KELSEYVILLE — Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa is the object of much speculation in Lake County as lobbyist and developer Darius Anderson draws closer to finalizing the details of purchasing the property, possibly before the week is out.
Is it for real this time? That may be the question in the minds of “anybody who”s been in Lake County for any significant length of time” regarding the possible sale, said resort manager Greg Bennett.
“These rumors have been going around for years and years,” said Bennett on Thursday. “Until somebody tells me otherwise, I still work for the same owners that hired me 17 years ago.”
Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa is currently owned by Local 38 of the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Journeymen, and has been since 1959. Pete Machi, Administrator of Convalescent Trust, could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
Anderson said he has been working with the convalescent trust to hammer out the particulars of the deal. “We”ve been in discussions and negotiations for the past eight months,” said Anderson Thursday.
Anderson expects the agreement to be signed by either Friday or Monday. “That”s what the two parties have agreed upon,” he said. Anderson noted that details of purchase, including price, have been agreed upon, and that “the lawyers are working on it.”
Anderson heads up Kenwood Investments, a private equity real estate firm based in San Francisco. The firm has several high-profile projects in the works, including Treasure Island and Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco, and a 23-acre docks area in Sacramento, among others.
“With a purchase as large and complex as this one, and because of the activities there, there was a tremendous amount of diligence that we had to do with regard to make this work,” said Anderson when asked about the timing of the purchase.
Konocti”s many amenities include eight tennis courts, two Olympic swimming pools, two children”s wading pools, an 18-hole mini-golf course, and “one of the coolest (concert) venues in the land,” among others, according to the resort”s web site.
Improvements un-der consideration for the resort include remodeling and expanding the hotel, building time-share condos, and expanding the outdoor concert venue. “We are looking at all those options,” said Anderson. He said the county would be involved in the decision-making process, and that he plans to set up meetings with county officials starting the first week of October.
When asked if plans included putting a casino on the land, Anderson said it was one of the options being considered, and that his firm had been talking with local tribes regarding the mechanism of bringing that about. Citing a three- to seven-year land trust process they would have to go through, Anderson said, “As investors, we”re not going to want to wait three years. It makes it much more difficult to do a project like this.”
District Five Supervisor Rob Brown expressed his opposition to the concept of a casino in the area Thursday, saying, “If a business can only be put in based on ethnicity, then it”s wrong.” Brown explained that he is opposed to casinos as a rule, because they can only be developed by American Indian tribes.
Brown also spoke on behalf of his constituents in the Rivieras. “There”s no way that my constituents on Soda Bay Road and Highway 281 would be interested in having a casino in there,” said Brown.
“If there is a new owner, I”d be willing to work with them to ensure the same success that Konocti has experienced and even enhance that if possible,” he said.
Addressing Brown”s opposition, Anderson said he will be working with the county in the decision-making process. “We want a win-win with for the neighbors, the county, the employees, as well as ourselves,” said Anderson.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com
