A Texas bankruptcy filing by WholeLife Properties may scuttle the company’s planned mixed-use Wildwood development north of County Road 466A across from Pinellas Plaza.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 7 in Texas Northern District Federal Court. The next hearing is Sept. 6 before U.S. Judge Mark X. Mullin and the deadline for proof of claims is Oct. 27.
WholeLife announced last December that its planned development would include 543,500 square feet of commercial space, 172,240 square feet of institutional space and more than 700 homes and apartments.
The first phase, scheduled to begin as early as last spring, called for 400 luxury bungalows expected to rent to adults age 55 and older on three-year leases for $3,000 to $4,000 a month. An apartment building of up to six stories also was planned for the site.
Now, the project could be scrapped due to the bankruptcy, which was prompted by a lender’s May 13 letter threatening foreclosure on vacant land the company owns in McKinney, Texas.
The filing does not affect the adjacent Trailwinds development along CR 466A next to the Sandhill golf course, where construction of roads, sewer lines and other infrastructure improvements began two weeks ago.
Bankruptcy documents list John P. Lowery as the sole member of WholeLife Properties and WholeLife Companies.
On the filing date, WholeLife listed assets of $20.2 million including property, equipment and social club memberships. Liabilities were $5.41 million, including a $3.1-million mortgage loan to II CB, L.P., a $1.8-million mortgage loan to B&A Family Partnership, $92,662 to Frisco (Texas) Independent School District, $92,662 to the Collins County Tax Collector nad $92,662 to the City of McKinney, Texas, according to court documents.
On July 19, federal trustee William Neary filed a motion to appoint an independent trustee to oversee the case or convert it to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy because WholeLife’s attorneys withdrew from representing the company. The attorneys said WholeLife had paid just $20,000 of its $50,000 retainer. Franklin Hayward took over as WholeLife’s attorney in August.
Neary said WholeLife also had failed to provide tax returns and operating statements and that Lowery did not attend an initial debtor meeting.
In a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the debtor is able to negotiate with creditors while the assets are sold off to pay debts in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Lowery has a connection to Cornerstone Ministries, an Atlanta company founded by Cecil Brooks which filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Lowery joined Cornerstone in 2004 to oversee its investments in housing projects. He received $227,859 from Cornerstone for his project Wellstone at Craig Ranch in McKinney, which never was profitable, according to court documents.
