Don Christy: A pioneer overtaken by a changing industry

Hilton Head Island businessman Don Christy built a property management powerhouse that, at its peak, managed thousands of condos, townhomes and villas from Sea Pines to Savannah.

But more than 40 years of Christy's hard work came crashing down last month when his company, Property Administrators Inc., abruptly closed.

Days later, federal investigators left the company's Shelter Cove office with dozens of hard drives and financial records, leaving condominium regime leaders to wonder what happened to millions of their dollars that had been managed by Property Administrators.

Not much is known about the investigation.

The FBI isn't talking. And neither is Christy.

The Island Packet requested an interview through his attorney and during a visit to his Palmetto Dunes home, but Christy did not respond. Neighbors say Christy, 72, is still on the island and has been seen walking Summer, his Golden Retriever.

The businessman has not been charged with a crime.

Many in the condo management industry are shocked by the surprise downfall of his successful company.

Interviews with former employees, clients and associates paint Christy as a savvy owner who capitalized on a need for condo association managers during the island's development boom of the 1970s.

His business grew rapidly and thrived for years, but shrunk when faced with competition from similar companies and the squeeze of the Great Recession, according to former employees and island business owners.

Still, those close to him who spoke with The Island Packet said they suspected no wrongdoing. Members of condo regimes that worked with him the longest -- some for decades -- said Christy and his company could be trusted.

"I never had a reason to doubt their veracity or integrity ... There were never any issues that popped up," said Ray Pfeiffer, board president of Inverness Village, a condominium regime in Palmetto Dunes that was a Property Administrators' client.

"It was the same process for 25 years. You get to a certain level of trust when you deal with people for that long."

PALMETTO DUNES PIONEER

It was the early 1970s and business at Palmetto Dunes was booming.

Hotels, homes and condominiums were rising swiftly at the mid-island development, which founders had started to compete with Charles Fraser's Sea Pines Plantation.

It seemed a new condo regime -- Hickory Cove, Ocean Villas, Queen Grant-- was opening every day, according to E.G. Robinson III, who was part of the Palmetto Dunes development team.

"As soon as we got one approved we'd start the next," he said. "We were going like gangbusters."

Developers needed someone to manage the condos. They hired Air Force veteran Don Christy.

"He was fresh out of the service, just married," Robinson said. "Just a nice young man who needed a good solid position for his family."

The developers sold Property Administrators Inc. to Christy for $1, according to Robinson. The company was responsible for finances, administrative work and maintenance contracts for the condo associations.

"Don grabbed hold and did a wonderful job," Robinson said. "He was part of the first group of Palmetto Dunes pioneers."

Christy quickly joined Hilton Head's elite. In 1974, he served as chairman of the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce board, according to a 2007 chamber newsletter.

Meanwhile, his business expanded as more condos were built in neighboring Shelter Cove and Leamington.

The Pennsylvania native had "first crack" at new Palmetto Dunes projects, said Phil Schembra, who came to the island in 1976 and now owns Schembra Real Estate Group, which specializes in Palmetto Dunes properties.

"He was unquestionably the biggest in Palmetto Dunes," Schembra said. "He had a good reputation and he lasted."

Over the years, Christy amassed condo regimes in Sea Pines and other parts of the island. The business spread into Bluffton and coastal Georgia.

Several of the Palmetto Dunes and Sea Pines condos Christy gained in the 1970s continued to be managed by Property Administrators until the company closed last month.

FAMILY AFFAIR

As business grew, Christy turned to family members to help out.

His wife, Ann, is listed as vice president of the company. She's named as a defendant in regimes' lawsuit against Property Administrators. She declined to comment during a reporter's visit this month to the Christy home, which is worth $584,900, according to property records.

Christy's son-in-law, Rob Moore, worked for Property Administrators for 21 years. He was responsible for a handful of Hilton Head condo associations, according to former clients. In December 2013, Moore left the company to join Charter One Realty on Hilton Head, according to his Linkedin page. Moore declined to comment.

Another son-in-law, Steven Anderson, worked for Property Administrators for 16 years. He supervised the company's Bluffton and Georgia operations, which included 34 different condominium and homeowners' associations with annual budgets from $20,000 to $1 million, according to Anderson's Linkedin page.

In January 2014, Anderson left the company and started his own, Advantage Association Management, presumably taking the Bluffton and Georgia clients with him. Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

'THERE WAS NO WARNING'

Christy's red-hot enterprise was waning long before it was shuttered last month.

In the late 1990s, Hilton Head's population skyrocketed and a wave of new management companies entered the market.

Firms such as IMC Resort Services and Allied Management offered lower prices, capturing condo regimes from older businesses.

Christy's company felt the competition.

Business associates said his company, once the only management firm in Palmetto Dunes, was chopped in half.

Bill Baldwin, broker-in-charge at Dunes Marketing Group, said new players showed up across the real estate industry during the early 2000s. Many companies had to evolve or risk being left behind.

"Before, we were the only ones," said Baldwin, who has worked in Hilton Head real estate for more than 30 years. "But there isn't a lot to do on this island. Real estate -- buying it, selling it, managing it -- is really the industry. And more younger people came here looking for something to do, and I think some of us lost business that way."

Later in the decade, Property Administrators struggled during the Great Recession.

One former employee said staff was cut during the downturn, and by the time the company closed only eight full-time employees worked in the office.

By then its place among management companies had shifted.

Once one of the largest companies on the island, Property Administrators had 21 clients at the time of its closure. That falls short of companies such as Associa Services, which manages about 85 associations in Bluffton and on Hilton Head, or IMC Resort Services, which manages more than 70.

Schembra, the Palmetto Dunes real estate broker, said it is hard to determine how many associations Property Administrators managed at its peak because Christy "kept it close to the vest."

"I'm not sure I could answer it for you and I've been in Palmetto Dunes 39 years," Schembra said.

Still, no one expected Property Administrators to close.

On Sunday, Feb. 23, the day before the business shut down, a former employee visited Property Administrators third-floor office in Shelter Cove to prepare for the work week.

Everything was normal, the employee said. Computers were running. Folders and paperwork were spread across desks.

On Monday morning, the employee learned the company had closed.

"There was no warning," the employee said. "We didn't know it was coming."

The FBI investigation into the missing money is ongoing.

Those who know Christy hope the results won't leave a blemish on what was a storied island business.

"I'm shocked," said Robinson. "He had a heck of a company. I'm trying to imagine what happened, analyze it, and I just can't wrap my head around it."

Follow reporter Dan Burley on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Dan.

Related content:

• Judge orders Property Administrators to turn over all money, documents, March 6, 2015
• Property Administrators took $94,000 from Centre Court villas, regime says, Feb. 27, 2015

This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Don Christy: A pioneer overtaken by a changing industry."