I learned of the situation via a Google Alert, to this Finance-&-Commerce December 21, 2009 item:
Bank takes back Summerset Meadows land
by Burl Gilyard Staff Writer
Citizens State Bank has taken back a 187-acre tract of land in the Anoka County town of Ramsey after development plans stalled.
Plans for the Summerset Meadows project called for a mix of residential and commercial development. At one point, expansive plans called for approximately 600 units of housing and 38.5 acres of commercial development. Today, it remains raw, undeveloped land.
Tom Van Pelt, senior vice president with the Hudson, Wis.-based Citizens State Bank, said that the bank got the property back this fall. He said that the bank expects to put the large, undeveloped site up for sale in January.
“We’re in the process of finalizing a listing arrangement,” Van Pelt said. “We’re still trying to figure out what the appropriate listing price is in this market.”
In mid-November, Citizens State Bank secured a judgment of $11.45 million against Summerset Meadows LLC and developer Gary T. Mulcahy.
Ramsey is 27 miles northwest of downtown Minneapolis. The city’s long-range planning goals outline a mix of uses in the area.
Van Pelt acknowledges that the loan, issued in 2006, was substantial for the community bank.
“It’s a large loan. We have a syndicate of participating banks, but yes, this would be a large transaction for us,” Van Pelt said.
“Given the condition of the market, we’re not certain how long it will take to market the real estate,” Van Pelt said.
The Summerset Meadows land sits near the site of another project that never panned out as planned: Ramsey Town Center.
Van Pelt noted that the only connection between the two is geographic proximity.
That's an excerpt, so access the original for the complete story.
This one went under my radar, but look at this July 24, 2009, forclosure notice and remember that date [source, ABC Newspapers, this link]:
NOTICE OF MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SALE Date: July 24, 2009 YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT: 1. A default has occurred in the conditions of that certain combination mortgage, security agreement and fixture financing statement executed by Summerset Meadows, LLC, a Minnesota limited liability company, as Mortgagor, in favor of Citizens State Bank, a Wisconsin banking corporation, as Mortgagee, dated July 7, 2006, and recorded on July 11, 2006, as Document No. 1985887.009, as extended by that certain extension of mortgage dated July 15, 2008, and recorded on October 27, 2008, as Document No. 2003644.011, all in the Office of the County Recorder in and for Anoka County, Minnesota (collectively, "Mortgage"). The land described in the Mortgage is not registered land. 2. The original principal amount secured by the Mortgage was: $22,000,000.00. 3. No action or proceeding at law is now pending to recover the debt secured by the Mortgage, or any part thereof. 4. The holder of the Mortgage has complied with all conditions precedent to acceleration of the debt secured by the Mortgage and foreclosure of the Mortgage and all notice and other requirements of applicable statutes. 5. As of the date of this notice, the amount due on the Mortgage is: $15,199,874.71. 6. Pursuant to the power of sale in the Mortgage, the Mortgage shall be foreclosed, and the land located at XXX, Ramsey, Minnesota, Property Tax ID Nos. 29-32-25-21-0001, 29-32-25-12-0001, 20-32-25-43-0001, 29-32-25-11-0003, 20-32-25-31-0001, and 20-32-25-34-0003, and legally described as follows: Parcel 1: Lot 1, Block 1, HY-10 Ramsey 2nd Addition, Anoka County, Minnesota. Abstract Property. Parcel 2: Tract 1: The Northeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter, Section 20, Township 32, Range 25, Anoka County, Minnesota. Tract 2: Outlot A, Pine Shadows, according to the map or plat thereof on file and of record in the office of the County Recorder in and for Anoka County, Minnesota.; Tract 3: The Southwest Quarter of the Southeast Quarter, Section 20, Township 32, Range 25, Anoka County, Minnesota, except that part platted as Menkveld's Pine Hill's North; Tract 4: That part of the Northeast Quarter of the Northwest Quarter and the Northwest Quarter of the Northeast Quarter that lies North of the Burlington Northern Railway right-of-way, Section 29, Township 32, Range 25, Anoka County, Minnesota. ("Property"), shall be sold by the Sheriff of Anoka County, Minnesota, at public auction on September 11, 2009, at 10:00 a.m., at the Anoka County Sheriff's Office: Anoka County Courthouse, 325 East Main Street, Anoka, MN 55303. 