Inclusion of Base Project on Bank Foreclosure List Sought

A lawsuit has been filed seeking the inclusion of Noisette Company’s old navy base redevelopment project in Charleston, South Carolina on bank foreclosure list.

The three lenders that filed the lawsuit before the Charleston County Court have loaned Noisette about $23.7 million to redevelop the old navy base in Charleston.

The lenders Capmark Finance, SPG CDE Subfund and Urban Development Fund are seeking the inclusion of Noisette’s project on bank foreclosure list because of the company’s failure to pay its mortgage for the old navy base property.

According to the lawsuit, lenders are asking for the delinquent property to be sold. They are also calling for the appointment of a receiver to collect rental fees and hold the mortgaged property pending the lawsuit’s outcome.

In a statement, Noisette said that the foreclosure lawsuit has affected 240 acre of the 340-acre property that it owns. Noisette’s Navy Yard mixed-use redevelopment project is part of the $1 billion revitalization program initiated by both public and private entities.

The public-private program aims to revitalize in an environmentally sustainable way about 3,000 acres of property located in North Charleston.

Noisette took out the loan in 2006 and was unable to refinance the mortgage until it became due in August of 2008.

According to the company, it had difficulty obtaining any kind of financing for its development investments because of the growing bank foreclosure list which is devastating the capital markets.

But Noisette still continues to pursue other financing avenues and it believes that it could successfully find one before the foreclosure proceedings on its property comes to a conclusion.

The old navy base redevelopment project of Noisette includes the rehabilitation and reuse of old buildings, including the storehouses. Aside from the old navy yard redevelopment program, other projects in the area include a city waterfront park located at the Cooper River, a museum for the Confederate submarine, H.L.Hunley and a port terminal at the south area of the old navy base.

Some residents in North Charleston have staged a rally to oppose plans to link the rail lines from the navy base’s north end with the port terminal.

The Noisette redevelopment project which is in danger of being placed on bank foreclosure list, has been started almost 10 years ago at the Charleston Naval Base which was closed by the Navy in 1995 due to loss of nearly 40,000 civilian and active duty personnel.

By Cassiano Travareli