Tower mortgages key convention center land

Company borrows $24M against two SoBro parking lots

Email | Print By J.R. Lind

In the latest twist in its tête-à-tête with MDHA, Tower Investments has borrowed nearly $24 million against its Fifth Avenue property.

Two deeds of trust filed last week show Tower borrowing $23.98 million from Oregon-headquartered PremierWest Bank against key Fifth Avenue sites in the area of the proposed downtown convention center.The 5.66 acres under the footprint were mortgaged for $12.48 million. An adjacent lot, not facing condemnation, drew $11.5 million. 

The larger lot represents a key parcel in the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency's plan to build the Music City Center in SoBro. The sides are currently in court fighting an eminent-domain battle, with the next round of court hearings set for Dec. 11.

Tower Senior Vice President Alex Marks said the move shows there is plenty of money in Tower's property.

“Clearly, the bank looked at this property and recognized that Tower has substantial equity in the property, which is something MDHA refuses to acknowledge," Marks said.

While the deeds were only recorded last Friday, Marks said the process began earlier this summer and the timing is coincidental.

It's another eyebrow-raiser in a spat full of them. Marks was among the earliest and most vocal proponents of the Music City Center, but that all changed once MDHA appraised the property under the $600 million center's footprint, extending what Marks described as a "low ball" offer for the lots, $14.8 million – just a shade higher than what the land-investment group paid in 2007.

When Tower refused to sell, MDHA began the condemnation process. In the meantime, Marks announced his group had the "ability and intent" to develop the property on its own. In a motion asking for dismissal of the takings claim, Tower says that negates MDHA's condemnation plans.

Tower also opposes MDHA's motion to try all six outstanding eminent-domain suits together, saying its circumstances differ from its neighbors.