After more than a year, the ownership of The Heritage House in Little River remains as hidden from the public as the oceanfront views on the spectacular property.
But a documentary paper trail and jet flight plans point to Florida billionaire Jeff Greene as a primary owner.
Greene has not responded to phone calls or emails. An exhaustive search of public records turned up his name on one application to transfer a liquor license to Heritage House, set to take place on May 15 (if approved by the State). Secondly, a search of jet airplane flights into Little River Airport found that a jet owned by Greene visited several times in the past year.
Liquor license
Antonio Ramirez-Carvajal and “Berta” Alice Garcia-Carvajal have applied to the State to sell a business at 790 Port Road in Point Arena and its retail liquor license for $70,000. Printed on the State form filed at the county Recorder”s Office is the name of the proposed buyer of the business and license Jeff B. Greene, for the Heritage House Resort.
Greene”s name does not appear on a similar form obtained from the State Bureau of Alcoholic Beverage Control. On that form, Octagon Holdings, Inc. is listed as the buyer. Octagon Holdings, a California corporation, claims the vacant second floor of a Palm Beach, Fla., office building as its headquarters. This seems to be part of extensive efforts to keep the ownership a secret.
The Carvajals once owned The Arena Cove Bar and Grill in Point Arena, which is now owned by someone else as The Pier Chowder House & Tap Room. They surrendered that liquor license in 2011. The Carvajals could not be reached for comment.
The Heritage House”s own liquor license has two files, one marked withdrawn and the other “automatically revoked” after the closure.
Ownership rumors
Parties unknown paid $8 million for six parcels of Heritage House property on March 27, 2012, county records say, then another $470,000 to add a new parcel next door.
Heritage House is set to reopen this summer, according to its newly revamped website. The new ownership plans a public reception before the opening, the website says.
Three people have contacted this reporter and said Jeff Greene was the owner. Two said they had met him at Heritage House. All three said they did not want their names used. Their stories could not be independently verified.
Another man thought the new owner might be “Leonard Green.” That incorrect rumor was particularly interesting when this reporter used FAA and other records to track down two private jets that have visited the Little River Airport (on the presumption that very wealthy people wouldn”t drive the curvy roads to visit their property).
One private jet is owned by Sunshine Florida Investments, an openly Jeff Greene company, located in his headquarters in the historic old post office building in Palm Beach, Fla. Owned by Greene, the jet flies all over the world on a regular basis and is used for charters by others than Greene meaning his jet”s arrival does not prove Greene himself has come.
That Jeff Greene plane has the initials “JG” at the end of its FAA tail number. Another unrelated jet, has the initials “LG” at the end of its tail number. The two are the only private jets to visit Little River Airport more than once during 2012, our initial investigation found.
Leonard Green himself is deceased but his name still appears on firm logos from sweatshirts to airplanes, which could have led to the source”s confusion with Jeff Greene.
More rumors
John Danhakl, a top partner with Leonard Green Inc. and Partners, uses the “LG” jet shown on visits to his oceanfront home, once owned by the late Lauren and Hazel Dennen. The Dennens owned the Heritage House for four decades.
“I”ve no involvement at all with Heritage House never considered it at all,” said Danhakl this week. He had to Google Jeff Greene to find out who the Florida billionaire was.
David Siegel, another Florida billionaire, was also reported to this reporter as an owner of Heritage House. Siegel owns Westgate Resorts, a major timeshare company. Heritage House has been marketed and looked at by other timeshare companies, as it is composed of many separate pieces, so that would make sense.
Siegel is best known for his efforts to build America”s biggest mansion with his wife, Jacqueline, a former Miss Florida. Westgate Resorts and Siegel also did not return messages seeking to find if they own part or all of Heritage House.
Jeff Greene
Jeff Greene owns several luxury hotels in Florida. Before apparently buying the Heritage House, he had no obvious connection to the Mendocino Coast.
Greene, ranked recently as the 218th richest man in America, spent $23 million on an unsuccessful challenge of Kendrick Meek in the 2010 Democratic primary. The former Republican became a sensation in the Florida news media for a history of hosting celebrities and wild parties aboard his 145-foot yacht, the Summerwind. Celebrities have included Mike Tyson, Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton, published stories and photos show.
Greene accused the Florida media of mischaracterizing how he made his money. Greene made more than a billion by trading credit default swaps, when he foresaw the bursting of the housing bubble. He accused newspapers of costing him the election.
Greene unsuccessfully sued the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times for libel, particularly over an Aug. 8, 2010, article and Aug. 9 editorial about his role in the 2006 sale of La Mirage, a 300-unit condominium complex fashioned from old military housing in the Mojave Desert.
The deal involved inflated sales prices to straw buyers that cost banks and taxpayers millions, according to the newspaper stories. Greene”s company sold the units to a man who was later indicted by a federal grand jury for fraud and money laundering in connection with La Mirage and other real estate transactions.
Reopening on the horizon
The Heritage House has a newly revamped website at www.heritagehouseresort.com. The website presents recent pictures of the property, most of which is hidden from public view because of the position of the bluffs and buildings.
The pictures show that many of the amenities installed by the previous owners but never used have been completed, such as a big exercise facility and flat screen TVs.
The site allows reservations to be made and announces that the new owners will reopen Heritage House this summer. However, attempting reservations now results in a message to call for more information.
An email to the website brought the following reply: “Thank you for your inquiry! The new management company and GM for Heritage House Resort will be taking over within the next 3 weeks,” wrote Heritage House Resort Office Manager Janette Gallegos. “Please contact us again in mid- to late May for an exclusive with the new GM.”
Various travel webpages show Heritage House, which was in business for 59 years before closing, still has a very loyal and strong following. Several of these Heritage House lovers have also posted on the guestbook on the brand new website.
Famed as the set for the 1978 film, “Same Time Next Year,” Heritage House was created by the Dennens after World War II as a spectacular escape. It started with the 1877-built farmhouse that houses the office and dining room and grew to a 37-acre eclectic village as the Dennens added neighboring homes and built cabins.
Its location and views are unrivaled anywhere. Heritage House was often described by sources such as the LA Times as one of the finest hotels in California, when it was run by the Dennens. No phones were installed in the rooms as part of the charm while the Dennens owned it.
“Please don”t change the style of the “same time next year” theme of old California days, lost so often to investors just trying to “improve” and modernize. I loved it with the fireplace blazing and the sea roaring below. A bygone era that was still captured in the charm of Heritage House!” wrote an online poster with the handle DelawareSunburst.
