The Argus Group yesterday said it is making progress towards completing its five-year quest to buy the Old Colony Club property despite a movement by a growing number of club members who want to block the deal because they believe the property is worth a higher price.

This newspaper reported yesterday that 21 of 25 proxy voters who originally cast votes in favour of selling the 0.7 acre property for $10 million net ? and gave the OCC the mandate to sell to Argus ? are now writing letters in a bid to retract their support.

They accuse other members, who solicited their votes, of failing to inform them that the club had never been advertised on the open market. They also say the members did not tell them that a valuation done on the club?s behalf placed the property?s worth at $15 million.

The Argus Group said yesterday that while OCC member concerns are a matter for the club, it stands by its offer as fair value.

A separate valuation done for The Argus Group put the value of the club?s property at a much lower $8-$10 million which puts its $10 million offer on the highest side of that valuation.

The company is also taking the taking the unusual step of paying all fees including stamp duty, legal costs and real estate commission.

As such, the Argus Group said its payout will be closer to $11 million. The company has not disclosed how much it will pay OCC member Richard Davis who brokered the deal for Argus.

Yesterday, Argus CEO and president Gerald Simons said his company would cooperate with the OCC to ?facilitate the next step in the life of the club? since, for now, it is primarily interested in securing Planning permission to expand its building onto a 3,000 square foot piece of OCC land directly behind its construction site.

Argus had actually offered to buy just that plot of land for $2 million, but the OCC membership rejected the offer outright earlier this year.

The membership also originally rejected the Argus Group?s $10 million offer, but after The Argus Group rejected a counteroffer of $12.5 million, it put its $10 million offer back on the table when a ?a lobby of the membership? made a request for it.

?We were originally interested in a jig of land and since that jig of land wasn?t available for sale we put in an offer for the entire site.

?We?ll sort out what we?ll do with it in the longer term. We don?t have any immediate plans to develop it,? said Mr. Simons.

This newspaper noted that $10 million was a large sum to spend when the company was only interested in 3,000 square feet of desired land, however, Mr. Simons said the rest of the land will eventually be put to good use.

?The land won?t go bad. Opportunities such as this come along once every 20-30 years so you?re obliged to actively pursue it,? he said.

Seven years ago, Argus purchased a parcel of property next door to the OCC for $468 per square foot. Using that figure, members who oppose the deal argue that the 30,000 square foot OCC property would have been worth $14 million in 1999 so, why would it be worth just $10 million today.

Mr. Simons responded that there was a real difference between the tract of land his company purchased in 1999 and the OCC property.

The older purchase was of particular interest since it was adjacent to the Argus building and also had frontage on Wesley Street and direct access to the City Hall car park.

The OCC property is on a minor road, a fact Mr. Simons said would make it less valuable per square foot.

The Argus Group gave members a tight deadline both times it extended its $10 million offer. Some members have told this newspaper that the 20-day deadline helped to ?divide and conquer? the membership and force them into a hasty decision.

However, after five years of discussions about buying the property and with construction next door underway, Mr. Simons said the deadline was appropriate.

?Our building next door has started and we wish to expand the size and footprint of that building and every day delay costs us money and that is why we wish to bring it to conclusion,? he said.

Asked whether he was worried that the deal would fall through, he said: ?We have been attempting to acquire this property for five years so, we?re not totally surprised by further delays but, at some point, it is our hope to acquire the property and move on.?