Construction has been stopped on a high-end golfing community development in Tennessee after payments to contractors were defaulted upon by Lehman Brothers
Work Stopped at Laurel Cove After Lehman Brothers Collapse
Laurel Cove was one of the largest active residential projects in Tennessee, but work has now stopped completely and is “on hold” indefinitely. Lehman is/was the lender and had been doling out the loan in the form of direct payments to contractors on a monthly basis, but no payments have been made for the last two months. The developers, “Tentara Partners” and “Legacy properties,” have made assurances that they can fund the project without outside input, but there will be a delay while the loan is transferred. Philip Jones, president of Tentara Partners, said in a statement to the Nashville Business Journal,
“We want to assure the public that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has no ownership in the project. We anticipate a four to five month complicated negotiating process with the Lehman Bankruptcy Trustee.”
The developers attorney, Will Cheek said,
“When Lehman filed for bankruptcy, they had approved paying the contractors but didn’t fund those payments. We’re working to fund those payments and purchase the loan. They haven’t paid our people for the work they’ve done for the past two months. Two years ago, it never crossed anyone’s mind that our lender would file for bankruptcy.”
The development will have a Greg Norman-designed golf course, which it was hoped would eventually host the PGA tournament; and 800 luxury homes. 500 of the plots have already been sold to builders. In an unusually sensible move for a government body, the local county had insisted that all the amenities, infrastructure and golf course were completed before allowing construction to start on the homes. The first nine holes are already finished and all amenities are over half completed.
“Legacy Properties and Tentara Partners strongly believe in the continued viability of the Laurel Cove golf and residential development and are anxious to get the Lehman issues resolved and construction moving again,” said Mr. Jones.
