william swaim - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T06:24:13Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/william+swaimOcean Ridge: Town has no plans to consider developer’s ‘discount’ offer to sell submerged landhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-town-has-no-plans-to-consider-developer-s-discount-of2022-08-03T17:51:00.000Z2022-08-03T17:51:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Joe Capozzi</strong></p>
<p>Developer William Swaim has offered to sell 3.3 acres of submerged land to Ocean Ridge, part of a proposal he says will allow him and the town to “put down their swords’’ and end years of litigation. <br /> Town officials apparently are not interested. Now, Swaim said he won’t rule out suing the town to recoup the land’s market value.<br /> In a June 15 letter to the town, an attorney for Swaim’s Waterfront ICW Properties said his client would sell the land to the town for $750,000, “a steep discount” from its fair market value of $4.8 million. <br /> The 3.3 acres is adjacent to a 9-acre submerged tract that the town purchased in April for $1.5 million as part of a plan to rezone the area from residential to conservation/preservation and open the area for recreation. <br /> But Swaim’s offer has several conditions. Among them: The town must transfer the 3.3 acres’ density rights (14 units) to another site in Ocean Ridge, identified by Waterfront at a later date. It also calls for the town to issue a one-time “height restriction waiver” on the property identified by Waterfront at a later date. <br /> “The goal here is for Waterfront and the town to put down their swords and work together to consummate a transaction that results in an ideal outcome for both sides,’’ Waterfront attorney Michael Nullman said in the letter. <br /> “We see this framework as a mutually beneficial opportunity for both Waterfront and the town, which has the added benefit of resolving all pending issues and disputes pending between Waterfront and the town.’’<br /> The letter asked the town to respond in 15 days. That never happened, prompting Nullman to address town commissioners during public comments July 5 “to follow up to ensure everyone had a chance to review that and if anyone had any questions.’’<br /> No one on the dais had any questions and the offer was not discussed.<br /> A week later, Town Attorney Christy Goddeau told <em>The Coastal Star</em> she was “not aware of any direction to respond to the letter or place it on an upcoming meeting agenda. Since the letter is related to the settlement of potential, and certainly threatened, litigation, no further comment is provided at this time.’’<br /> Swaim told <em>The Coastal Star</em> he was surprised by the lack of response. <br /> “In 35 years of development in South Florida, I’ve never seen a town stick their head in the sand like this town has. They refuse to meet, refuse to discuss anything, do not communicate at all. Zero. Nothing,’’ he said. “We get crickets. That’s why Michael went to the meeting, because nobody is responding.’’ <br /> The conditions in his proposal, Swaim said, are only fair since he would be giving up plans to develop the 3.3 acres. He said he does not own any other land in Ocean Ridge. And if the town approved the proposal, he said, any height restriction waiver would be compatible with surrounding properties. <br /> “I doubt seriously it will ever be used, but it’s another right we would have,’’ he said.<br /> “To be honest with you, I thought this was a gift,’’ he said. “It’s everything they want and I’m just trying to get out even.’’<br /> Swaim has been fighting with the town for years over his efforts to build a road and develop the 3.3 acres in the lagoon. In July 2021, Waterfront ICW Properties sued the town in U.S. District Court alleging a claim for inverse condemnation and $10 million in damages. The suit was dismissed without prejudice six months later. <br /> If the town doesn’t approve his latest proposal, Swaim said, refiling the federal lawsuit “will end up happening and they will have to pay full retail in the courts.’’</p></div>Ocean Ridge: Developer claims ownership of Ocean Ridge canalhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-developer-claims-ownership-of-ocean-ridge-canal2020-04-01T19:54:50.000Z2020-04-01T19:54:50.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>By Dan Moffett</b></span></p>
<p class="p2">Developer William Swaim has opened a new front in his quest to conquer the submerged lands of Ocean Ridge.</p>
<p class="p3">After battling in court for six years with the town and Wellington Arms condo owners over property rights in the lagoon behind Town Hall, Swaim is focusing on the Sabal Island neighborhoods farther north now.</p>
