry, and trim packages.

The floor plans are two bedroom homes containing around 2,000 sq. ft. plus two and a half baths while three bedroom three bath homes contain just under 3,000 square feet.

Both two and three bedroom homes have an extravagant master bath, and each and every home has a view of the lake as well as an outside patio or deck, according to a press release issued by Spillers.

A “Grand Opening” is set for this weekend, with sales personnel on site both Saturday and Sunday.

“Right now we are offering reservations and letting people reserve units for a guaranteed price and location for a $5,000 deposit,” Spillers said.

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