mchen@heraldsun.com; 419-6636
DURHAM -- The developers of West Village in downtown are looking to team up with Scientific Properties, another downtown developer, to bid and hopefully complete renovations on the last piece of the historic project.
Christian Laettner, one of the developers of West Village, said this week that he and business partner Brian Davis have been in touch with Scientific Properties to co-develop and complete the Chesterfield building.
"They have the financial backing," he said.
The deed and all equity on the building on North Duke Street were transferred to Select Capital Management LLC's in November "in lieu of foreclosure," according to a Durham County Register of Deeds filing by NCF Development LLC, the development entity behind West Village.
Laettner, Davis and Scientific have jointly submitted a proposal to the lender to buy back the building.
"Because of the economic situation, nationally, that we're been in, certain things have happened where we just haven't been able to close on the deal to get the funding to refurbish the Chesterfield," Laettner said. "We had to go to Scientific Properties because they're a very successful development firm."
Laettner declined to go into further specifics.
The project was already hamstrung last summer as Laettner and Davis worked to settled a lawsuit with oil giant Chevron, a lender on the project that claimed it was owed upwards of $1.5 million.
Scientific Properties, the development firm founded by physician Andy Rothschild, successfully renovated in recent years a cluster of textile mill and warehouses into Golden Belt, a campus of artist studios, lofts and retail space on East Main Street. Scientific also has a number of other projects completed and planned for downtown.
When reached for comment, Tucker Bartlett, chief operating officer of Scientific, confirmed that they have been in talks with Laettner and Davis but was firm in saying that Scientific has "not committed to purchase any part of West Village."
Laettner, Davis and Scientific Properties are waiting to hear back from the lender on their bid.
The Chesterfield, otherwise known as West Village Phase III, follows the successful renovation of adjacent buildings -- once part of the Liggett & Myers Factory -- that are now apartments and retail space.
The seven-story building presents a sizable renovations challenge.
Laettner and Brian Davis, who shot to fame as members of Duke University's back-to-back national championship basketball teams in the early '90s, plan to cut a four-story light well into the top of the Chesterfield.
The building which would have commercial space in the ground floor and could add 150 apartments to the downtown area.
