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Sluggish sales leave condo developer behind on promised payments to Colonial Beach fire and rescue units Date published: 1/31/2009
BY FRANK DELANO The developer of a Colonial Beach condominium may be more than $80,000 in arrears on promised payments to the town's fire department and rescue squad. Charlie Robertson, public information officer of the Colonial Beach Volunteer Fire Department, told the Town Council on Thursday that the department has not received $69,231 from Colonial Beach Development Group I LLC for recent condo sales at Potomac Reconnaissance. In 2005, the company promised to donate $23,076.92 to the fire department and $3,846.16 to the town's rescue squad for each of the first 26 units of the planned 52-unit complex near the town's boardwalk. The company's offer came after fire officials said their existing equipment could not reach the top of the five-story condo building. The new truck, said Robertson, will have a 105-foot-tall ladder that will enable firemen to fight fires as high as seven stories. Robertson said the fire department has received no payments from three recent condo sales. The department was counting on the payments to help pay for the new $761,000 fire truck that is expected to arrive next month, he said. "If the payments stop, we'll have to take other actions," said Robertson. "The real-estate market is pretty rough right now. Nobody's buying, even though we've lowered prices to the low $200,000 range," said Tom Hagedorn, the Northern Virginia developer whose company built the condos. "When money is not coming in from sales, banks still require payments on loans, and water bills and real-estate taxes must still be paid to the town," he said. Hagedorn has built one 28-unit building on his property between Taylor Street and Irving Avenue. Fifteen units have been sold in that building, he said. A second building with 24 units has not yet been constructed. Hagedorn said the fire and rescue groups "will most likely get their money when the project sells out." He called the project "a multi-million headache. In retrospect, I wish [the town] had turned me down," he said. Building and Zoning Director Chuck Bird said he was reviewing the project's files to see if Hagedorn's failure to pay make payments to the fire and rescue organizations constituted a breach of a conditional-use permit issued by the town. Frank Delano: 804/333-3834
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