A new formula business is coming to Holmes Beach from an unexpected place.
Joe Collier, president of Mainsail Lodging & Development, announced in an Aug. 24 news release that the Waterline Marina Resort and Beach Club would be part of the Marriott Autograph Collection, an assortment of boutique hotels operated by Marriott International Inc.
Mainsail is developing the Waterline resort, which claims to be the only full-service hotel on Anna Maria Island with 37 units of mostly two-bedroom suites with a marina.
Beach amenities for guests will be provided at the Mainsail Beach Inn on the Gulf of Mexico at 101 66th St., Holmes Beach.
Marriott has purchased some or all of Mainsail’s investment in the Waterline resort, according to the news release. How much of the property Marriott owns remains unclear.
Calls and emails Aug. 25 and Aug. 26 requesting comments from Collier and Norwood Smith, Mainsail vice president of sales and marketing, were unsuccessful before press time for The Islander.
News of the investment by Marriott in the Waterline resort came as a surprise to Holmes Beach city officials.
Mayor Bob Johnson said Aug. 26 he was unaware of the intent to make the Waterline resort a Marriott hotel and would be looking into the matter.
Holmes Beach Commissioner Jean Peelen also expressed concern Aug. 26 regarding the change, which she said is very different from the plan that was pitched to the commission by investors — including local restaurateur Ed Chiles — when the project was approved.
“I’m very disappointed that what was told to us to be a local effort isn’t,” she said, adding that her expectation was a resort owned and operated by local and regional investors.
The resort is advertised on the Marriott website as a part of the Autograph Collection, while Beach Inn at 66th Street is still owned and operated by Mainsail.
While the city recently adopted a moratorium temporarily banning the introduction of new formula businesses, the hotel chain may have a back door to avoid compliance. The adopted moratorium apparently does not address the purchase of an existing business by a chain.
Because the moratorium terms are based on the issuance of building permits, and Waterline’s permits already were issued to Mainsail for the resort, it may be grandfathered as an existing formula business under the moratorium.
Johnson said the timing of Marriott’s acquisition of the resort would be investigated.
But that’s not all that came as a surprise to the mayor from the Waterline statement.
It announced a Mainsail Development EB-5 Visa Program was approved Aug. 23 for a Job Creating Enterprise at Waterline.
According to Mainsail’s website, Waterline Marina Resort & Beach Club — is anticipated to begin welcoming guests in February 2017.
Financing of the JCE will provide repayment of bridge loans already put in place by Mainsail.
Also according to the website, Waterline has qualified with the regional USCIS with a project designed to meet the qualifications for financing under the EB-5 Visa Program.
In 1990, Congress created the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment in U.S. businesses by foreign investors. In exchange for investing in a business that creates jobs for American workers, foreign nationals and their families can become permanent residents of the United States.
The program is set to sunset in September.
Advantages of the EB-5 Investment Visa Program include:
• No quota backlog. The EB-5 Visa Investor avoids delays and backlogs for employment and family-based green card categories.
• No sponsor needed. Foreign investors use their personal funds and do not require sponsorship from an employer or family member.
• Regional Center Investment Program. Approved EB-5 regional centers allow investments of $1 million in prearranged programs such as Waterline, or in high unemployment areas, for $500,000, plus administrative fees.
• Permanent residency. Foreign investors may enter a limited partnership with few or no day-to-day management responsibilities for their investment. The EB-5 Visa provides its investors with a green card that allows them to live and work in any capacity in the United States.
Benefits of the The EB-5 Regional Center Program are listed as:
• A direct route to a green card.
• No day-to-day business management.
• Permanent residency in the United States for the investor, their partner and any children under 21.
• Live, work and retire anywhere in the United States.
• Opportunity to become a U.S. citizen after five years as a green card holder.
Mainsail has appointed Prevail Capital LLC to serve as placement agent for the EB-5 project.
Prevail Capital is a privately held firm providing financial services that include EB-5 securities transactions for private placements.
Johnson had no initial comment about the Mainsail financing package, but said he would be consulting with the city attorney about the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and how it relates to Holmes Beach.