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Northwest Arkansas Developer Troubles


cowbreath

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I think a lot of us saw this coming.

What happens to Legacy now?

Not sure, I guess if things look as bad as they seem the bank could go after it then sell it off to recoup losses. But who knows how this will work out. Barber might work something out.

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Not sure, I guess if things look as bad as they seem the bank could go after it then sell it off to recoup losses. But who knows how this will work out. Barber might work something out.

It's possible, but with the multi millions being filed against him right now, and the near impossibility of him getting big financing right now, I'd say he pretty much needs to win the lottery to have a shot at keeping ownership of some of his projects.

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It's possible, but with the multi millions being filed against him right now, and the near impossibility of him getting big financing right now, I'd say he pretty much needs to win the lottery to have a shot at keeping ownership of some of his projects.

Yeah I guess it just comes down to what developments does he want to keep. He's already sold off the former Spring Street Lofts.

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Yeah I guess it just comes down to what developments does he want to keep. He's already sold off the former Spring Street Lofts.

The problem is that I think this will make it far harder to sell the condos that are left (which is supposedly most of them). Who wants to buy a condo that may later have a lien against it? I'm not even sure you could get title insurance. What a mess.

If the bank takes it, what do they do with it? They'll have to sell it for a huge loss.

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The problem is that I think this will make it far harder to sell the condos that are left (which is supposedly most of them). Who wants to buy a condo that may later have a lien against it? I'm not even sure you could get title insurance. What a mess.

If the bank takes it, what do they do with it? They'll have to sell it for a huge loss.

Several banks in NWA made bad loans to Barber, IMO, because of his percieved backing by Chambers. Even if his wife signed for them, what is to stop her from filing personal bankruptcy to prevent collection on some of these loans? I suspect that the foreclosure filings are not over. Obviously these banks waited a few months before pouncing, hoping something would be resolved. Its the smaller lien-holders that are really going to get screwed. All those contractors, architects, engineers, etc. who are going to be left holding the ball here.

Its a mess, but central Fayetteville property has been inflated because of several of these projects.

I figure some of these banks are going to have to take a loss, and probably sue several different LLCs to get to the source if they really want to get their money back. It could get very ugly depending on some of the banking rivalries in NWA, Chambers included. Foreclosure is something that, thankfully, I know very little about.

After this shake out, I believe that central Fayetteville will benefit. We have legit developers who have shown a strong interest in doing community-conscious projects and infill. Fayetteville will continue to be a desireable place to live and work. Development will start to match actual demand. More reasonable property prices should actually encourage more gentrification.

I saw the price had been slashed 30% or so on the former Oseguera's on North College Avenue the other day. Its a start. In order for more development to occur, the overpricing deadlock had to end.

I will say this. In fitting homage to Barber's big city aspirations, this mini-bust is very reminiscient of Dallas in the 1980s. ;)

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Yeah I agree as well. I think this will help bring prices back to being more reasonable. Although I imagine some might suffer because they bought in at such a high price and such. Although the market has slowed down and it's easy to blame all the current development inactivity on it. It does seem to me that exorbitant prices are playing their share as well. As many have complained here on the forum, there are a number of buildings and lots that are simply unrealistic in price. While this whole situation will be bad for some, overall I do think it will be better for everyone as a whole.

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Several banks in NWA made bad loans to Barber, IMO, because of his percieved backing by Chambers. Even if his wife signed for them, what is to stop her from filing personal bankruptcy to prevent collection on some of these loans? I suspect that the foreclosure filings are not over. Obviously these banks waited a few months before pouncing, hoping something would be resolved. Its the smaller lien-holders that are really going to get screwed. All those contractors, architects, engineers, etc. who are going to be left holding the ball here.

Its a mess, but central Fayetteville property has been inflated because of several of these projects.

I figure some of these banks are going to have to take a loss, and probably sue several different LLCs to get to the source if they really want to get their money back. It could get very ugly depending on some of the banking rivalries in NWA, Chambers included. Foreclosure is something that, thankfully, I know very little about.

After this shake out, I believe that central Fayetteville will benefit. We have legit developers who have shown a strong interest in doing community-conscious projects and infill. Fayetteville will continue to be a desireable place to live and work. Development will start to match actual demand. More reasonable property prices should actually encourage more gentrification.

I saw the price had been slashed 30% or so on the former Oseguera's on North College Avenue the other day. Its a start. In order for more development to occur, the overpricing deadlock had to end.

