A pair of out-of-town developers are interested in the riverfront land near downtown Chattanooga belonging to businessman Allen Casey, with an initial offer among the highest-ever prices per acre in the central city.
A stalking horse bid of $5.6 million is under consideration for the 6.6-acre tract, or $848,484 per acre for the vacant property across the Tennessee River from Ross's Landing, an attorney said Wednesday.
The sale price could rise even higher.
Jerrold Farinash, the trustee in Casey's bankruptcy case, said a letter of intent has been submitted by another developer for an even better price.
Farinash said the developers are expected to be interested in a mix of residential and commercial projects on the vacant property to which Casey's controversial rundown barge was moored before it was towed away last summer.
The trustee declined to name the interested buyers, but he said he's hopeful a sale could close this summer or early fall.
A stalking horse bid is an attempt to test the market for a debtor's assets in advance of an auction of the property.
Farinash told U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Shelley Rucker at a hearing that he has tentative agreements related to key parties in the case, though he expects final settlements to be difficult.
"It's a pretty complex matter," he said, noting litigation related to the site is more than nine years old.
Judge Rucker said there had been talk of court-ordered remediation in the case, but it appears there's progress. She set another hearing for April 11 at 10 a.m.
Farinash said he's "not happy but not unhappy" with the pace of the case.
"All of this depends on closing," he said.
One of the biggest undeveloped parcels of riverfront land left downtown could be unlocked by a deal. The Casey property is part of an 11-acre tract that sits in a key spot across from the Tennessee Aquarium, the city's so-called "front porch." The other part is owned by Chattanooga businessman Jackson Wingfield.
Farinash has said he sees the highest future value of the site by combining those tracts with an adjacent industrial site containing propane storage tanks and a steel processing center. The entire tract, which fronts Manufacturers Road, could extend from the One North Shore condominiums to the Olgiati Bridge.
Last summer's removal of Casey's barge, long a point of criticism for its derelict state, was seen as making the land easier to sell.
Casey, who developed the Chattanooga Choo Choo more than four decades ago into a top Tennessee attraction, announced plans a decade ago to build condominiums and a hotel on the waterfront land, but nothing was ever built.
In 2009, he brought the barge to the city to put in a floating restaurant and bar, but that project fizzled and the vessel deteriorated over the years.
He and one of his companies filed for bankruptcy a couple of years ago as he faced a civil trial related to a lawsuit brought by former investors.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.