An attorney said Thursday that he has received a bid of more than $5 million for a 6.6-acre tract of prime downtown Chattanooga riverfront land where businessman Allen Casey once planned a hotel and condominium complex.
Jerrold Farinash, trustee in Casey’s U.S. Bankruptcy Court case, said in a hearing that he has made a counter-offer with the potential buyer, who he wouldn’t identify.
He told Bankruptcy Court Judge Shelley D. Rucker that he’s trying to negotiate an agreement to sell. But Farinash also raised the idea of court-ordered mediation with a variety of entities which have potential liens on the land.
“It’s my responsibility to sell [the land] as fast as I can,” he said, adding that if an offer to buy the property is accepted, the deal may not close until mid-2016.
Attorney Gary Patrick, representing several former business partners suing Casey, said he supports selling the land subject to any counter offer. He, too, agreed with the mediation proposal.
Judge Rucker said she’s pleased with the progress on the case, but was not sure if she could order mediation without all the parties’ consent. She also expressed concern about further litigation in the case, saying that it could be sent back “to litigation for the rest of your lives in state court if it can’t be resolved.”
The first floor of the Casey barge is seen above water Tuesday, Apr. 7, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn., after several days of pumping water from the troubled former floating restaurant.Attorneys plan to meet with the judge again in December.
Casey, who developed the Chattanooga Choo Choo more than four decades ago, had envisioned condominiums and a hotel on the property that sits across the Tennessee River from Ross’s Landing.
For several years, a barge sat moored to the riverfront site that Casey saw as a floating restaurant. But nothing was ever built on the barge or the land. The barge, which became an eyesore, earlier this year was floated away.
The property, when coupled with other landholders, makes up about an 11-acre undeveloped tract. However, the property sits next to a 9-acre industrial parcel that holds large propane tanks. There’s also a railroad spur that runs on some of the land.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.