I will say this. In fitting homage to Barber's big city aspirations, this mini-bust is very reminiscient of Dallas in the 1980s. ;)

Right on. I lived in D/FW in the mid 80d...same kind of bad development there that didnt sell. There were also a few good projects that sold in spite of a horrible market that is much worse than ours is here. Good design snags what market is there.

M

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Yeah I can see the strip mall part completed, but I'm like you. I doubt we'll ever see the high rise part of it.

what happens with the high rise part will depend on Precept Builders, since it now owns the lot where the deck/tower was planned for. They spent $2.7M for those lots and will surely try to get some return out of that.

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what happens with the high rise part will depend on Precept Builders, since it now owns the lot where the deck/tower was planned for. They spent $2.7M for those lots and will surely try to get some return out of that.

That's a lot of dough. However, a highrise there was always a goofy idea. It would never have been a smart development, in my opinion. Doubt it will ever happen.

Has anyone noticed, however, how little development there is being announced these days? It's awful quiet out there. A whole lot different from 18 months ago when there was something new being announced daily.

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That's a lot of dough. However, a highrise there was always a goofy idea. It would never have been a smart development, in my opinion. Doubt it will ever happen.

Has anyone noticed, however, how little development there is being announced these days? It's awful quiet out there. A whole lot different from 18 months ago when there was something new being announced daily.

Seems like with the height restrictions downtown if someone wanted to build a highrise that area would be a logical place to build one. There's available land, it's relatively close to the freeway for good access and there are already some multi-story buildings in the area. I'd like to see a cluster of highrises around there as long as it's a developer who can follow through on their plans.

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Has anyone noticed, however, how little development there is being announced these days? It's awful quiet out there. A whole lot different from 18 months ago when there was something new being announced daily.

Yeah, granted this typically is the slow time of the year when there's not as much going on. But the boom does seem to be over, at least for now. I've noticed Little Rock seems to keep going, sounds like they've just had another highrise development announced.

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  • 6 months later...

Looks like more foreclosure could be happening soon. This time over some land near Fayetteville. Some of the names mentioned aren't too surprising like Mitchell Massey and especially not Brandon Barber. But I think this is the first time I've seen John Nock's name mentioned in an instance like this. Although I think it's too early to think too badly about Nock. I'm pretty sure he's done some developments with Barber in the past. I imagine this newest example stems more from Barber's problems than Nock's.

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Looks like more foreclosure could be happening soon. This time over some land near Fayetteville. Some of the names mentioned aren't too surprising like Mitchell Massey and especially not Brandon Barber. But I think this is the first time I've seen John Nock's name mentioned in an instance like this. Although I think it's too early to think too badly about Nock. I'm pretty sure he's done some developments with Barber in the past. I imagine this newest example stems more from Barber's problems than Nock's.

Timing probably couldn't be worse for Nock.... I believe he's one of the primary developers of the new Southpass megadevelopment in south Fayetteville. I'm betting that many Fayetteville aldermen and planning staff are asking for assurances that Southpass will get built. If he can't pay the $2.5 Million (or so) owed to the bank now, will investors be comfortable handing over the millions it will take to develop a 1,000 acre development?

Hope it works out for him, but I'm getting a little antsy.....

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Timing probably couldn't be worse for Nock.... I believe he's one of the primary developers of the new Southpass megadevelopment in south Fayetteville. I'm betting that many Fayetteville aldermen and planning staff are asking for assurances that Southpass will get built. If he can't pay the $2.5 Million (or so) owed to the bank now, will investors be comfortable handing over the millions it will take to develop a 1,000 acre development?

Hope it works out for him, but I'm getting a little antsy.....

Yeah, you're not the only one. Sounds like the city is wanting to talk to the developers of the Renaissance as well. Although it sounds like they'll wait till after the last payment has been made.

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  • 1 month later...

I sorta hate to bring up this topic again, since it's bad news. I don't think too many will be surprised to find out that Ben Israel and his Dixie company are filing for Chapter 11. There's been problems building for a while now and seemed like it was just a matter of time.

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  • 4 years later...

Here's a question for all you developers out there...  If I were to take 40 acres on the west side of Fayetteville and make a pretty standard subdivision with quarter acre lots, what would the cost, at current prices, be?  I'm trying to get a ballpark idea of what infrastructure costs run (roads and pipes, etc.) as well as development fees (water fee, sewer fee, landscape fee, etc.).  

 

Is such a project feasible in today's market?  Could you make a profit selling these proposed lots at $40,000 per lot?  $30,000 per lot?  $20,000 per lot?

 

Any insight would be helpful.

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