Shoreline Development, LLC (A Mississippi Limited Liability Company)
Company and Principals’ Background

Shoreline Development, LLC is a residential real estate development company headquartered in Biloxi, Mississippi with projects located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Organized in late 2004, the Company focuses on small to medium sized residential developments with products covering a broad spectrum of price points from affordable multi-family developments to high-end single family communities.

Shoreline’s Principals:

James “Bo” Ethridge, Chief Executive Officer:

Mr. Ethridge, 34, serves as the Company’s CEO. Born and raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Bo obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Management from Southeastern Louisiana University and his MBA from William Carey College. He co-founded Shoreline in December of 2004 having most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of a local residential development company specializing in affordable housing projects. Before returning to the Coast in 2002, Bo lived in Charleston, South Carolina where he acquired a great appreciation for a variety of architectural genres not typically found on the Gulf Coast. His appreciation of “southern, low-country” style is apparent in Shoreline’s projects.

In addition to his general Company management role, Bo is the creative side of Shoreline’s business. He is the primarily responsible for the conceptual design of the Company’s developments. His keen eye and attention to detail is evident in every Shoreline undertaking from investment-grade residential projects to upper end single family planned unit developments. From project evaluation to design to construction, Bo is hands-on in all aspects of Shoreline’s developments. As little as possible is left to chance as he meets several times a week with the Company’s planners, architects, engineers, and contractors. His weekly jobsite inspections ensure that all Projects are built to design specifications and that the integrity of construction materials being used is maintained.

Bo is married and is the father of two sons, ages three years and eighteen months. He is a member of First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs, Mississippi where he was recently ordained as a Deacon. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Bo and Shoreline, as volunteers, completed the restoration of the Church which was inundated by thirteen feet of water.  In his spare time, Bo is an avid sailor and enjoys duck hunting and fishing. 

Tim Menius, Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Menius, 50, serves as the Company’s CFO. The son of a career Air Force officer, Tim was born at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, and despite numerous reassignments to other Air Force bases, his family has always called Biloxi home. Tim spent thirteen years on the Coast before graduating magna cum laude from The University of Mississippi with his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. Prior to moving into private industry, Mr. Menius, a Certified Public Accountant, was the partner in charge of the real estate practice at one of the largest local accounting firms on the Coast.

With a twenty year background in the accounting, taxation, and financing of real estate ventures, Tim is highly qualified to run the financial affairs of Shoreline Development. Due to his tenure in public accounting with an emphasis on real estate, he has vast experience in entity structuring and transactional planning to maximize investor returns and minimize income tax costs. Tim is frequently called upon by his former clients to evaluate proposed real estate ventures, either from a developer or an investor perspective, Tim’s knowledge of investment analysis and evaluation is a very valuable asset to Shoreline. Early in the planning stages of any investment development, Tim formulates an investor model based upon preliminary cost estimates to determine the likelihood that the proposed developments yields investor returns that would be acceptable to him as an investor. If the project does not pass this initial test, it is rejected.  If accepted, the model is then continually updated as new cost and market information is received, and in order to continue, the projected investment returns must be maintained at acceptable levels. Tim’s knowledge of the post-Katrina GO-Zone Act and its impact on real estate investment on the Mississippi Gulf Coast has proven quite helpful in the Company’s marketing efforts.

Tim is married with two sons ages twenty-one and twenty-two. He is a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Biloxi. An avid sports fan and former member of the Ole Miss varsity golf team, he is also long-suffering (until recently) die hard fan of the New Orleans Saints.

Shoreline Principles:

Since founding the Company, the owners have operated Shoreline on the basis of two principles:

• “We will not develop any product that our own families wouldn’t live in.” While it might not be our desire to live in an investment townhome, we will cut no corners in quality that would preclude us from doing so.
• “Value must be given commensurate with value received”

Regardless of the price point of a particular development, whether investment type or high-end property, we will deliver the best possible value for the buyer’s dollar.

Company Projects to Date:

• Irish Oaks Condominiums- A twelve unit condominium project located at the corner of Irish Hill Drive and Saint Jude Street in Biloxi, Mississippi. Moderately priced development two blocks north of the beach in Biloxi. Designed primarily as a more affordable principal residence alternative to the much more expensive high-rise beachfront condominiums being planned in Biloxi. Unit sizes range from 1,570 to 1,920 square feet. Project is under construction with a projected completion date of April 2007. All units are eligible for Go-Zone incentives.

• Sweetgrass Estates (A Single-Family Planned Unit Development)- This thirty four unit, private single family development is located on eight acres at the corner of Government Street and Hanley Road in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The site is the lone remaining large undeveloped contiguous tract of land considered “close-in” to historic downtown Ocean Springs. Approximately 18 months in planning, this exclusive development was styled after two very well known private communities in Charleston, South Carolina…I’on and Hibben. The property contains dozens of mammoth live oak tress, some of which have been aged at 500 plus years, and the development has been designed around them. With rear-loaded garages, each home will face inward onto several acres of green space and one of three aerated lakes. The project has been approved by the City and infrastructure work will commence around February 1. Total development time for all of the thirty four homes is projected to be twelve to eighteen months.

• Benachi Place Duplexes- A seven-building (fourteen residences) duplex development on Benachi Street in downtown Biloxi. This affordable investment project had been submitted to the City for design review when Katrina came ashore. Due to the City’s deliberation in adopting the post-Katrina flood elevations, construction on Benachi Place was delayed pending resolution of that issue. In the hurricane aftermath, Shoreline is now being required to elevate the buildings to the newly adopted 19 foot flood elevation. Accordingly, the buildings will now have to be elevated on pilings, and the City is in the process of final review and approval of the revised foundation engineering plans. Projected construction start date is mid-February with a projected completion date of June 2007.

Shoreline’s Near Term Development Strategy:

Each of the developments discussed above was planned before the landfall of Hurricane Katrina. In light of the completely devastating effects of the storm i.e., 70,000 residential units on the Mississippi Gulf Coast were either destroyed or heavily damaged, and the subsequently passed GO-Zone legislation, the Company’s principals made a philosophical shift in the selection of projects it intends to develop going forward. Specifically, owing partly to the dramatic need for housing of all types and partly to the fact that the GO-Zone tax incentives will expire at the end of 2010, Shoreline will, for the next two years, focus its attention primarily on moderately priced developments that can be completed by that date. It is an undeniable fact that for the Coast to recover, it is imperative that we replace the housing units that were wiped away.