Halsey Minor - Business Projects

Business Projects

On September 4, 2007, Minor announced the development of a new 3-star hotel located in historic downtown Charlottesville called the Landmark. The planned 6-story hotel would be part of Minor Family Hotels, a series of 3 star boutique hotels located in historical districts around the world. By early 2009, however, construction on the hotel had stopped as a result of financial problems involving the project developer and the bankruptcy and FDIC receivership of the construction lender. Minor alleges the FDIC's failure to act on the note for 2 years while costing taxpayers $11 million in legal fees.

On December 19, 2007 the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation announced that Halsey purchased the historic Carter's Grove plantation on 720 acres (2.9 km2) on the James River for $35.3 million and that he "plans to use the mansion as a private residence and use the site as a center for a thoroughbred horse-breeding program." The plan was to preserve the historic home and give it a use in keeping with its time, when Tidewater Virginia was the capital of horse racing in America. Minor's Carter's Grove LLC has since filed a bankruptcy petition, with more than $72 million in debts. By 2012 the house was in disrepair.

As of July 2008, Minor made known his interest in acquiring Hialeah Park Race Track, which opened in 1925. He stated that he wished to buy Hialeah Park and restore it to its original state and begin the process of restoring the popularity of thoroughbred racing. Minor had been discussions with John Brunetti, the owner of Hialeah Park, however they never were able to agree on a price. Minor then challenged Brunetti's ownership in Hialeah in Florida Federal court with a trial expected before the end of 2011. In October 2010 Minor bid for 5 tracks belonging to the MI Developments including Santa Anita, Golden Gate Fields, Laurel Park Racecourse, Pimlico and Portland Meadows.

In San Francisco Minor purchased the Kushland House, modeled after Le Petit Trianon with the hope of restoring it, but as of 2012 the house was not restored and was put back on the market. As of 2012 the state of California listed Halsey as the #1 on the list of the state's Top 250 Delinquent Taxpayers with unpaid taxes estimated at $10,711,669.29

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