Kuhn’s Woes Threaten Revitalization Plans [Central Florida]
Cameron Kuhn, who has emerged in recent years as a major developer in downtown Orlando and Jacksonville, Fla., is under siege on numerous fronts, raising questions about the revitalizations of these two city centers.
Late last year, Mr. Kuhn defaulted on about $31 million in loans on land in Orlando and three of his Jacksonville properties, including his high-profile redevelopment of the SunTrust building into office condominiums. In January, Barclays Capital Real Estate Inc. filed a foreclosure action against the garage of his $140 million Plaza development, billed as the largest mixed-use development in downtown Orlando’s history.
Mr. Kuhn also is in danger of losing his house in Windermere in a foreclosure, and faces numerous lawsuits from contractors, companies that occupy his developments and others.
Mr. Kuhn, 48 years old, a Chicago-area native who began to make his mark in Orlando in the mid-1990s, blames the slowing economy and credit crunch. But he also accepts some of the blame for overextending himself as he tried to move into Jacksonville even as he had his hands full with projects in Orlando. “We bit off more than we could chew,” said Mr. Kuhn.