‘Not my problem’

Kuhn says his finances are rock solid and that he’s positioned better than any other developer in Orlando’s downtown. He says he has only $6 million in debt remaining on The Plaza, and 100,000 square feet left to sell. Once he’s completed an in-the-works lease, he says, “I will have 70,000 square feet left with no debt at all.”

Lawsuits involving Kuhn filed in the Orange County Courthouse paint a shakier financial picture. The majority are between Kuhn and Frank Vennes Jr., a Minnesota investor who also operates numerous businesses from Palm Beach County. Central Florida bankers introduced the two men a couple of years ago, when Kuhn was hunting capital for the J.C. Penney project, known as Cornerstone. Vennes invested in that and several other Kuhn projects, including The Plaza.

In three lawsuits, Vennes says Kuhn owes him a total of more than $15 million. Kuhn borrowed nearly $5 million to buy a building he needed to complete The Plaza but didn’t pay up when the money was due in June, one suit claims. Vennes says Kuhn owes another $8 million related to the River Watch project in downtown Jacksonville, where Vennes helped finance Kuhn’s purchase of the SunTrust Tower and an adjoining vacant lot that would become a parking garage. The third suit claims Vennes made a $2-million short-term loan to Kuhn at 24% interest. According to the terms of the promissory note, the rate would adjust to 36% if Kuhn didn’t repay the loan in full by July 22. He didn’t. In his own lawsuit, Kuhn claims Vennes is charging an illegally high interest rate under Florida law. Vennes’ attorney, Tucker H. Byrd of Greenberg Traurig in Orlando, says Kuhn agreed to the loan conditions, which were written under Minnesota law.

“Is Cameron Kuhn out of money? That’s the question everyone is asking me,” says Byrd. “I have no idea, and I certainly hope not because he owes us a lot of money. I want him to succeed wildly so that he can pay Mr. Vennes back.”
Also this year:

» Kuhn reneged on an agreement with Orange County to buy the former FAMU law school on Orange Avenue for $6.5 million, walking away from a $200,000 deposit.

» Kuhn was six months late in paying $180,000 to Orlando for traffic improvements near The Plaza.

» The Plaza’s general contractor, Brasfield & Gorrie of Birmingham, Ala., slapped a $5.4-million lien on the project for non-payment. Kuhn and the contractor recently reached a confidential settlement.

Kuhn dismisses the lawsuits as “not my problem” and “all just part of the process.”

“The problem is the marketplace, the securities market, the lack of financing, and the lack of people being able to buy,” Kuhn says. “I’m not the only (developer) having issues, and in fact, out of most of us, I feel the best.”

Kuhn’s World Four of Cameron Kuhn’s downtown Orlando holdings — The Plaza towers (top); the old ABC liquor warehouse (right), now office condos; Church Street Station (left); and the glass-and-steel Mini Cooper dealership. [Photos: Jeffrey Camp]

Tags: Central, Housing/Construction