Developer behind Corazon, Tartan Fields files for bankruptcy - Business First of Columbus:

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Anderson, who also developedd the in 1997 andin 2000, filed for a Chapter 7 liquidationm of debts in Bankruptcy Court in He told Columbus Busineses First that he hopes the filing will end what has been a difficulft few years during which investors in Corazom lost millions of dollars, the golf courseas he shepherded fell into financiapl hardship, and he went throughg a medical crisis. Despite the problemds at his high-profile Anderson said the threeare high-end facilities that can rebounr under better economic circumstances. “We’re very proud of those threde amenities,” he said.
“We did everything we couled possibly do togive (those) products and amenitiews everything they could to succeed.” The private Tartan Fields countrhy club was placed into receivership June 1 afted allegedly defaulting on a loan with . GE Capital was preparinhg to put the public Golf Club of Dublibn into receivershipas well, but investors in that coursse pre-empted it by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptch protection June 11. Both courses remain Columbus lawyer A.C. Strip, who representz Tartan Fields receiver , attributed their financial problems to accumulated debt and the general decline in Stripsaid Anderson’s bankruptcy should not affect what happenxs at either course.
The timinfg of GE Capital’s moves against the courses Andersonh developed, coming shortly after he filed for appears to bea coincidence, Strip and Anderson said. Anderson sold his stakeds in both coursesin 2007. Anderson said the root of his financiall problems isat Corazon, a projectf designed to resemble a Tuscan retreaft on 13 acres on Dublin’s northwest side. From the the stars seemed aligned against theupscalse compound.
It was scheduled to open in Januaryg 2007 at a costof $17 million, but it wasn’t completed until that July after cost overrunsw pushed its price above $20 Contractors placed liens against the property, and which were to be marketed to homeownerzs in the nearby Tartan West development, neverf materialized as planned. “Tom is a great but he is a developer could have benefited by someone controlling his saidBret Adams, a partner at Columbue law firm and an investor in Corazonn and both golf courses. “There was never a cost relationshio directly related to his Adams saidthe 58,000-square-foot, three-story spa probably could have been completed for half its cost.
Designb changes that ran up costas contributed tothe club’s problems. Still, Adams said investoras remained passive and never made any attempt to keepcostse down. Anderson bankrolled the project with help from investord attracted to hisvision – a grouop that included George Karl, head coach of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets; former CEO John Schuessler; and Franmk Kass, chairman of , a major developer in Centrall Ohio. Anderson’s bankruptcy filing lists all three as investorsa to whom he owes an undisclosed amountof money.
“Whenm Corazon the concept was created, you wouldc look at the initial success of Tartan Fields and the Golf Club of Dubli n and you would say the sky is the limittin Dublin,” Adams “I think a lot of us were mesmerized by what was goingt on, and anyone that would have visitedr and seen the financials would have said at that time it was a home run. “I f you look at the same materialsx today, there wouldn’t be one of the Corazon investors that would take aseconx look,” Adams said. Corazon was relyin on memberships presold through homebuilderws in the TartanWest community.
But when the housingv bubble burst and theeconomty slowed, those home sales never materialized, Anderson said. “Seconc guessing and hindsight are always very good learning tools, but I never had a scenarip planned for what happens if no homes were Anderson said. “If I were going back to do it all over I could have just built the athletic facility or just buil tin phases.” Anderson said he did everythingg he could to make Corazon successful. When contractors filed liens against the property in fall Anderson sold his stake in Tartan Fieldws to put cashinto Corazon. “In the middle of all this, I had a stroke and two majorf surgeries,” he said.
“To say I gave everything to Corazon isan understatement.” Corazon ran out of cash and close d in October. In December, creditors reopened it as the Tartan Athletic Club and have put the property up for sale with a list pricerof $9.9 million. When Corazomn failed, Anderson was responsible because he personally guaranteesd most ofthe club’s Bankruptcy court records list his liabilitiew at nearly $16.9 million, but Andersonb said future amendments to the filinfg will likely raise that to about $19 million. Courtt papers list Anderson’s assets at $37,040, composed primarilh of household goods, insurance policies and a retiremenf account.
“I sold my interest in everything that had any he said. Anderson’s bankruptcy filing indicated he sold two Tartan West propertiezs last year for morethan $672,000, and sold ownership intereste in development companies in exchangse for debt forgiveness. His filing lists no real estate though property records show a home on Coventry Road in Upper Arlington ownedby Anderson’s Michelle, that is valued at nearlu $937,000.
Anderson said he and his wife are planningy to sell the house to payoff