MONEY

Bankruptcy filing halts forced sale of part of Franklin's Ovation site

Owning family trust owes $27 million that was due three weeks ago, but developer says the lender agreed to an extension that made the foreclosure sale and bankruptcy filing unnecessary.

Getahn Ward
The Tennessean
  • The family trust that owns the non-office portion of Ovation owes lender Paramount Capital $27 million.
  • Developer Stan Thomas attributed the bankruptcy filing to not being aware that the lender had agreed to an extension.
  • Thomas said construction could start next spring on the non-office portion of Ovation.
  • The project is expected to include 480,000 square feet of retail space, a boutique hotel that will be one of two hotels and 800 apartments.

 

The grocer corner at Ovation.

A foreclosure sale of the non-office portion of the Ovation mixed-use development site in Cool Springs was put on hold Thursday after the owner filed for bankruptcy.

Stan Thomas, the Atlanta-based developer who's working with family trust Thomas Ovation LLC to develop the 77 acres, however, said that the bankruptcy filing had been made in error.

That's because Thomas said he didn't get a message that the project's lender, Paramount Capital, had left late Wednesday, agreeing to extend the terms of its $27 million loan, which would've nixed the foreclosure sale.

Thomas Ovation LLC is working to complete an arrangement with another lender, which would provide money to pay off Mesa, Ariz.-based Paramount Capital's debt, Thomas said. "It's going to take probably another three weeks to get it closed," he said, adding that the extension with original lender Paramount Capital gives Thomas Ovation LLC time to complete its credit arrangement with the new unidentified lender.

Paramount Capital's Memphis-based attorney, Scott McLeod of law firm Bass Berry & Sims, couldn't be reached for comment on Thomas' description of what happened.

Thomas said he's optimistic about starting site work on the non-office portion of Ovation this fall with construction to start early this spring. "We have financing in place, but we've just got to get a certain leasing threshold," he said. 

The project on the non-office portion of Ovation is expected to include 480,000 square feet of retail space, a boutique hotel that will be one of two hotels and 800 apartments near the intersection of Carothers Parkway and McEwen Drive.

Separately, Raleigh, N.C.-based developer Highwoods Properties plans to develop up to 1.4 million square feet of office space on part of its own 68 acres at Ovation, including new headquarters for pet food manufacturer Mars Petcare targeted for completion by mid-2019. Ovation will also include about 56 acres of green space.

 

A west to east view of the plaza at Ovation.

Thomas Ovation LLC bought the 77 acres at Ovation from SouthStar LLC, which previously announced a Pinstripes dining and entertainment venue that will feature a bistro, bowling and bocce among signed tenants. 

SouthStar also had announced plans for a theater and 3 Palms Pizzeria and FlipSide Burgers as tenants, but in an interview in February, Thomas said those two restaurants are no longer coming to Ovation.

 Reach Getahn Ward at gward@tennessean.com or 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn.