Easter Seals unloads property

Wilson County site fetches less than half original asking price

Email | Print By J.R. Lind

Easter Seals Tennessee’s 94-acre Wilson County campground has been sold for $3 million – far below the original asking price – to a Brentwood-based investment group.

Westchase Partners LLC purchased the land from the Tennessee chapter of the charity which serves people with autism and other disabilities. Easter Seals, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May of this year, had originally listed the Mt. Juliet property for $6.5 million when it went on the market in March 2008. The asking price had dropped to $4.5 million by the time of the sale.

Easter Seals bankruptcy filing came after several unsuccessful attempts to sell the Mt. Juliet property as well as its McWhorter Center in Green Hills. The sale of the Green Hills property ran into roadblocks from neighborhood groups worried it would bring in a day care or a school, increasing traffic in the area. ProVenture Commercial Real Estate continues to market the site.

The nonprofit had hoped the proceeds from the sale of those properties could generate the cash flow needed to get out of debt, but a lack of buyers forced it into reorganization. Federal court filings show Easter Seals owes its creditors more than $9 million.

Westchase principal Jerry Tucker and Easter Seals CEO Susan Armiger did not return calls for comment.