Auction set for 10 a.m. on December 6, 2005
NEW YORK, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Bridge Associates, LLC, through Anthony
Schnelling, a principal of the firm acting as the Trustee for the Durango
Georgia Paper bankruptcy estate, today announced that the auction to acquire
the assets held by the Bankruptcy Estate of Durango Georgia Paper Company will
be conducted on December 6, 2005, at 10:00 a.m. at the Amelia Island
Plantation, 6800 First Coast Hwy., Amelia Island, Florida.
The Durango bankruptcy estate includes a "moth-balled" paper mill situated
upon approximately 750 acres of marsh and river-front land that make up the
property of Durango Georgia Paper of St. Marys, Georgia, along with the plant
and equipment formerly operated as the paper mill and approximately 3400 acres
of timber tracts located near or abutting I-95 in Southeast Georgia,
approximately 35 minutes north of Jacksonville, Florida.
"This property is one of the few remaining large tracks suitable for
resort, mixed use development located on the intercoastal waterway on the
Georgia coast. The "moth-balled" paper mill also presents unique
opportunities for paper producers seeking to expand production during the
current strong paper market. We strongly recommend that any interested parties
that are planning to attend the auction make their reservations well in
advance. Since we announced the selection of the "stalking horse" bidder,
there has been considerable interest in the estate's property, and we expect a
productive and competitive bidding process," stated Mr. Schnelling.
All pre-auction bids shall be submitted to the Trustee, so as to be
received by or before December 1, 2005, 5:00 p.m. EST. Further details on the
auction process will be provided to qualified bidders closer to the actual
time of the auction.
Hilco Real Estate, LLC of Northbrook, Illinois, is the exclusive real
estate advisor to the Durango estate, and the company played a key role in the
process that led to the ultimate selection of a "stalking horse" bidder.
Al Lieberman, a Principal with Hilco Real Estate, commented, "We were
pleased to have been selected for this important assignment and look forward
to a very successful auction sale."
On September 19, 2005, St. Marys Redevelopment Group, LLC, a sister
company of RealtiCorp, a Greenville, South Carolina commercial real estate
development firm, submitted a "stalking horse" bid indicating an intent to
redevelop the mill property as a mixed-use resort, that offers the bankruptcy
estate $15 million in cash at closing, plus 18.5 percent of all future gross
revenues from development sales and from sale of the equipment out of the
closed paper mill.
An involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition was filed against Durango
Georgia Paper Company on October 29, 2002. The Debtor converted its case to a
voluntary Chapter 11 in November of that year (the "Case"). Bridge
Associates, LLC, was appointed as Trustee in the Case under the terms of a
Plan of Liquidation approved by creditors and confirmed by the Bankruptcy
Court in June 2004.
The Durango estate has been represented in connection with this
transaction by Bridge Associates, LLC, as Trustee, Hilco Real Estate, LLC of
Northbrook, Illinois, as exclusive real estate advisor, and by Ward Stone, Jr.
of Stone & Baxter, LLP, a law firm based in Macon, Georgia, as counsel.
SOURCE Bridge Associates, LLC
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Related links:
http://www.sitrick.com
CONTACT:
Jeff Lloyd of Sitrick and Company,
+1-212-573-6100, for Bridge Associates, LLC
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