7. The time allowed by law for redemption by Mortgagor or Mortgagor's personal representatives or assigns is twelve (12) months after the date of sale. 8. THE TIME ALLOWED BY LAW FOR REDEMPTION BY THE MORTGAGOR, THE MORTGAGOR'S PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES OR ASSIGNS, MAY BE REDUCED TO FIVE WEEKS IF A JUDICIAL ORDER IS ENTERED UNDER MINN. STAT. ß 582.032, DETERMINING, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THAT THE MORTGAGED PREMISES ARE IMPROVED WITH A RESIDENTIAL DWELLING OF LESS THAN FIVE UNITS, ARE NOT PROPERTY USED IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AND ARE ABANDONED. 9. The Mortgagor released from financial obligation on the Mortgage is: None. Citizens State Bank (a Wisconsin banking corporation) By its attorneys: Joshua D. Christensen, (#332616) Alona V. Rindal, (#388866) Nicholas C. Jellum, (#328856) Anastasi & Associates, P.A. Attorneys for Mortgagee 14985 60th Street North Stillwater, MN 55082 (651) 439-2951 14435-F abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Published in Anoka County Union July 24, 31, August 7, 14, 21 & 28 2009
[italics added] Does anyone know where exactly that is? Does anyone know the current status of the land? Or who was the promoter, the landowner, and the front-money person for starting this ball rolling? Is it still "green acres" for tax purposes?
If you know anything, please send an email. Below is what I found online.
The LLC is not registered with the SoS as a Ramsey business location, and the registration appears to be long expired:
[as always, click on the image to enlarge and read]
The mayor has a blog or is invited to leave a comment here or an email, and I note that the City considered a proposal advanced by a "Greg Schlenk" on behalf of the Mahtomedi-based LLC, June 9, 2009, regarding the site; this link; i.e., on a date inconsistent with the Secretary of State's record of the LLC's good status running to 2008; but quite consistent with the foreclosure notice in the paper; and with City of Ramsey minutes not noting boo about there being a delinquency with the lender; yielding foreclosure notice publications a month and a half later. Moreover, this IS in the minutes:
Motion by Councilmember Elvig seconded by Mayor Ramsey to Adopt Resolution 09-06-117 to approve a 30 day extension to Summerset Meadows LLC to submit the final plat application for the Summerset Meadows subdivision.
[...] Motion carried. Voting Yes Mayor Ramsey, Councilmembers Elvig, Dehen, Jeffrey, Look, McGlone, and Wise. Voting No None.
Was the council sort of hoodwinked? It seems possible. Somebody must have been trying to be really cute; or else staff and the developer had reasons to not publicize the extreme precarious status of things back then. However it stands, the staff-prepared agenda for the meeting; this link; divulges nothing about anyone's specific financial dire straits, beyond some general language not at all site specific about it being hard times for crabgrass........................
WHAT IS THE OWNERSHIP HISTORY OF THIS LAND?
WHO WAS IN CHAIN OF TITLE, WHEN? WAS THERE EVER ANY KINSHIP RELATION IN CHAIN OF OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL TO PRESENT OR FORMER COUNCIL MEMBERS, BY BLOOD OR MARRIAGE?
WOULD SOME KIND READER WITH KNOWLEDGE HELP ME FIND ANSWERS.
If the bank was on the string for twenty-two million smackolas, somebody surely got cash out of it.
WHO?
I SURE DO NOT KNOW. IT WAS NOT ME HOISTING OFF THAT TON OF CASH. THAT I PROMISE.
_______________________
NOTE: The court system now allows checking district court docket info, via this link, and this image lists cause numbers for litigation.
For those wanting to pursue the matter further, the image does not toggle to individual cases, but they can be reached via the court link just given. I have not gone to the courthouse to pull files and review them, and do not intend to. So, after declining that step to search for info; was there any notice to staff, the City Attorney, or others such as councilmembers, about the status of litigation at the time of the meeting and discretionary decision making by the council this summer?
Who will let me know, if there was?
________UPDATE________
For a Google = gary t. mulcahy sr.
three interesting interrelated items were returned, here, here and here.
With the case still pending we cannot jump to conclusions, but the money was as green as crabgrass, and somebody made a bundle of it in dealings. I think that is a fair conclusion, even if a lesser underlying lien existed against the ownership interest of the land-holder who sold to the Mulcahy interests.
It's part of Ramsey history, and we all should take an interest.