<p class="p3">In January, some two dozen homeowners on North Ocean Boulevard, Sabal Island Drive and River Drive received letters from Swaim’s attorney, Michael Nullman of Palm Beach Gardens, informing them that their docks, boat lifts and boardwalks were “intruding” on canal property owned by McCormick Mile Investments and an affiliate, Coastal Energy Resources.</p>
<p class="p3">Swaim is listed as the corporate manager of MMI and Coastal Energy, according to records from the Florida Secretary of State. Both entities were formed late last year.</p>
<p class="p3">“At present, your Docking Facilities intrude upon MMI’s Canal,” the letters said. “Moreover, every time any of you, your guests, your invitees, your licensees, your successors or your assigns traverse the Canal en route and into the Intracoastal Waterway, each such occasion constitutes a trespass through MMI’s property.”</p>
<p class="p3">Nullman offered residents a deal, however. For a “non-negotiable” payment of $150,000 from each homeowner, MMI, Coastal Energy and Swaim would be willing to grant an easement for travel across the canal “in perpetuity.”</p>
<p class="p3">“We hope and trust that this matter can be resolved amicably,” the letters said.</p>
<p class="p3">The unexpected demand left residents incredulous.</p>
<p class="p3">“I think it’s a scam,” said Gilbert Panzer, who has owned his home on North Ocean Boulevard for 37 years. “It’s ridiculous. They can’t claim to control navigation on that waterway.”</p>
<p class="p3">“They’re claiming to own the entire canal,” said one homeowner who asked to be unnamed. “It’s absurd.”</p>
<p class="p3">At roughly the same time in January, town officials also received a letter from MMI, Coastal Energy and Swaim. It told them to cease and desist issuing permits for dock construction along the canal. The letter essentially put a freeze on waterfront permitting in the neighborhood — and real estate sales — as another round of legal conflict opened between the town and Swaim’s associates.</p>
<p class="p3">“We are still reviewing the matter,” Town Manager Tracey Stevens said of the impasse.</p>
<p class="p3">For Wellington Arms condo owners, the Sabal Island news is all too familiar. Six years ago, Swaim claimed ownership of submerged lots and demanded the condo residents remove their docks from the lagoon behind their buildings.</p>
<p class="p3">Earlier this year, Swaim and the condo group agreed to settle their dispute after dozens of court skirmishes and six-figure legal bills. The parties declined to disclose terms of the settlement.</p>
<p class="p3">Nullman said residents in the Sabal Island neighborhood have had little to say about Swaim’s offer to sell them easement rights.</p>
<p class="p3">“We have received surprisingly little communication back from the property owners in response to MMI’s correspondence,” Nullman said, “and zero substantive attacks on the merits of MMI’s position, because MMI’s position is legally sound. Nevertheless, MMI remains optimistic that this matter can be quickly and amicably resolved between all parties involved.” </p></div>Ocean Ridge: Residents fight to protect treasured lagoonhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-residents-fight-to-protect-treasured-lagoon2018-10-31T19:00:00.000Z2018-10-31T19:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960828870,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="600" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960828870,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960828870?profile=original" /></a><em>The pool at Wellington Arms, a gathering point for residents, looks out over the lagoon and mangroves to the west. The lagoon is home to manatees, manta rays and a variety of birds. <strong>Jerry Lower/ The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong></p>
<p>Judy Hollnagel had a long and successful business career in Milwaukee, but she never made a better deal than the one she struck in Ocean Ridge during a Florida vacation back in 1968.<br /> Hollnagel heard about a condo project under construction across from Oceanfront Park and decided its prime location between the ocean and Intracoastal Waterway was worth an investment.<br /> “I put down $100,” she said. “That’s what things were going for back then. We’ve had a place here ever since.”<br /> The three concrete buildings with 49 units would become known as the Wellington Arms Condominiums. Judy and Harold Hollnagel would become known as the first family of the close-knit condo community.<br /> From their third-floor bedroom window, the couple can look out and see the glistening Atlantic waters and the Oceanfront Park beach. From their back door, they can see a mangrove-rich lagoon sanctuary for a thriving array of wildlife.<br /> “Every morning I wake up to see the sunrise over the ocean,” Judy said. “What could be better than that? Then I walk back there to the lagoon. It’s a magical place.”