FASNY Tells $15M Bidder: Not Interested, Go Away
While the City of White Plains and the French American School of New York (FASNY) engage in a legal battle to determine whether or not a city council vote could be overturned judicially and the school granted a Special Permit to build a K-12 private school in the Gedney residential neighborhood of White Plains, one of the original bidders on the property that lost out to FASNY’s higher bid, has come back with another offer.
FASNY has firmly indicated that the property is not for sale.
A heated exchange between FASNY and the bidder in the form of letters copied to Mayor Tom Roach and now also shared with local media indicate that there are two camps becoming firmly entrenched.
On the one side, FASNY expects to win the court case, get the necessary Special Permit and to eventually begin construction on the 131-acre site based on legal procedural problems on the part of White Plains during the application process.
On the other side, residents in the Gedney neighborhood and some real estate brokers in the area say it is unprecedented for a judge to overturn a municipal board’s decision and that FASNY should move on.
Either way, a judge will make the final determination.
What started the letter exchange was a bid of $15 million offered by Karl Hofer to FASNY for the entire property. Gedney neighborhood resident, real estate broker and vocal opponent to the FASNY development, Garry Klein, is representing Hofer.
In an interview with the Examiner on Friday, Hofer said he has a financial backer in Canada interested in getting a golf course back on the property that would also rent out facilities for weddings and corporate parties and other catered events.
Hofer said he had made an $8 million offer to the former Ridgeway Country Club but was beaten out by the $8.5 million offered by FASNY and accepted by the Ridgeway club.
A press release from FASNY’S public relations firm Thompson & Bender contests Hofer’s claims saying he never produced the buyer’s name nor a formal bid in 2010. It also suggests that Hofer look at the several other golf courses in Westchester if he wants to buy one and asserts that FASNY is not interested in selling and intends to stay on the property for good.
Hofer, the president of International Hospitality Management, told the Examiner that he has extensive experience in developing and managing golf clubs, which he has done around the world. It is “his passion.”
Originally from Austria, Hofer worked with golf super star Jack Nicklaus to save the St. Andrews golf course in Yonkers. They also worked together to develop golf courses in Asia, the United States and Europe.
Hofer claims his interest in White Plains is business and also for the love of golf. He hopes that FASNY might eventually change its mind and has posed no deadline on the $15 million offer.
Klein, who also spoke with the Examiner on Friday, said he has no problem with an open-ended offer.
Klein said there were other regional developers eyeing the FASNY property with interest in purchasing the site for residential development. He did not know if any other formal offers had been made.
“No one wants to see this lawsuit continue with money being spent on each side,” Klein said. “FASNY is closing the door unnecessarily. We want to talk.”
Klein does not believe that a judge will overturn a decision to close a public street.
FASNY’s press release clearly indicates it does not want any further discussion on Hofer’s offer. “Choosing a broker who is one of the school’s most vocal opponents suggests that Hofer’s purported interest is neither legitimate nor sincere,” the release said.
