The news came to light after a letter was sent to homeowners, detailing issues for the development that is about an hour and a half drive east of Atlanta.
The developers of the Reynolds Plantation, Greensboro, Ga., have floated a plan to sell off key assets like golf courses, clubhouses and even swimming pools to pay off $45 million in debt to impatient lenders, reports The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
It’s another blow to luxury golf communities in Georgia, following the foreclosure of Country Club of the South’s golf course and last year’s bankruptcy and sale of Sea Island Co.
The news about Reynolds Plantation came to light after a letter was sent to homeowners earlier this month, detailing issues for the development.
According to the letter, signed by Reynolds Plantation Chairman Mercer Reynolds III, a group of banks is demanding a hasty payment of $45 million by April. The payment was requested while the development company was negotiating renewal of a line of credit.
In the letter, Reynolds says he and his cousin, Jamie Reynolds, had “pledged a number of additional assets (totaling approximately $60 million) to the banks,” but the banks still want the large payment in two months. The cost of construction of the amenities being sold is about $136 million, the letter says.
The Reynolds empire at Lake Oconee covers a vast swath of the lake shore in Greene and Putnam counties. It includes three gated communities—Reynolds Plantation, The Landing and Great Waters— a golf academy, and six golf courses, with a seventh on the drawing board. There are around 2,000 dwellings between the three communities.
Attempts by the paper to reach Reynolds Plantation were unsuccessful.
The letter says the line of credit was used by Reynolds Plantation, Linger Longer Development Co., and its affiliates to buy land for further development of the subdivisions and golf courses that are near the Ritz Carlton Lodge.
The letter says the company is pursuing three options for selling the assets: the property owners association, a smaller group of property owners, or an independent third party that has made an offer.
The letter emphasizes that no decision has been made on which way to go.
Other assets being sold include marina facilities, a cottage rental operation, the Lake Club, the Nature & Heritage Center, and several administration and service buildings. The Jackson House is also for sale.
Reynolds Plantation was featured in the July 2008 issue of C&RB (“Growing a Rich Variety of Attractions at Reynolds Plantation”).
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