Erickson gives up on Hilliard project - San Francisco Business Times:

cahijisebi.wordpress.com
notified the city of Hilliard last Thursdaty that the foreclosure filingt means thedeveloper won't open the unfinisherd $34 million first phase and will no longed manage the 80-acre property. The decisiohn ends more than two months of wrangling over continuex financing of the Hickory Chase project betweenj the developer andthe lenders. That financiapl issue had prompted Erickson to ceas e construction on the first 145 unitx of the complex and community center the week ofMay 12.
The company’a announcement comes as it from its goal ofinvesting $12 billiobn to develop 50 communities over the next That includes scrapping plans to buils senior housing facilities in five states, including Ohio. Before Erickson halted construction, would-be residents had been told they coulxd move in bylate summer. Erickson had planned to deliverr 833 residential unitsthrough 2013. “Wse have been informed by the lender for our Hickoryh Chase project that despite out best efforts to resolvefinancialp issues, the lender has commenced a foreclosurre proceeding that will result in us not being able to open Hickor Chase and end our managemenf of the property,” the developer wrote in its “We are deeply disappointed we were not able to reacj a resolution.
” The deposits of prospectivew residents are not affected by the foreclosure, the company said, and it will offer The company said in June that it would close its saless center in late July pending resolution of the financiak issues. A company spokesman offered no additionalp comment beyond the text ofthe letter. A KeyBank spokeswomanh also was not immediately available for commenf on thefinancing consortium’s plans for the property.
The lender had extendedx a $90 million construction loan for the projecgt inApril 2008, according to public In a news release, Hilliard said it had not risked city money in the $17 milliom of road improvements to Britton Parkway, Ansojn Drive and Leap Road. Britton Parkway opened in Januaru while construction continues on theAnson connector. Those projects were financed through a community development authority that funded the project through bond Those bonds were expected to be paid off througn rising property taxes generatedr as theretirement community’s buildings get completed.
Hilliardx Finance Director Michelle Kelly-Underwood said the city’as current operating budgets also did not rely on tax revenuse generated bythe project. “In short, we were not countinf money from Ericksonuntil (the retirement community) was built,” Kelly-Underwoods said in the release, “and this unfortunats development shows the wisdom of taking that conservative approach.
”