The property know as the Burrus Land Tract.
In an attempt to resolve a dispute with lenders, the owners of a giant piece of land in Chesterfield County have taken to the trees.
Two local developers are part of a plan to designate a chunk of a 1,400-acre wooded property as a conservation area with the goal of generating tax credits to pay off their partner’s defaulted loans.
The deal involves Highlands West LLC, whose principals are local developers George Emerson and Phil Roper, and Fairweather Investments LLC, controlled by their partner in Maryland, David Fairweather.
With the 1,400 acres mired in several lawsuits, the two sides last month transferred 438 acres of the property through a conservation easement to the Virginia Department of Forestry, said Bill Bayliss, an attorney with Williams Mullen who is representing Highlands West. That designation gives the property owners a good chance to receive tax credits.
“The property at this point won’t be developed at this time, and there was an opportunity to take part of it and generate some income,” Bayliss said. “Hopefully this generates quite a bit of money to go to the banks on Fairweather’s behalf and to Highlands to satisfy any claims they might have.”
Highlands will receive 30 percent of the proceeds from any tax credit revenue.
The property, known as the Burrus Land Tract, has been tied up in court for more than a year. Fairweather was sued by two out-of-town banks after allegedly defaulting on millions of dollars in loans secured by a deed on the Chesterfield property.
Fairweather Investments, controlled by David Fairweather and his wife, Jane Fairweather, both real estate agents from Bethesda, Md., borrowed about $9 million on the property from Monument Bank and Washington Savings Bank.
With the banks threatening to foreclose, Highlands sued Fairweather to protect Roper and Emerson’s interest in the land.
Emerson and Roper bought a 30 percent stake in the property from Fairweather in 2004. The land is off Nash Road, not far from the Highlands, a golf and country club development also developed by Emerson. Highlands paid $1.27 million for its share.
“We didn’t have any debt on it,” Roper said. “We paid ours up front. We were just trying to protect our position.”
With the conservation deal in place, Highlands and Fairweather have mostly settled their beef.
“We’re not adversaries by any means. It was just business,” Emerson said. “[Fairweather] got into some issues. We are in pretty good terms with that partner now.”
The 438 acres transferred to the state consist of acreage owned jointly by Fairweather and Highlands. That leaves about 1,000 acres for potential development. It’s owned 70/30 by Fairweather and Highlands, respectively.
Emerson said they’ll eventually have a feasibility study done on the property to determine its potential. But any development is likely a ways off.
“It’s still a good piece of land. You just have to be patient now,” Emerson said. “We’ve been developing for 32 years. All things happen in due time.”
The property know as the Burrus Land Tract.
In an attempt to resolve a dispute with lenders, the owners of a giant piece of land in Chesterfield County have taken to the trees.
Two local developers are part of a plan to designate a chunk of a 1,400-acre wooded property as a conservation area with the goal of generating tax credits to pay off their partner’s defaulted loans.
The deal involves Highlands West LLC, whose principals are local developers George Emerson and Phil Roper, and Fairweather Investments LLC, controlled by their partner in Maryland, David Fairweather.
With the 1,400 acres mired in several lawsuits, the two sides last month transferred 438 acres of the property through a conservation easement to the Virginia Department of Forestry, said Bill Bayliss, an attorney with Williams Mullen who is representing Highlands West. That designation gives the property owners a good chance to receive tax credits.
“The property at this point won’t be developed at this time, and there was an opportunity to take part of it and generate some income,” Bayliss said. “Hopefully this generates quite a bit of money to go to the banks on Fairweather’s behalf and to Highlands to satisfy any claims they might have.”
Highlands will receive 30 percent of the proceeds from any tax credit revenue.
The property, known as the Burrus Land Tract, has been tied up in court for more than a year. Fairweather was sued by two out-of-town banks after allegedly defaulting on millions of dollars in loans secured by a deed on the Chesterfield property.
Fairweather Investments, controlled by David Fairweather and his wife, Jane Fairweather, both real estate agents from Bethesda, Md., borrowed about $9 million on the property from Monument Bank and Washington Savings Bank.
With the banks threatening to foreclose, Highlands sued Fairweather to protect Roper and Emerson’s interest in the land.
Emerson and Roper bought a 30 percent stake in the property from Fairweather in 2004. The land is off Nash Road, not far from the Highlands, a golf and country club development also developed by Emerson. Highlands paid $1.27 million for its share.
“We didn’t have any debt on it,” Roper said. “We paid ours up front. We were just trying to protect our position.”
With the conservation deal in place, Highlands and Fairweather have mostly settled their beef.
“We’re not adversaries by any means. It was just business,” Emerson said. “[Fairweather] got into some issues. We are in pretty good terms with that partner now.”
The 438 acres transferred to the state consist of acreage owned jointly by Fairweather and Highlands. That leaves about 1,000 acres for potential development. It’s owned 70/30 by Fairweather and Highlands, respectively.
Emerson said they’ll eventually have a feasibility study done on the property to determine its potential. But any development is likely a ways off.
“It’s still a good piece of land. You just have to be patient now,” Emerson said. “We’ve been developing for 32 years. All things happen in due time.”
Great example of creative thinking!