LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. — It's been a long time coming, but the owners of the unfinished-and-abandoned Majestic Pointe Condominiums say they've cleared legal hurdles and have presented a plan to finish the project.
In the eight years since the economic downturn of 2008, some properties have remained incomplete or were abandoned. Developers ran out of funding, and banks were stricter about loaning money for development and to homeowners.
During a March meeting with RDG, consultants for a housing study funded by Lake of the Ozarks Regional Economic Development Council (LOREDC) and regional entities, Osage Beach City Planner Cary Patterson recalled two large projects that were scaled back. For example, instead of three approved multi-housing units, only one was completed. Majestic Pointe Condominium on Mile Marker 12, Sunrise Beach, was not simply scaled back, however. It was abandoned, foreclosed upon, and sold to St. Louis developers who intended to complete the project.
Read more about the state of Majestic Pointe
Years of litigation involving contractors’ liens slowed the project. Majestic Pointe was closed off completely, and the few properties sold were never available to buyers. Furthermore, according to Camden County’s Planning and Zoning (P & Z) Administrator Kim Willey, the Majestic Pointe property is “properly zoned” as R-3 and if brought to P & Z, could be approved for condominium development.
Now that legal hurdles have been cleared, Jack Morris and other St. Louis developers presented their vision to Camden County’s Commissioners. They showed “the new plans for the redevelopment of the property,” commented Presiding Commissioner Greg Hasty. “It became apparent from the beginning,” Hasty said, “that the focus was on actually creating a ‘quality of life’ type of project,” in part because the vision for the project includes green spaces and community gathering places.
Hasty recalled seeing the property “a couple of years ago” and being disappointed to see its condition since 2008. Nevertheless, he realized “the potential for something special...” Looking at that building recently, Hasty thought, “When that project comes back to life, the Lake economy will already be coming back.”
Indeed, Hasty believes the Lake is coming back to life. It has always been “one of the safest places to invest in real estate, with a great return on investment,” added Hasty. “If you look back, even during the recession years, big players were placing a lot of money on the future of the Lake of the Ozarks. Old Kinderhook, Ozarks Amphitheater along with the renovations at the Lodge of the Four Seasons and Tan-Tar-A” are examples of those big players, now joined by Majestic Pointe’s Condo re-developers who’ve shown confidence in the Lake and the project.
If things go as planned, the eyesore known to boaters as the "Beirut Hilton" could finally measure up to its given name, and make a majestic point about life at the Lake.
