"As far as the Tilles organization is concerned, there is a valid contract with Holiday management and they are proceeding with the process in the Town of Huntington," said Tilles' attorney on the transaction, Morton Weber. "Tilles has not been involved with any negotiations or communications with Canon," Weber said. "Tilles has a valid contract with Holiday - they have no contract with Canon."
Holiday already has a contract to buy the coveted pumpkin farm parcel for roughly $70 million and Tilles Investment Co. Lp had a pending application to allow 342 units of senior town houses and condominiums on the property when Holiday began negotiating with Canon this spring. Observers have speculated the Holiday Organization would seek to complete the purchase, then flip the land to Canon for a profit, while the Tilles Cos. was seeking to escape its contract so it could sell the property to Canon directly.
The Town of Huntington has indicated it prefers Canon or other commercial uses to senior housing and may turn down the rezoning request, and the Tilles Cos. believes the sale contract is contingent on that rezoning.
Howard Stein, an attorney for the Holiday Organization, disagrees.
"If the rezoning to residential is not approved, Holiday has the right under the contract to waive approvals and close, and Holiday's position is that it fully intends to close regardless," he said last night.
Weber, meanwhile, contended that Tilles' apparent disinterest in bringing Canon to Suffolk wasn't mere bargaining-table brinksmanship.
"Roger's not playing poker, I can assure you," Weber said of Roger Tilles. "If the town turns down his request, he's already zoned commercial and can put up a 520,000-square-foot office building. He has had no contact, no relationship with Canon. He has not spoken to Canon. Roger still owns the property."
Stein was reluctant to comment further last night.
"I still have every hope that everything will be worked through," he said. "The parties are still talking."
Spokesmen for Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone said they had not seen the Tilles letter and did not know what was behind it, but hoped that Canon would eventually wind up coming to Suffolk.
"[The pumpkin farm is] not the only game in town," Levy spokesman Ed Dumas added.
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