It could be another four weeks before a bankruptcy court decides the fate of the beleaguered Governor’s Square apartment complex in uptown Harrisburg.
- The court had been scheduled to hold a hearing April 2 on a proposed sale of the 222-unit complex
- But the hearing has now been moved to April 30 at the request of the property’s owner, Maryland-based Uptown Partners LP, which filed for bankruptcy protection last May.
- It is the third extension granted this year for the sale.
Why is this happening: In a legal filing, Uptown Partners said it needed more time to secure approval for a sale from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- HUD has filed a legal objection to the sale, citing its claim to any sale proceeds, among other issues.
- Uptown Partners is hoping to sell the property to ANCDI Properties, a New Jersey-based company that made a winning bid of just over $9.6 million in a court-supervised auction.
- ANCDI owner Chuck Howard blamed the delays on the city, which he said has not handed over a list of repairs needed to the property, despite his repeated requests.
- “This should have been closed three months ago,” Howard said.
- ANCDI needs the list to develop a repair plan to satisfy creditors who want to ensure enough money is set aside to fix up the complex, which has been hit with numerous city code violations over the years.
- In a January legal filing, the city, which is a creditor to the property, indicated that it preferred a different buyer, Ohio-based developer Woda Cooper, which bid $9.13 million for Governor’s Square.
- “Mayor Williams is extremely disappointed at the court’s decision to continue giving a HUD-deemed unqualified potential buyer multiple chances to purchase Governor’s Square,” city spokesman Matt Maisel said in a statement, referring to Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams. “Time lost in this event is time the residents of Governor’s Square do not have and the more they suffer. The City of Harrisburg and HUD will do everything we can to continue what we feel is best for the residents of Governor’s Square, because the current proposal to give the keys to an unqualified buyer is not it.”
Why: In its filing, the city questioned whether ANCDI and a backup bidder, Mechanicsburg-based 2087 Market Street LLC, would be able to meet federal requirements related to keeping Governor’s Square affordable.
- 2087 Market Street entered a bid of just under $9.6 million.
- ANCDI, 2087 and Woda Cooper were the only bidders.
