I would like to share with you our current situation. Much to
our dismay, clouds are still lingering over the Construction Financing for Phase I.
A hearing began December 10, 1999 in Federal Bankruptcy Court,
which required Wyndholme Village, LLC to provide proof that adequate equity to protect the
secured creditors existed and evidence that financing to proceed was obtainable.
Expert testimony took much longer than anticipated. Due to the holidays and scheduling of
the court, we currently are awaiting notification to present final arguments.
Once this takes place, the bankruptcy judge will render his
decision. Based on my opinion of the evidence presented, I am cautiously optimistic
the ruling will be in favor of Wyndholme Village.
I stated at our Christmas Party, construction would begin the
first week of January. This was based on my expectation that the hearing would be finished
in late December. With the sales requirement stipulated by my financial partner achieved
(thanks to the 32 committed buyers and Harry Tremaine who bought the 33 unit as an
investment) and the issuance of a building permit for the Watson House from Baltimore
City—I was confident construction could begin.
Regretfully construction has NOT begun. To make
matters more difficult, the lender identified to provide the financing, who will not fund
until results of the hearing are known, is deeply concerned at the slow sales pace
achieved from September through December.
Since the venture agreement was signed in September,
approximately $1,000,000 has been spent on site improvements; finalizing the architectural
drawings to obtain the building permit; and marketing. Many, many individuals have
expressed sincere interest, but only (6) contracts have been signed.
We compared our product offered at Wyndholme with those of
other comparable communities in the area. The result---Wyndholme provided a much better value. (A copy of the comparison chart is available upon request) The communities used in
the comparison are averaging 4 to 6 contracts per month. We should be doing better---our
product is better and our price is very competitive.
Many of you reading this update have followed the progress of
Wyndholme Village since it was publicized as the first conventionally-financed
community in the country, developed to cater to the desires and requirements of deaf
and hard-of-hearing people. A major hurdle to overcome was convincing a lending
institution the target market we were addressing existed for a community the size of
Wyndholme Village and the location, product and pricing was appropriate. Surveys sent to
over 10,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing seniors indicated there indeed was a huge market with
a pent-up demand for what we are offering.
I made a commitment to use my best effort to create a
community that would provide an environment where communication barriers would not exist
for seniors who had experienced a loss of hearing in their earlier years. Anticipating the
majority of residents moving to Wyndholme would be deaf or hard-of-hearing, our marketing
effort to date has been only focused on deaf media, deaf cultural and social events, and
the internet. Unless there is a dramatic upswing in sales, I must investigate the
possibility of expanding to more traditional media to attract a wider audience.
With the progress achieved this Fall, I have no doubt
Wyndholme Village will move forward and our first residents will enjoy Thanksgiving, 2000
in their new homes. Since the majority of this community will be deaf and hard-of-hearing,
to honor my commitment and legally assure deaf representation, I am modifying the
condominium documents. These changes will make a mandatory requirement of any management
company in the future that provides service for Wyndholme Village, be required to staff
Wyndholme with at least 50% of employees fluent in sign language. Purchasers will receive
a copy of these changes and must approve them.
Wyndholme Village is being built in seven stages. When
completed a total of 928 residential units will have been built, along with a state of the
art, 368 bed, assisted living/skilled care nursing facility conveniently located near the
residential buildings. The most common question I am asked is, will the majority of the
residents living at Wyndholme be deaf and hard-of-hearing? The answer is
obvious--It’s up to you!!!
Starting next Monday, I will prepare a Weekly
Progress Update and share my thoughts on the direction that Wyndholme Village is heading.
In the next couple of weeks, we will put up a completely new and improved web site. I
welcome and would appreciate your opinions, comments, concerns and questions. My direct
fax number is 410-644-5165. Please fax me anytime. I will respond as quickly as possible.
We’re doing our best for You—we need YOU to make a commitment!
Thank you,
James M. Lancelotta
Managing Partner
Wyndholme Village, LLC
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