Bluegreen Corporation Enters New Orleans Vacation Ownership Market
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Bluegreen Corporation (NYSE: BXG), a leading provider of Colorful
Places to Live and Play®,
today announced it has acquired vacation ownership intervals (weeks) at
Club La Pension in New Orleans, La. Bluegreen®
also acquired commercial space to establish sales and marketing
operations and will manage and operate the resort. Terms of the
acquisition were not disclosed.
Bluegreen expects to renovate the commercial space in the resort for its
new Bluegreen Vacation Club®
Preview Center. Sales in New Orleans are expected to begin in the third
quarter of 2008, contingent upon meeting all applicable legal, licensing
and registration requirements.
Surrounded by the flavor of the old world, Club La Pension is an
intimate and charming resort located at the edge of the French Quarter.
It is conveniently located within walking distance to most of the city's
attractions (including Harrah's casino, the River Walk shopping complex
and the aquarium), restaurants and shops, and the historic St. Charles
Avenue Streetcar line.
Club La Pension is one of the oldest and most successful vacation
ownership resorts in New Orleans. It consists of six historic buildings,
one of which is Canal Street’s oldest existing
building and has played a vital role in the city's history and commerce.
The complete remodeling of these buildings has generated awards for
renovation and preservation, as well as "Resorts
of Excellence” awards from Resort Condominiums
International and Interval International.
The resort features studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom vacation
ownership units, many of which have balconies overlooking the French
Quarter. The rooftop features two sundecks with hot tubs and views of
the French Quarter, river and city. Although not a part of the
acquisition, Club La Pension also houses a five-star new world Italian
restaurant called Cafe Giovanni.
"We are very excited to add another new
vacation destination to our expanding portfolio, especially one that has
a similar but unique historical charm to what we created in Charleston,
S.C., at The Lodge Alley Inn,™”
notes John M. Maloney, Jr., president and chief executive officer of
Bluegreen. "We expect our initial investment
in this market to yield meaningful future advantages in the areas of our
sales and marketing, owner satisfaction and brand awareness. It’s
no surprise that the New York Times named New Orleans as the ‘Comeback
of the Year’ and both Orbitz and Travel &
Leisure chose it as one of their top destinations for 2007,”
he added.
Bluegreen expects to contribute to the local economy through increased
tourism and employment. Approximately 15 personnel previously employed
at the resort are expected to become Bluegreen employees, and the
company expects to hire additional professionals for its resorts
management, sales and marketing operations. Bluegreen will also be
looking to develop marketing alliances with area vendors to provide
additional incentives to its guests, including admission tickets to
local attractions, and restaurant and merchandise certificates.
ABOUT BLUEGREEN CORPORATION
Bluegreen Corporation (NYSE:BXG) is a leading provider of Colorful
Places to Live and Play(R) through two principal operating divisions.
With more than 186,500 owners, Bluegreen Resorts markets a flexible,
real estate-based vacation ownership plan that provides access to over
40 resorts and an exchange network of over 3,700 resorts and other
vacation experiences such as cruises and hotel stays. Bluegreen
Communities has sold over 56,300 planned residential and golf community
homesites in 32 states since 1985. Founded in 1966, Bluegreen is
headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., and currently employs over 6,000
associates. More information about Bluegreen is available at www.bluegreencorp.com.
Statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements and
are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provision of the Private Securities
and Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Use of words such as "plan”,
"plans”, "expects”,
"will,” and other
forward-looking statements are based largely on expectations and are
subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including but not limited
to the risks and uncertainties associated with economic, competitive and
other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets,
products and services, that the new resort will not be as attractive a
destination as anticipated, there will be delays in the renovation, that
the renovation will not be completed as anticipated, the risk that sales
and marketing will not be as successful as anticipated, that marketing
alliances will not be identified or as successful as anticipated, and
the risk factors and other issues detailed in the Company's SEC filings,
including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 3,
2008 and Form 10-Q filed on May 9, 2008.
