The developer behind the stalled high-rise hotel project next to Chandler Fashion Center has not filed required paperwork in connection with the sale of luxury condominiums planned for the top two floors, according to a deputy director with the state Department of Real Estate.
The developer, Jeff Cline, "can’t even market (the condos) unless he comes to us," said Cindy Ferrin, the department’s deputy director of subdivisions.
"If he hasn’t filed for a public report or a conditional sales exemption, he would be in violation of our statutes," she said.
Ferrin could find no application filed under Cline’s name, under Elevation Chandler or under his company, Signature Properties West.
Calls to Cline’s broker on the condo project, Scott Graff, were not returned.
Cline’s spokeswoman, Lindsay Hicks, said Friday in an e-mail, "The developer and broker have not taken ‘registrations’ or accepted deposits on condominiums, nor have they quoted pricing, only a price range. An informational Web site exists where interested parties can submit their e-mail addresses to receive e-mail updates every few weeks about the project."
However, Graff said in March he had a list of potential buyers that included athletes, authors, politicians, empty nesters and young professionals.
Ferrin said the broker can’t even make a waiting list without first filing an application for a public report or a conditional sales exemption with the department.
A public report is a document describing the neighborhood and certifying that the developer has met all of his legal obligations.
"A public report is two things," Ferrin said. "It is a license to the developer to sell their property and close contracts, but it also is a disclosure document to the prospective purchaser."
Cline’s background is in construction and development, fields he worked in for more than two decades in Boulder, Colo., before moving to the Valley. Cline, an Iowa native who has had a home in the Valley for 10 years, lives in Scottsdale.
Cline was still living in Boulder in 1997 when he moved his business into the Arizona market. It was that year Mesa approved an apartment complex, Lindsay Palms, which Cline built.
In a 1998 story in the Boulder County Business Report, Cline indicated he was unhappy with delays he had faced in getting approvals in that area. He touted metro Phoenix as having an atmosphere more positive toward growth.
"They actually support the growth, good quality growth," he was quoted as saying. "Public hearings there were refreshing."
Lindsay Palms is the only Valley project he has built, until Elevation Chandler, Cline has said.
Chandler approved Cline’s site plans for the hotel and condos, a second tower of condos, a fitness club and a parking garage. Construction stopped in mid-April. Cline has blamed delays in getting paperwork through the city of Chandler. He has said he has financing and that he expects work to resume in weeks.
Before he moved to Arizona, Cline primarily developed multi-family housing, Hicks said. The projects he has built include The Retreat, an assisted living facility in Westminster, Colo.; Eagle’s Landing, an apartment complex in Westminster; the 576-unit Ironstone at Stroh Ranch in Parker, Colo., and the Stone Bridge complex in Longmont, Colo.
Construction stopped temporarily on a Denver project because the general contractor went out of business, Hicks said
Luci Scott
The Arizona Republic
