A hearing is scheduled for July 25 on a request from First Community Bank to appoint a receiver in an action the company has filed against several parties connected to the Riverside Village development in North Augusta.
Named in the court papers are Hammond’s Ferry Commercial I, LLC, Christian Schoen, The Clubhouse at Riverside Village Owners Association, Inc., and Riverside Village Owners Association, Inc.,
The bank’s foreclosure lists three of the Clubhouse properties in the development near the Savannah River, specifically the Clubhouse apartments, the Clubhouse parking deck and vacant offices.
MORE: Evans shopping center further underway, church seeks expansion
According to Aiken County online property records:
Parcel ID 007-18-05-006
Location Address RAILROAD AVE
Building Description VACANT OFFICE SPACE (UNFINISHED)
Parcel ID 007-18-05-007
Location Address RAILROAD AVE
Building Description CLUBHOUSE @ RIVERSIDE VILLAGE CONDO UNIT #1- PARKING GARAGE
Parcel ID 007-18-05-008
Building Description CLUBHOUSE APARTMENTS (4 FLOORS)
In its filing, the bank says it entered into a construction loan agreement with Schoen and Hammond’s Ferry Commercial I, LLC. on Jan. 16, 2018. The amount listed was $8.1 million. That agreement was revised on Aug. 6, 2021.
First Community Bank’s court document said the agreement called for the company to make monthly payments of the accrued interest and an agreed upon amount against the principal of the loan.
The bank said it received only the interest payment in March and April of this year and received no payment at all in May and June.
The bank’s complaint said it is owed $7,803,010.24, along with accrued and unpaid interest, monthly tax deposits and late charges.
MORE: Bank of America Student Leaders gain skills at Golden Harvest Food Bank
The bank asked the court to award it the unpaid balance, accrued interest and late charges. The bank also requested “attorney’s fees, costs of this action, advances made by Plaintiff, and any other amounts that may be due pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Agreement, and that Plaintiff be granted immediate judgment against Borrower and Schoen in that amount.”
According to www.sccourts.org, the defendants had not filed a response as of July 18.
This is not the first time First Community Bank has filed foreclosures on properties in North Augusta’s “Live, Work, Play” community.
In July 2021, seven key development sites, all undeveloped, in Riverside Village were headed to the auction block. That was delayed giving Greenstone Hammond’s Ferry, LLC and the bank time to reach an agreement. By August, the sale was again posted on the county’s Master-In-Equity page. That was also postponed on the morning of the scheduled auction.
By mid-September, Schoen announced the mortgage had been paid.
“Our ownership group paid off the mortgage and thereby extinguished the foreclosure procedure,” said Schoen. “We are working toward hopefully having several of the development parcels under construction by the first quarter of 2022.”
Monday’s hearing before Judge Frank Addy, Jr. begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Aiken County Courthouse at 109 Park Ave. S.E.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a general assignment reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