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960828896,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="450" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960828896,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960828896?profile=original" /></a><em>Judy and Harold Hollnagel secured their condo 50 years ago with a $100 deposit and call the area a paradise. <strong>Jerry Lower/ The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p>The waters are a little darker, more brackish now than upon her first arrival a half-century ago, but Hollnagel still finds plenty of magic in the lagoon: manatees mating, manta rays patrolling the docks, mullet thrashing across the surface and an Audubon guidebook’s worth of wetland birds taking it all in from above.<br /> The human species is on display by the lagoon, too — neighbors grilling fish for neighbors, and grandparents teaching their grandchildren how to catch dinner or how to keep a kayak from going sideways.<br /> “It’s a piece of paradise,” Hollnagel said. “I can’t say enough.”<br /> Last spring, Wellington Arms residents marked the community’s 50th anniversary with a lively get-together by the swimming pool overlooking the lagoon. Stories about their long shared history gave way to worries about an uncertain future.<br /> Four years ago, William Swaim, of Waterfront ICW Properties in Delray Beach, came forward with a plan to fill in submerged land he owns adjacent to their properties and under the Wellington Arms boat docks. In a suit filed against homeowners along the lagoon, he’s demanded they remove their docks or agree to a deal to pay him for their use. Part of the deal would include ending their opposition to his development plans and retracting public objections they’ve made to state officials — especially environmental objections. Swaim also has taken the town of Ocean Ridge to court, asserting the right to an easement for a road next to the Town Hall to gain access to his land. In September, Swaim applied for a permit with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, seeking permission to truck in fill material to the 3.34-acre site and begin building three single-family houses.<br /> A decision on the permit request likely is months away. Ocean Ridge officials and residents along the lagoon have been vocal in their opposition to the permit application and development plan.<br /> “Without a doubt, we will be pointing out all of the issues with Mr. Swaim trying to do something back there,” Town Attorney Brian Shutt said during an October commission meeting. “There are things we can point out to the Army Corps.”<br /> Said Mayor James Bonfiglio: “We will do everything that’s required to voice the objections. … We’ll do everything we can to help residents end the problem.”<br /> Residents pleaded with officials to do more.<br /> “We need your help,” Wellington Arms resident Phil Lambrechts told the Town Commission. “We need to get this ended.”<br /> Lambrechts said residents along the lagoon have spent some $700,000 in legal fees fighting the plan, and most of that came from the condominium owners.<br /> “Our community spent almost three-quarters of a million dollars now on lawsuits in the last three years,” Wellington Arms resident Jay Magee told commissioners. “And we’re just a small community. It’s a hardship for a lot of the owners.”</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960829655,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960829655,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="415" alt="7960829655?profile=original" /></a><br /> The legal fight centers on whether the lagoon is a naturally occurring waterway that deserves preservation or rather a manmade creation that does not. Swaim’s attorneys have argued the latter, saying bulldozers and dredges carved the lagoon out decades ago to create a mosquito control area. <br /> Environmental groups have joined the town’s homeowners in rejecting that assertion, arguing the lagoon is an irreplaceable natural treasure.<br /> The courts have appeared to be leaning both ways so far. In 2015, an administrative law judge in Tallahassee sided with South Florida Water Management District attorneys and cited environmental concerns and potential impediments to boaters as reasons for denying Swaim’s requests. In 2017, a mediation judge issued a judgment opinion that appeared to support Swaim, concluding parts of the lagoon were created by human activity and potentially not protected as sovereign state land.<br /> “We lost and it’s devastating to the town,” condo resident Pat Ganley told commissioners after last year’s court hearing. “We need you to help. So fight it.”<br /> Ocean Ridge is not alone when it comes to disputes with Swaim over submerged land. Two years ago, he sued the State of Florida and five fiber optic companies claiming they are trespassing on 2.5 acres he bought in the Intracoastal north of Lake Wyman in Boca Raton. Swaim accuses the state of wrongly allowing the companies easements. He wants the firms to pull out their cables and pay him damages.