THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 12, 1995 TAG: 9501120376
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
A federal bankruptcy court judge on Wednesday approved the sale of a piece of property to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission that is needed for the construction of a new bridge.
With the approval of the $4 million sale, Judge Hal J. Bonney Jr. effectively turned down a $4.2 million offer for the property from F. Wayne McLeskey Jr., a Virginia Beach developer.
``Obviously we're disappointed,'' said Ross C. Reeves, McLeskey's attorney at the hearing.
Bonney's decision appears to clear the path for the commission to buy the property by Feb. 1 as it wants to. A dispute over the lease Marine Contracting Corp. has for part of the property still has to be resolved.
The 36-acre parcel between the east and west sides of the Little Creek Amphibious Base is owned by Jonathan Corp., a Norfolk-based ship-repair firm that is reorganizing in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission needs the property as a staging area for construction of a second span of the 17.6-mile bridge-tunnel connecting Southside to the Eastern Shore.
McLeskey's plans for the property were not disclosed.
Bonney rejected Jonathan's request to convert the sale of the property to an auction, saying that other bidders have had plenty of time in which to express interest in and bid on the property.
The Little Creek property had been on the market for months before attracting the bid from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission.
Jonathan asked the court in mid-December to approve an agreement to sell the site to the commission.
But Jonathan changed its mind after McLeskey came forward in late December with a larger bid for the property. Jonathan saw and pursued an opportunity to put the property up for auction and realize more than the $4 million offer it had in hand.
Bonney conceded that getting the most money for creditors in a bankruptcy is important, but said that there are other provisions under the bankruptcy code that can mitigate that need.
``There was ample opportunity for any and all to come forth before'' Jonathan asked the court to approve the sale to the commission, Bonney said.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE BAY BRIDGE AND TUNNEL COMMISSION by CNB