Georgetown Mall owner faces 14 cents on the dollar creditor settlement on $2B Bloomfield Park
The troubled Bloomfield Park development in Pontiac could reach a settlement in complicated litigation among creditors and developers that would yield 14 cents on the dollar payments, according to a report in the Oakland Press.
The $2 billion development on Telegraph Road was initiated by The Harbor Cos., which also owns Georgetown Mall in Ann Arbor. That property - after several years of late tax payments and a different round of complex litigation - now is moving forward as the Packard Square redevelopment.
Harbor Co. partnered with Developers Diversified Realty to activate Bloomfield Park several years ago after the massive project stalled, and that company is among the defendants in a lawsuit brought by Wells Fargo Bank, according to the Oakland Press.
The bank is attempting to foreclose.
In Ann Arbor, Packard Square recently received City Council approval and bids are being sought for construction of the $50 million retail-apartment project.
However, one key component of the financing is a brownfield tax credit. Washtenaw County's Board of Commissioners will hold a special meeting tonight to discuss that, after expressing hesitation at an earlier meeting.
Comments
zags
Tue, May 17, 2011 : 8:47 p.m.
Washtenaw County Commissioners: Run, do not walk away from this proven sheister. You have the opportunity to NOT lead us down the same path. Don't throw good money after bad. This guy is running the same scam. DON'T DO IT!
dotdash
Tue, May 17, 2011 : 7:16 p.m.
I read the original article and here's what they have to say about Harbor Co head Schubiner: ------- Devine said Schubiner, "pulled a fast one on the city of Pontiac and secured a 20-year tax abatement from Pontiac by virtue of the fact Pontiac then had municipal jurisdiction." Devine said the property was a brownfield — land that is environmentally contaminated. "Schubiner said, 'I want a tax abatement for a brownfield.' The city was between a rock and a hard place after he had claimed he had financing ready to go. He said, 'Without the tax abatement, I can't do the project.'" ------ Isn't this exactly the scenario Schubiner has put before the city and the county for the Georgetown Mall project? Let's learn from history. If this project can't go forward without the county taking on the substantial risk of backing the loan (look at how the Pontiac project turned out) then it probably shouldn't go forward -- as the Pontiac project probably shouldn't have gone forward.
dotdash
Tue, May 17, 2011 : 3:12 p.m.
Can you clarify for the lay person? Is Harbor Co defaulting on a loan that will result in a $0.86 loss on every dollar Wells Fargo invested? Or is it that Harbor Co will get $0.14 from someone else?