DEL.ICIO.USUpdated: 5:25 p.m. January 06, 2009
Morris Brown seeks agreement on foreclosed building
Auction will not be held Tuesday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
The scheduled sale of a Morris Brown College building in foreclosure is off, at least until next month.
The college was given a reprieve Tuesday, barely two hours before Jordan Hall was to be auctioned on the steps of the Fulton County Courthouse, according to an attorney involved in the matter.
Jessica McGowan/jmcgowan@ajc.com
Jordan Hall (above), is scheduled to be auctioned on the Fulton County Courthouse steps on Tuesday.
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“Essentially there was agreement to give them a little time,” said the lawyer, Gregory Worthy. “This is not for some long period of time, this is just delayed for the moment.”
Worthy is lawyer for the U.S. Bank Association, which represents investors in Jordan Hall’s construction more than a decade ago. Morris Brown is in default on $13.1 million in construction bonds issued in 1996.
Worthy said the college gave bondholders no plan for repaying the debt. If the college fails to provide one, Jordan Hall will be auctioned in February.
College spokeswoman Bunnie Jackson Ransom characterized the decision to delay the sale as “an agreement to make an agreement.
“They are working out the details of the agreement,” said Ransom.
The foreclosure filing is just one of the financial issues that has imperiled the 128-year-old historically black college.
The college is also under a court order to pay another $214,000 in overdue water bills by Feb. 17 or have water service cut off again. Service was cut off for part of December until the college made a $100,000 payment on Friday.
Dorms reopened over the weekend and spring semester classes start Friday, Ransom said. The college has about 200 students.
The financial crisis has sparked a recent surge in donations from alumni and other benefactors. Morris Brown officials say two fund-raising rallies the past two Saturdays have raised roughly $150,000.
The college’s total debt is $30 million, according to acting President Stanley J. Pritchett Sr.
Pritchett, responding to e-mail questions sent Tuesday, insisted the college will climb out of its financial hole.
“Yes, Morris Brown does have a plan to restructure the debt of the institution which includes Jordan Hall,” Pritchett wrote. “Yes, the college will survive this crisis.”
Morris Brown turned 128 years old on Monday. On Jan. 5, 1881, former slaves gathered for the North Georgia Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and voted to establish the school.
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