May 12th, 2010 by Reed Allmand 
Wachovia Bank called off a scheduled foreclosure of the Village at Camp Bowie shopping center on Fort Worth’s west side for undisclosed reasons. A foreclosure for the shopping center was posted by Wachovia a few weeks ago even as the debtor and the lenders negotiated the $36.5 million loan on the property which matured in March.
“We continue to be in communication with the borrower and have decided not to go to foreclosure at this time,” said Joe Stroop, Wachovia’s spokesman. David Burgher, a principal in Dallas-based Trophy Investments, which six years ago bought the high-profile center, formerly known by its address, 6333 Camp Bowie Blvd., and then spent millions to renovate it, said Monday that he could not comment on the negotiations but that he hopes that “we will get something worked out.”
While Wachovia didn’t originate the loan, it acquired $26.5 million of the loan when it merged with SouthTrust Bank in 2004. With the current state of commercial properties and the rising number of foreclosures, many lenders are reticent to move forward with foreclosures when they can come to a settlement agreement with debtors. Many lenders do not want to end up stuck with properties that may not sell or which are not turning a profit due to high vacancy rates. They prefer to keep the property with the owner, avoid foreclosure and avoid the expense and energy required to take over a commercial property. Many of the commercial properties slated for foreclosure are often saved either through negotiations or a bankruptcy filing. A matter of fact Burgher has made it clear that he is willing to file bankruptcy if needed to stop the foreclosure on the property. Burgher’s willingness to file bankruptcy was no doubt a contributing factor to the bank’s desire to call off the foreclosure and continue negotiations.
About Reed Allmand
Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."
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