The White’s Building, an unfinished downtown condo renovation project, is headed for foreclosure sale.
The four-story Broad Street building has been scheduled for sale in the Augusta Municipal Building on Nov. 3, according to a legal notice from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The transformation of the old department store into condominiums came to halt after Duluth, Ga.-based Haven Trust Bank failed in December 2008. The project developer, Horizon Group Investments, had a construction loan through Haven Trust.
The FDIC filed suit again Horizon Group in May when it defaulted on its $5.7 million dollar loan.
First-floor office space and one floor of condos were finished when the work stopped prior to the lawsuit. Two floors of condos remain unfinished.
Horizon was able to sell 12 of the 17 available condos before the loan troubles arose.
The building at 936 Broad St. had been vacant for nearly 20 years, the site of the J.B. White department store before it moved out of downtown in 1978.
Julian Roberts, a member of Renaissance Partners, which owned the J.B. White Building for five years before selling it to Horizon in 2007, said the idea of buying it back to complete the work was “an interesting opportunity.” He added that he had not discussed that opportunity with his partners.
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Isn't there something missing from this story? It seems that I read that the original load was supposed to pay for the entire renovation, and there were several "draws" left on the loan that neither Haven Trust OR the FDIC was willing to fork over. I don't think the loan went into default until Horizon refused to pay due to breach of contract. I honestly do not know ANY of the people involved in this, but I do remember what I read in this very paper last year about the situation. All I am saying is that this story makes it sound like everything was so simple: "The FDIC filed suit again Horizon Group in May when it defaulted on its $5.7 million dollar loan." anyway..... just sayin'
I had a hand in a company that was making an attempt to buy the property several years ago. We dealt with many young and cunning men...a Simkins, who seemed like a VERY bright young man, and 3 cohorts, that could not light a bulb if supplied the power, the outlet and the 40 watter. The main drawback to my group was the atrocious elevator that led to the upstairs. From every angle, it was NOT feasible to repair, although it was being pushed as a major attraction. Needless to say, if the young Simkins had been the only one to deal with, our investors would have bought into it despite the parking woes. But, as it lay out...no way.