Harbor leasing company files for reorganization

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March 12, 2010

By DAVID WILFONG CNHI The Zope Gazette Fri Mar 12, 2010, 02:30 PM CST

ROCKWALL — Mariah Bay Leasing Company, which administrates the leasing of retail space at The Harbor, has filed for Chapter 11.

The City of Rockwall released a statement on the issue on Wednesday, stating that property taxes are still due for the development, which is part of a special taxation district.

“This property is located in the Harbor Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District that was created by the city to fund the public improvements the city constructed at the Harbor, including roads, utilities, spray fountains, walkways and other public enhancements located along the lake edge,” the statement read.

“The City issued debt to pay for the public improvements and that debt is paid for through the property and sales taxes that are collected within the TIF.

“This property owner is one of a total of 38 property owners that pay property taxes into the TIF, which incorporates a total of 113 acres.

“The total property taxes owed to the city under the TIF equals $ 529,419. This number includes taxes collected by the county and pledged to the city for the TIF. The total collected in the TIF to date equals $300,050. The Harbor development, which includes this property owner as well as several others, has paid a total of $256,061.

“They still owe a total of $223,063, only a portion of which is owed by this particular company. Property taxes are still owed and payable even in the event of a bankruptcy. These dollars will be collected by the city. Sales taxes continue to be paid by the tenants and the businesses will continue to operate.”

Developer Rob Whittle said in a statement on Thursday that many businesses in The Harbor are feeling the crunch of the slow economy, but that The Harbor is still drawing in crowds and that other aspects of the venture are doing well.

“Many of the restaurants have had a spectacular year and the movie theater has had the best attendance and sales year that it has ever had,” Whittle stated. “However, a couple of the retailers have suffered in this national economic slowdown with several tenants having to close their businesses. The goal of this reorganization is to lower some the rental rates to a level that are more in line with the prevailing Rockwall market rates.”

Whittle said that The Harbor attracts an average of 25,000 people per week.

“The issue is not drawing people. The Harbor is drawing more people than it ever has. The issue is lowering the rental rates to a level that allows retailers to thrive until the market rebounds. This can be accomplished through restructuring the mortgage loan.”

The Hilton Hotel and Conference Center is not affected by this filing.

“The Hotel just had one of the strongest months it has ever had and April is looking as if it will be the strongest month since the Hotel opened,” Whittle said. “We are still working on solutions to some of our key issues including additional parking. The hotel is routinely sold out during summer weekends. The Harbor opened in November 2006. We are expecting a strong vibrant summer crowd again this summer. We have been very fortunate to have had such great community support.”

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