Two hundred acres of fertile rural farmland in Varina with a stretch of waterfront on the James River will be auctioned off March 25, the result of a foreclosure of one of Richmond’s biggest builders.
In 2006, an entity called Randolph Estates LLC (perhaps the future name of the project) paid $2.5 million for the narrow 210-acre parcel. That entity was run by the heads of Richmond-based Prospect Homes, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
BizSense was unable to reach Prospect Homes or their lawyer.
The parcel was a former dairy farm known as Turkey Island Farm, south of New Market Road and bordering Turkey Island Road. The property has two ponds that were created when the land was mined for gravel and is assessed by Henrico County at $2.1 million.
The farm might be slow to develop because the soil isn’t great for putting in individual wells and septic systems, according to an official with the Henrico zoning office. There are no public water or sewer lines on the property, he said.
In January, a bankruptcy court judge said that a handful of banks could begin the process of foreclosing on some of the land and homes that Prospect owns.
Randolph Estates borrowed $2 million from SunTrust. The property is zoned for agricultural use, and the developers never applied for a change of zoning, according to Henrico officials.
Meanwhile, Prospect Homes continues to lose money even after filing for Chapter 11, according to the latest income statement filed with the bankruptcy court.
The auction is scheduled for March 25 at 10 a.m. on the steps of Henrico County’s Circuit Court.
Read More:
Banks to take back houses/lots from builder
Two hundred acres of fertile rural farmland in Varina with a stretch of waterfront on the James River will be auctioned off March 25, the result of a foreclosure of one of Richmond’s biggest builders.
In 2006, an entity called Randolph Estates LLC (perhaps the future name of the project) paid $2.5 million for the narrow 210-acre parcel. That entity was run by the heads of Richmond-based Prospect Homes, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
BizSense was unable to reach Prospect Homes or their lawyer.
The parcel was a former dairy farm known as Turkey Island Farm, south of New Market Road and bordering Turkey Island Road. The property has two ponds that were created when the land was mined for gravel and is assessed by Henrico County at $2.1 million.
The farm might be slow to develop because the soil isn’t great for putting in individual wells and septic systems, according to an official with the Henrico zoning office. There are no public water or sewer lines on the property, he said.
In January, a bankruptcy court judge said that a handful of banks could begin the process of foreclosing on some of the land and homes that Prospect owns.
Randolph Estates borrowed $2 million from SunTrust. The property is zoned for agricultural use, and the developers never applied for a change of zoning, according to Henrico officials.
Meanwhile, Prospect Homes continues to lose money even after filing for Chapter 11, according to the latest income statement filed with the bankruptcy court.
The auction is scheduled for March 25 at 10 a.m. on the steps of Henrico County’s Circuit Court.
Read More:
Banks to take back houses/lots from builder
This is very sad to read. However, I do commend your excellent reporting. Please keep it up.
Grice McMullan
BizSense should create a poll asking readers to guess at the highest bid for the property on 3/25. Should be interesting…