MORGANTOWN – The Monongalia County Commission has secured the services of legal counsel to represent its interests in the wake of the WestRidge bankruptcy filing.
The commission approved an engagement letter with Steptoe & Johnson to that end during its most recent regular meeting.
On Aug. 20 – the same day as a scheduled hearing on an emergency motion filed by creditors to place WestRidge Inc., WestRidge Land Holdings LLC and WestRidge Commons LLC in receivership – all three filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
A court-appointed receiver is a custodial third party that takes managerial control of a company’s assets and operations. The filings suspended the court’s consideration of that request.
As for the commission, legal counsel is necessary as WestRidge is the developer behind the University Town Centre Economic Opportunity Development District – the largest TIF, or tax increment financing district in Monongalia County, and one of the most successful districts in the state.
While developer WestRidge is responsible for repaying the construction bonds sold to finance infrastructure improvements within the district, the commission is the party that actually issues them, meaning the outstanding bonds show up on the county’s balance sheet.
But that’s not to say there’s concern about bond repayment or the overall health of the district – quite the opposite, in fact.
Commissioner Sean Sikora recently noted that in the last three months, the district has realized two of its top collections dating back to 2016.
“Right now, we are trending about 28% ahead of last year’s collections. We’re projecting $14 million in collections on $236 million in sales,” he said.
The collections referenced represent sales taxes, a portion of which is the “increment” in “tax increment financing” that’s used to repay bonds.
Sikora said if the current trajectory holds, the district is looking at collections about $2.5 million above last year based on a jump in sales of roughly $41.1 million.
He said the district has rebounded following a “big setback” represented by the capital outlay required to prepare a pad site for the Owens & Minor medical supplies facility. Owens & Minor ended up suing WestRidge to get out of its lease, and cut the ribbon on a 350,000 square-foot facility in the Morgantown Industrial Park in June. WestRidge has since countersued.
“It’s obvious to me that, you know, the opening of Academy Sports, which was a big lynchpin as far as getting things jumpstarted and moving forward, is showing dividends in the collections,” Sikora said. “The new sign is up, which was a prerequisite for [Academy Sports] and a lot of those shops up there. So, there’s a new 60-foot sign up there that you can see from the interstate.”
There’s also a number of projects underway, including a Panera Bread and a First United Bank & Trust branch, both expected to open later this year. Dave & Buster’s recently began construction and is expected to open next fall.
“The district is strong. The issue Ryan [Lynch] has with one of his lenders is a setback from his standpoint, but not in regards to the overall district as we see it moving forward,” Sikora said, adding, “I feel very confident that the district is in very strong standing. In a matter of time, when WestRidge comes out of bankruptcy, I think that’s just going to be a blip on the radar.”
