Bankrupt Developer's 14,000 Lots, Development Sites Going To Auction
BRD Land & Investment is looking to sell off its multistate real estate development portfolio after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The Charlotte-based land entitlement and permitting company, which entitles and develops raw land for sale to homebuilders, retained Iron Horse Auction Co. to market and sell 30 residential development projects across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Texas, as well as eight commercial development projects in North Carolina.
The portfolio includes the potential development of more than 14,000 lots.
BRD filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina on Feb. 24. Chief Restructuring Officer William A. Barbee cited “the drastic decline” in first-time home purchases as a reason BRD saw numerous project cancellations and lost up to $390M in projected pipeline revenue in 2025.
Thirteen projects were terminated in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, and another seven projects in Texas became nonviable, according to the court filing.
BRD’s relationship with DLP Lending Fund also broke down after the latter allegedly launched “a pressure campaign” to force paydowns. BRD still has about $20M in outstanding loans from DLP, while the property securing the loans is valued at $34M, according to the filing.
BRD also sought funds from capital raisers with whom BRD had prior relationships. The firm now has $66.5M of outstanding notes from those lenders, according to the filing.
Iron Horse came in Friday to maximize the value of the assets “through an efficient and orderly court-ordered process,” in conjunction with Iron Horse Commercial Properties and Great Neck Realty Co. of North Carolina.
“With over 14,000 potential residential lots across multiple high-growth markets, this portfolio represents a compelling opportunity for developers,” Iron Horse Auction Co. CEO William Lilly Jr. said in a statement.
The broker team plans to release additional details about the sale timeline and bidding procedures in the coming weeks.
BRD filed for bankruptcy days after it was sued by LandDesign Inc., one of Charlotte’s largest engineering and design firms, which claimed it hadn’t been paid for $360K worth of work.
