Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Nov. 23, 1989, edition 1 / Page 3
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City will guarantee phase-one Market loan By TONYA V. SMITH .Chronicle -Staff Writer Aldermen interrogated devel opment director J. Allen Joines for nearly an hour Monday night before agreeing to allow the city ?toactasguarantor for a $350,(XX) loan to finance the first phase of construction in the New Walker town Market shopping center slat ed for location in East Winston. Herman L. Turner, the projec t's developer and agent for its owners, presented an incremental -development approach to the aldermen's finance committee last week. The phase method of devel oping the project would motivate anchor tenants - two grocery stores that the corporation is courting - to commit to locating in the center. If the city would guarantee a loan from Southern National Bank, Mr. Turner said, he would be able to begin construction on an ABC store to be built on the site. The initiation of construction ^ would show potential tenants that the shopping center project is underway and would produce ~ mucTTneeded capital for a regional and national marketing plan, Mr. Turner said. Led by chair Virginia K. Newell, committee members agreed to forward Mr. Turner's proposal to the full board. Howev er,~what didn't come' out in that" meeting on Nov^ 13 is that Mr. Turner owns the out parcel of land on which the proposed A6C store is to be located. He purchased the three-quarter acre parcel for $18,000 from New Walkertown Associates, the ownership corpo ration for the center. Board members were con cerned that Mr. Turner would be the sole profit-maker in phase one of the development, however, Mr. Turner said in an interview Tues day that he had every right to pur chase the land and collect a profit from the deal he cut with the ABC : store. "The out parcel, identified as out parcel number two of New Walkertown Market, was owned by the East Winston Community Development Corporation," Mr. Turner explained. "As part of my development agreement with them, we agreed that I would pur chase that out parcel from them as part of my overall compensation. "However, in an effort to get the project underway, I agreed to sell it back to the corporation, New Walkertown Market Associ ates. The East Winston Communi ty Development Corporation will benefit from the out parcel through New Walkertown Associ ates just as they will from any other part of the project." The city did own the 9.3 acres of land off New Walkertown Road between Dellabrook Road and Gerald Street but sold it to the East Winston Development Cor poration. The CDC gave the land to New Walkertown Associates in exchange for 20 percent of the company's stock. After the CEO of Turner Development Services bought the out parcel, he was granted a $430,000 loan commitment from Mechanics and Farmers Bank and signed the ABC store to locate on the site, Mr. Turner said. In order for the new ABC store to begin operating, Mr. Turner would have to obtain an occupancy permit from the city. BefoTe such a per mit could be authorized Mr. Turn er would have to make certain site improvements - such as con structing a deceleration lane and .drive into the center. Those expenses would have escalated the cost of building the ABC store to $510,000, which would have stretched his budget, he said. In addition, Mr. Turner said, the corporation hoped that the construction of the ABC store would be simultaneous with the grating and other preliminary site work for the shopping center pro ject. But Mr. Turner could not finalize financing for New Walk ertown Market because^ anchor tenants had not committed to locate there. "In order to get a lender to expand the lending capacity for the loan, everyone I talked to - they wanted a very substantial loan guarantor," Mr. Turner explained, adding that at that point he decided it would be in the best interests of the project to forgo making a profit, sell the out parcel back to the ownership cor Herman Turn*' poration and ask the ciiy to act as loan guarantor. "You have to sacrificc today for further gains later on down the road," he said. "My commitment is to make this thing happen, and if I have to deny or defray profits or make sacrifices later on, I'll do that. I intend to make this happen and I'll do what's necessary to make it happen." Mr. Turner arrived late at the aldermen's meeting, thus missing out on a lot of the discussion about him and his reputation as a developer. Alderman Frank Frye, deemed "Dr. No" by one of his colleagues because of his votes on issues Monday, was the sole dis senter. He said Mr. Turner had been receiving preferential treat ment since the projcct came before the board more than a year ago, and Mr. Frye questioned the developer's track record. "On the whole project I've seen us give preferential develop er status to this man," Mr. Frye said during his last meeting as an alderman. Another outgoing alderman, Patrick Hairston, was also particu lar^ vocal. "Ladies and gentlemen, we've sat here for 40 minutes and heard Mr. Joines say that the risk is not that big," Mr. Hairston said, refer ring to the city's role as guarantor of the $350,000 loan. "I don't sec us sitting here and talking about it any more. We're either going to do it or not." Alderman Larry W. Womble agreed and added that the city's goals toward promoting economic development in East Winston have not changed. He read from the board book staff-prepared information explaining how the city's risk would be minimized, "number one, an approved lease by the ABC Board containing the purchase option...number two, the Board of Aldermen has previously approved the North Carolina Municipal Leasing Corporation's providing funds for said purchase. Number three, the developer is utilizing an experienced local con tractor and number four, the con tractor will furnish a 100 percent performance bond." The board authorized the staff to inform Southern National Bank Please see page A11 The Winston-Salem Chronicle is published every Thursday by the Win ston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co. Inc., 617 N. Liberty St. Mailing address: Post Office Box 3154, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27102. Phone: 722-8624. FAX: (919)^723-9173. Second-class postage paid at Wlnston-Satem, N.C. 27102. The Winston-Salem Chronicle is a charter member of the Newsfinder ser vice of the Associated Press and a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the National Newspaper Publishers Association, the North Carolina Press Asso ciation and the North Carolina Black Publishers Association. Subscription: $18.52 per year, payable in advance (North Carolina sales tax included). Please add $5.00 for out-of-town delivery. PUBLICATION USPS NO. 067910. Photo by Mike Cunningham 'Finger-Lickin' Good!' Pittwah Sherriff licks his finger as he enjoys a special Thanksgiving luncheon at the Stouffer Winston Plaza Hotel Wednesday.Ue was one Of 12Q kindergarten children and 1Q teachers from Mineral Springs Elementary School who were invited to the luncheon^ The hotel recently adopted Mineral Springs Elementary as part of the "Adopt a School" program. SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health. #? if
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