THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 7, 1994 TAG: 9412070455
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Norfolk lawyer Peter G. Decker Jr. reminisced Tuesday about festive days he spent two decades ago at the long-defunct Lafayette Yacht Club.
``There are so many things that could be done here,'' he said while walking the grounds of the dilapidated club site next to the Granby Street bridge. ``You could have a restaurant and condominiums and maybe housing for senior citizens.''
On Tuesday, Decker took the first step toward realizing his vision. He submitted a winning bid of $330,000 for the property, which includes a complex of battered buildings, a debris-filled swimming pool and scores of boat slips along the Lafayette River.
The auction was part of the bankruptcy reorganization effort of ship-repair company Jonathan Corp., which bought the club facilities in 1981 to house Navy sailors while their ships were being overhauled at the company's yard.
Decker said he learned of the auction within the past 10 days and was determined to buy the seven-acre site.
The highly visible lawyer, who lives in the Lakewood neighborhood about a half-mile away, said he had no timetable for developing the site and no estimate of how much he might invest in it.
``The present plan is to knock down every building and remove the pool,'' which could cost about $250,000, Decker said.
But the boat slips, he said, will remain. ``The best part of the Lafayette Yacht Club were the slips, and they are in great shape.''
Any development, he said, will be done with his wife, rather than through a joint venture with other partners. And before proceeding with any work, he will consult with city officials for advice and possible financial incentives, Decker said.
``I didn't buy this to sell it, but if there's an opportunity to do something good for the city, I wouldn't stand in front of it,'' he said.
Decker said he considered purchasing the same property more than a year ago, but thought Jonathan's asking price of $850,000 to $1 million had been too high.
Part of what prompted him to buy the property Tuesday was nostalgia, Decker said. And at a price of $330,000, ``this is certainly worth more than I paid for it,'' he said.
The city of Norfolk has assessed the land and buildings at $1.41 million. However, an appraisal within the past 18 months put their market value at $500,000, said Grigsby Scifres, a Virginia Beach attorney who is working with Jonathan on its bankruptcy.
The yacht club, built in the mid-1950s, encountered financial difficulties in the early 1970s and underwent a bankruptcy reorganization before closing in the late '70s. The club facilities were vacant when Jonathan bought them 13 years ago for $805,000.
Jonathan, hurt by a falloff in Navy contracts and disputes with the Navy over past repair work, sought protection from its creditors in December 1993 under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code.
Chapter 11 provides a financially strapped company the opportunity to reorganize its debts under court supervision.
Part of the proceeds from Tuesday's auction will be used to pay $4,000 of back property taxes that Jonathan owes the city of Norfolk, Scifres said.
But most of the proceeds, Scifres said, will go to NationsBank, a Jonathan creditor. ILLUSTRATION: MOTOYA NAKAMURA/Staff color photos
by CNB