A Miami-based finance firm, Omega Commercial Finance Corp., has signed a letter of intent to purchase the majority interest in the bankrupt Running Horse development in Fresno, Calif.
If Omega can come up with the financing necessary to acquire the majority interest, officials indicated they would attempt to complete the 440-acre golf community development project similar to what was initially proposed by original developers Tom O’Meara and Scott Webb six years ago. That plan called for a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course (which had already been approved by the PGA Tour for a tournament stop), 620 single-family homes and nearly that many townhomes and apartments, along with other retail and commercial development.
Even if Omega comes up with the necessary financing, however, there is a vast web of legal, ownership and entitlement issues to resolve before construction of the master plan can resume.
A number of unresolved mechanics liens have been filed by contractors and subcontractors on the original construction. There is also a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed by the project’s second owner, builder Mick Evans, who is reportedly owed some $9 million for unpaid work, and a number of land purchases from both La Jolla Loans and Scripps Investments and individual small acreage owners before the full project could proceed.