Virginia True, the New York-based corporation that purchased some 964 acres of historic and pristine cliffs along the Rappahannock River to develop into a controversial resort, is seeking to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The golf course, a centerpiece of the proposed resort that got the group into trouble with environmental violations last year, is being put on a backburner. And, there are only two remaining partners of the four that purchased the property two years ago for $12 million. They owe $13.5 million to creditors.
Howard Kleinhendler, one of the remaining partners, said golf courses are not very profitable right now so the plan is to bring in a flagship hotel. "Our plan here is to refinance," Kleinhendler said. "We're going to bring in substitute financing or investment to pay back or pay down a good part of this debt and go forward."
Part of the pitch in their bankruptcy documents is to create a hotel resort as a destination for some of Amazon's 25,000 employees at its new headquarter 90 miles away in Arlington.
County Administrator Morgan Quicke said the company has a steep hill to climb in winning back the county after the damage done to the cliffs. "There's a lot of repairing that needs to be done to the relationship. It's just been one misstep after another for the past couple of years. The confidence with the board and with the county is fairly low these days. And with good reason," Quicke added.
Meantime, the adjacent 252-acre property, Rappahannock Cliffs, that spent years in controversy over its development, was sold last month to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It will be added the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Warsaw, which has a high concentration of bald eagles.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