<br /> Swaim also irked town of Palm Beach officials two years ago when he petitioned the Corps for permission to fill in some three acres of Intracoastal land he was considering buying about three-quarters of a mile south of the Lake Worth Bridge. The Corps has not issued a decision.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960829672,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="550" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960829672,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960829672?profile=original" /></a><em><strong>ABOVE:</strong> Residents have floating docks that give them boat, kayak and paddleboard access to the lagoon and Intracoastal. <strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong> <strong>BELOW:</strong> An old aerial photo shows the vacant land that became Wellington Arms. <strong>BOTTOM:</strong> A scene from the condo’s 50th birthday celebration last March. <strong>Photos provided</strong></em></p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960830064,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="439" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960830064,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960830064?profile=original" /></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960830258,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960830258,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="444" alt="7960830258?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Residents stick together</span><br /> In their condominium’s 50th year, residents say they are committed to protecting their community and are as close to each other as ever.<br /> “It’s like a dorm,” said a smiling Judy Hollnagel.<br /> Her friend Nadine Magee, Jay’s wife, put it this way: “It’s like … cooking someone else’s Thanksgiving turkey in your oven because it’s bigger and better. That’s literally the way people are here.”<br /> Without the iconic lagoon, Wellington Arms wouldn’t be what it has been for five decades and Florida would lose forever another little piece of itself.<br /> “It’d be a shame to see anything else out there but the manatees, the birds and the fish,” said Connie Sophie, an avid kayaker. “It means a lot to me.”<br /> “It’s just a wonderful natural sanctuary,” Hollnagel said.</p></div>Ocean Ridge: Developer again seeks to build on lagoon landhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-developer-again-seeks-to-build-on-lagoon-land2018-10-03T16:06:45.000Z2018-10-03T16:06:45.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong></p>
<p>Despite opposition from Ocean Ridge residents and commissioners, developer William Swaim is making another attempt to secure the permits needed to build a residential development in the mangrove lagoon behind the Town Hall.<br /> In September, Swaim’s Waterfront ICW Properties LLC of Delray Beach applied for a permit with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, seeking permission to fill in part of the 3.34-acre site in the lagoon and build three houses.<br /> To mitigate potential environmental damage and loss of wetlands, Swaim is offering to transfer to the state other submerged land he owns in the Palm Beach Inlet near John D. MacArthur Beach State Park on Singer Island.<br /> Swaim has been pushing the Ocean Ridge project for four years, suing the town and residents who have opposed his plan. The developer needs an easement from the town in order to gain access to his land behind Town Hall. The Town Commission has ignored Swaim’s repeated requests, saying he needed to satisfy state requirements and obtain permits before asking for an easement.<br /> Town Attorney Brian Shutt said he couldn’t comment on Swaim’s recent permit application because of the ongoing court case. Residents from the Wellington Arms condominiums, who live just east of the proposed development site, have been vocal in their opposition, arguing the mangrove-rich lagoon has to be protected and preserved. <br /> Pat Ganley, a Wellington Arms resident, said his group remains committed to blocking the project. “We are still fighting this,” Ganley said.<br /> Opponents suffered a setback last year when a mediation judge issued a judgment that sided with Swaim and concluded that parts of the lagoon were created by human activity and potentially not protected as environmentally sensitive native land.<br /> The Army Corps has opened the permit request to public comment until Oct. 15. A decision on Swaim’s application is likely months away. <br /> Comments on the project should be submitted in writing to the Army Corps District Engineer, Palm Beach Gardens Permits Section, 4400 PGA Blvd., Suite 500, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410.</p></div>