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This means that a third party has been appointed by the court to manage the property pending the outcome of ongoing foreclosure proceedings.
Jackson County Clerk of Court Ann Melton continued the hearing until November 30 at the request of Balsam Mountain Preserve attorney Jay Coward, and over the protests of the Asheville-based attorney for lender TriLyn, according to the Sylva Herald.
TriLyn, a Connecticut-based venture capital firm with connections to the Bank of Scotland and the middle eastern concern Investcorp, argues that Balsam Mountain Preserve has had over a year to address its now $21 million dollar debt to TriLyn, and seeks to foreclose.
Rumor has it that TriLyn officials have a relationship with the owners of the similarly high-end Cliffs Communities, and that the Cliffs Communities might be interested in acquiring the Balsam property. The Balsam Mountain Preserve is owned and was created by Chaffin/Light Associates of South Carolina.
Meanwhile, the Smoky Mountain News reports that a buyout offer from current homeowners on the Preserve is gaining steam.
The recent economic downturn has had a marked impact on the substantial mountain second-home market, and numerous planned or newly-minted gated communities have given up the ghost. But Balsam Mountain Preserve was begun nearly a decade ago, its amenities are mostly in place and over half of its lots are sold.
The Preserve’s recent layoff of about half of its 80-plus person workforce was a significant economic blow to northern Jackson County.
Should the Cliffs Communities appear on the scene in Balsam, one storyline will have come full circle: Balsam Mountain Preserve’s first president was named Jim Anthony, and the CEO of the Cliffs Communities is also named Jim Anthony. When Balsam Mountain Preserve was fresh out of the gates, nearly a decade ago, the Cliffs was involved in a land acquisition controversy in Transylvania County and the dual high-profile names were the source of considerable confusion.
Boarding House, Balsam Mountain Preserve
The Preserve differs from other communities in the area that are facing troubles in a couple of ways: the project is nearly a decade old, which means it pre-dates by a few years many similar projects that came on during the last decade’s wave of construction. It is also one-half to two-thirds “built-out”, with more than 230 homesites sold of 354 total, and most amenities in place. In addition, Balsam Mountain Preserve was the first such community to build in the north-central section of Jackson County — away from the ritzy Cashiers plateau — and has been an economic driver for the county.
The Preserve’s considerable efforts at executing “green” development have been overshadowed by a dam break at a golf course irrigation pond two years ago that caused a flash flood. The wave of mud and water caused considerable environmental damage in Jackson County’s Scotts Creek watershed.
The Hendersonville community “Seven Falls” is also undergoing foreclosure, and an enormous, but much newer project in Jackson County is also facing such difficulties.
At Balsam, 40 of 80 full-time employees have been laid off, and many amenities, including an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus golf course, are closed.
An excerpt from the Citizen-Times:
“We had sufficient sales to stay current on our interest payments and to pay down the principal and payables,” [Balsam Mountain Preserve President Chris] Chaffin said. “Unfortunately, our loan is due. It’s apparent the lender doesn’t have the flexibility to free up capital right now.”
Chaffin acknowledged that Balsam Mountain “actually defaulted on our loan the end of last year” and has been working with the lender since then.
The lenders listed in court documents are two corporations under the umbrella of TriLyn LLC, of Greenwich, Conn. Balsam Mountain secured two loans in 2005 for $9.8 million and $10 million.
Read the Citizen-Times piece here.
Read coverage from the Smoky Mountain News here.
No surprise then that a short blurb about micro hydro caught our attention; micro hydro has to do with using very small watercourses — backyard streams for example — to create electricity for a small area.
I first saw such an operation about eight years ago, when Balsam Mountain Preserve installed a waterwheel-driven generator to supply power to a campground it built near Cabin Flats, south of Balsam Gap. I don’t know whether the Balsam generator is still in use — it struck me as a novelty — although I’ve included a picture or two here.
Meanwhile, the blurb I refer to is a workshop planned for July at Appalachian State University. It’s one of ten or so such workshops to be held this year at the school in Boone.
In its April issue the magazine recognized the Preserve’s course as the best new course in the state, the eighth best overall in the mountain region and the 24th-best overall in the state. The course is private.
Balsam Mountain Preserve is widely recognized for its relative environmental philosophies. Approximately two-thirds of its 4,400 acres have been placed in permanent conservation easements, never to be developed, and to be overseen by a not-for-profit trust. On the other hand, the Preserve was widely criticized when a retention pond on the golf course collapsed during construction, releasing tons of silt into Scotts Creek and some of its tributaries. The development paid a $150,000 fine to Jackson County.
