Condo High-Rise in Foreclosure

ATHENS, GA - Banks are foreclosing on Georgia Traditions, a nine-story condominium building on downtown Athens' eastern edge, and 945 College, a mixed-used condo development on College Avenue, and may sell both of them at public auction March 3.

Georgia Traditions LLC, the corporation that built the high-rise on East Broad Street next to the Athens-Clarke multimodal center, owes Compass Bank $22.5 million plus interest, according to a notice of sale under power published in the Athens Banner-Herald. College Avenue LLC, the ownership group responsible for 945 College, owes Park National Bank more than $4 million for that project.

Georgia Traditions already staved off a public auction in February and could avoid foreclosure in March if owners work out acceptable terms with the bank, said Todd Westfall, an attorney for Compass Bank. "It's safe to say the lender certainly is willing to entertain any ongoing negotiations," Westfall said.

Georgia Traditions, originally started by an investment group that included Mark Jennings, Tim Burgess, Jim Finnerty, Zach McLeroy and Steve Rogers, was slated to open by fall 2006, when University of Georgia home football games would help drive interest in condo sales. But construction delays, including excavation of granite on the site and county road work on East Broad Street, put off the opening of the building by more than a year.

The delays hurt the project, said Barbara Dooley, who served as real estate broker for Georgia Traditions from 2007 to December 2008. Georgia football legend Herschel Walker also helped pitch the condo development.

"Had Georgia Traditions been completed on time, I think it would have sold out, but they missed two football seasons, and by the time the third one came around, the economy had taken a dive," Dooley said. "I am sorry it has come to this because it was such a wonderful project; I know people who are in it now who are thrilled with their location."

Georgia Traditions opened last year, but only 14 of the 85 condos in the building were sold. Those units that Georgia Traditions sold to individuals are not under foreclosure, Westfall said. The development also couldn't find a tenant for a ground-floor space designated for a high-end restaurant. Calls made to Jennings, Burgess and the Georgia Traditions attorney were not returned.

The 945 College project on College Avenue near the railroad trestle was developed by McChesney Investment Advisors Inc., and also was completed last year. The project includes 11 condominiums, six of them built directly over eight storefronts. Park National Bank's Athens attorney, Tripp Bridges, would not comment on the College Avenue foreclosure.