Was it a good sign that he answered on the third ring, just as I thought the call would go to voicemail? After a few minutes of introductions and chit-chat about Books & Brew, I shifted gears and told him why I hoped we could spend a few minutes talking about Governor’s Point. Scott seemed to be aware that I was helping Julie. She already had talked to him, but he was willing to answer my questions as well.
“Until last Saturday,” I said, “I had never been to Governor’s Point, even in all the years of coming to the island. Why don’t we start at the beginning with your plan and all that. It really is a beautiful piece of property.”
“Sure, just stop me if you need me to fill in any of the blanks here.” Scott seemed unguarded and began an introduction to Governor’s Point that sounded like he had presented it many times before. His story started with finding the property, purchasing it in an off-market deal, and then dividing the big land parcel into fourteen lots. He explained he decided to size the lots at about one acre to ensure landowners had some privacy. Carl facilitated the deal from a private buyer, because somehow Carl knew the former owner could be convinced to sell.
“Carl always had his finger on the pulse of this community,” Scott said. “He just knew this island. He knew about potential sales, even if the buyer or seller didn’t live on the island. He had this sixth sense, I guess you could call it. He knew every inch of this island, I swear. He could see a potential deal where no one else could.”
“So, this deal was your first with Carl?” I asked.
“I didn’t really know Carl that well, all those years ago, but I had built a few houses here and a few on the mainland. He approached me about Governor’s Point and honestly it was a little bigger than I thought I could or even should take on at that time. My father-in-law loaned me the money to buy the land and I went for it.”
“And you put up the money for the improvements?”
“Well, the dock was already established, but it was my wife’s idea to build the pool and the clubhouse to help people envision living in this neighborhood. After that was built, we managed the pool and the yard work ourselves. It was easy to swing by and just spend an hour or so there. Our kids loved it too. They could go for a quick swim while we did a few things around the property.”
Three lots sold quickly, Scott explained. For a while, he had showings, then the economy turned and interest in the property dried up. Even the early landowners were afraid to move forward without momentum. “We were just circling the drain, really. I felt pretty good about the fact I could pay back my family, but we lost money on the pool and clubhouse. The Inn and all the resort-property construction hurt Governor’s Point. You know, the downturn in the economy, in general, didn’t really help us either. It’s expensive to build on an island and I get it, most people don’t want to invest a lot of money in a property that looks like what Governor’s Point looks like right now. We needed a special kind of buyer, but that’s a small demographic, which is why I was pretty surprised Carl called me, one day about a month ago.”
“And?” I prompted.
I was holding my breath. “For many years, I focused on building on the resort and in several of the other neighborhoods. People, you know how it is, a lot of people know your business better than you, according to them, well, people would say I was working against myself by building things that would compete against my own property. But I could not afford to build on spec, I was building in other places for actual customers.”
Scott went on, “Things were busy and I always intended to get back to Governor’s Point, but really, I had a lot of work and it just stayed on my list of something I would focus on after this or after that, it just never happened. Taxes are low, carrying costs are low, I guess it was easy to put it on the shelf. So when Carl called, I was surprised.”
“He told you there was interest in Governor’s Point?” I asked.
“It had been several months since we last spoke,” Scott said. “Then, out of the blue he called and said he had recently been introduced to a man who was looking for a piece of land, about fifteen acres or so. This guy wanted to develop the land in an environmentally responsible way and Carl asked if I would talk to him. Man, I jumped at the chance!”
There were so many things I wanted to ask and Scott was very willing to share all he knew. Our conversation just flowed. Before we finished, Scott had provided a complete picture of his history with Governor’s Point, but not the identity of this potential buyer who Carl had never named. Scott and Carl last spoke on Thursday morning and were supposed to meet on Saturday afternoon to walk the property. After Carl was found at Governor’s Point, Scott wondered if all of his hopes for this land were forever in the past.
“So Carl did not mention someone named Evan Weisman to you?”
“Evan Weisman, the Newport developer? Heck no. Is that the buyer’s name? He is a huge real estate investor, too.”
“To be honest, Scott, I am not really sure. His name has been tossed around as someone Carl had been spending time with recently. He is an investor with an interest in environmentally friendly development, so I wondered if this was your mystery man.”
“I mean, that would have been out of this world. He has been growing his portfolio and is all over the trade magazines, but I don’t know him personally. Carl did tell me I might have to sign an NDA before the meeting I was supposed to have on Saturday. Maybe it was Mr. Weisman, I really don’t know.”
I thanked Scott—sincerely. “It was really great to talk to you, Scott, appreciate all your insight here. I took good notes, but we may have some follow-up. Is it okay with you if I reach out again?” Talking to Scott was like talking to someone I had known for years.
“Call me any time, Carr, and I want to come meet you in person. Donna has raved about your store and I told her I’m fixin’ to sit on your porch with one of my crime books. One day soon, I am going to do just that,” he said warmly.
We hung up.
“Let the day begin!” I announced to Tripp and Buddy, feeling the energy of progress. Customers already were sitting on the porch and several were exploring the featured-author shelves. Maybe I would add the Florida author to this display, especially now that tourists were arriving.