SaltAire foreclosure sale back on the books for late August | al.com

SaltAire foreclosure sale back on the books for late August al.com: "SaltAire foreclosure sale back on the books for late August"

Originally Published by the Mobile Press Register By Kathy Jumper

MOBILE, Alabama -- More than 200 acres in SaltAire subdivision on Mobile Bay's western shoreline will be offered at a foreclosure sale in late August, a move that could restart the project, according to an attorney representing the Belle Fontaine Improvement District.




The district serves as agent for the project's bond holder, Allstate, said attorney Doug Anderson in Mobile.



The foreclosure sale, sought by the improvement district to cover past-due assessments, will include all property north of SaltAire Road except home lots that have been sold, according to Anderson.



Allstate will put in a bid for the amount owed and, if successful, will then look for a developer to finish the subdivision, which is off Ala. 193, he said.



The land owners, Bay Mortgage Investors of Mobile, filed a temporary restraining order in Mobile Circuit Court in February to halt a planned March 1 foreclosure sale. Bay Mortgage disputes past-due assessments of $467,531 that the improvement district says it is owed.



The district was formed in 2007 by the Mobile County Commission to issue bonds that would finance construction of infrastructure within its boundaries, which include SaltAire.



Circuit Judge James Wood ruled earlier this month that the foreclosure sale will proceed.



Between $12 million and $15 million has been invested in SaltAire, which was to feature up to 1,250 homes surrounded by a fitness center, two stocked lakes, parks, shops, restaurants and other amenities. But progress on the subdivision stopped in October 2008 when Regions Bank ended funding for infrastructure work, according to court records.



There are nine finished homes in the community, with seven of them sold.



Work is under way to complete the sewer system by the end of August, according to Larry Giardina of Surety Land Title, a member of the improvement district. Infrastructure such as road surfacing, will soon be finished as well, he said.



"Then it will be a marketable subdivision."



Bay Mortgage Investors foreclosed and took ownership of 250 acres on the north side of the property more than a year ago. Neither the investment group nor its attorney, Stephen Harvey, returned phone calls seeking comment.



Bay Mortgage Investors, which had a $9 million first mortgage on SaltAire, wanted to keep 113 lots in the Lake District and most of the bayfront lots, Harvey has said.



The original land-owner group, Mobile Bay Investments, holds about 200 acres south of SaltAire Road and seven lots in the north section. Mobile Bay Investments' land will not be included in the foreclosure sale, Anderson said.

Related topics: Allstate, real estate, SaltAire