Two neighbouring multi-million dollar residential coastal developments at Cable Bay in the Far North are now facing forced sale of assets. Crystal Waters, a $50 million project with a planned 50 apartments, was wound up by the Inland Revenue Department last month. Cable Bay Sections Ltd, owner of near neighbour Cable BayEstate, is still trading, but will lose 16 parcels of land in a mortgagee sale at the Copthorne Bay of Islands next Saturday. The mortgagee sale was instigated by finance company St Laurence Ltd when Cable Bay Sections Ltd defaulted on a loan. St Laurence has a mortgage over the land being sold. Cable Bay Estate was originally planned to have 89 residential sections. Development started years ago, but much of the land is still bare although fully serviced. The 16 parcels being sold range in size from 640sq m with a current rateable valuation of $210,000 through to 8300sq m - current rateable value, $345,000. The sale will be one of the biggest multiple-site mortgagee sales held in Northland. Bayleys Real Estate agent Chester Rendell, who is managing the sale, says "acceptable prices will be substantially less than rateable value". The demise of the neighbouring Crystal Waters last month has created a knock-on effect in other areas of Northland with owners Christopher Hook and Dan McEwan involved in projects planned for Urupukapuka and Waiwera respectively. Crystal Waters was planned to be Northland's largest coastal condominium to date. Twenty-five of the planned 50 apartments have been completed. The directors told the liquidator the company got into financial difficulties because of poor sales following the downturn in the property market.
