By Ray Gronberg

gronberg@heraldsun.com; 419-6648

DURHAM -- A city-hired demolition team took down the so-called Boone Court apartment complex early this week, completing a job Durham's Neighborhood Improvement Services Department had hoped to accomplish in September.

City Manager Tom Bonfield approved the demolition even though the complex's owner, Haskell Properties, has sued the city. It claims officials reneged on a verbal agreement to give it another chance to renovate the five buildings that stood there.

Lawyers for Haskell -- the corporate arm of landlord James "Fireball" White and his family -- sought an injunction barring the demolition but were turned down by a local judge and the N.C. Court of Appeals.

Bonfield gave NIS the green light after consulting City Attorney Patrick Baker.

"We've done the things we need to do in terms of documentation of the property [and its condition] prior to demolition, and feel like we have very good standing for the actions we took," the manager said.

Baker agreed.

"Between the years of process that property has been given, and the orders that were entered for its demolition, we feel we're on very solid legal ground to proceed," he said.

The city's move against the property, which lies on Boone Street in east Durham, followed prodding by neighborhood activists who regarded the run-down buildings as a nuisance that contributed to the area's crime problems.

Demolition had been in the works for more than a year, but was held up for much of that time by Haskell Properties' declaration of bankruptcy.

A federal judge released the firm from its Chapter 11 reorganization filing this summer, in the process giving the city the right to move on Boone Court if Haskell didn't repair it by early August.

But a new round of wrangling began in September after NIS officials opted to give Haskell Properties one more chance to fix the complex.

Housing inspectors attached strings to the deal, demanding that the company move quickly to line up contractors, plans, permits and financing for a renovation.

Haskell's lawyers, Robert and Alexander Perry, have maintained that the company was trying to comply with the city's demands. But city officials said progress wasn't happening fast enough.

They were ready to roll the bulldozers on Sept. 10, until a court order stopped them.

Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, however, later declined to extend the stay.

An Oct. 7 signed order from Hudson explaining his decision said the company hadn't complied with most of the city's conditions and that the $40,000 White's daughter, Tisa Rogers, wired to the Perrys' trust account wasn't sufficient to cover the needed repairs.

Hudson also said the city isn't bound by verbal contracts.

He cited a state statute that says "all contracts made by or on behalf of a city shall be in writing," and that any other kind of deal is "void and unenforceable" unless expressly ratified by the City Council.

Elected officials have been monitoring the situation, but have taken no action publicly. On Tuesday Mayor Bill Bell said they'd left the next move up to Bonfield and his staff.

"I trust that they made a decision they thought was appropriate," Bell said, referring to administrators.

Bell wouldn't discuss the move's impact on the surrounding neighborhood. "I don't want to throw any gasoline on the fire," he said, noting that Boone Court's fate had been "a very contentious issue with the neighborhood and obviously the landlord."

Bonfield said officials had warned the White family last week that they were about to act, giving them a couple days to remove any fixtures from the buildings they deemed worth salvaging.

The manager also said legal wrangling between the two sides could "could go on for a very long time," even post-demolition.

The Perrys couldn't be reached for comment. They on Friday filed new lawsuit-related court papers, reiterating their clients' breach-of-contract claim and request for an injunction.