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OKC-Based Macco Properties Fights Sales in Bankruptcy Court
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Written by Muriel J. Gibson   
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
A bankruptcy trustee for embattled Macco Property Inc.’s vast real estate holdings wants to sell some of the property off, including a luxury high-rise condominium in Dallas valued at more than $2.5 million and several run-down apartment complexes in the metro area.

Macco Properties’ owner, Jennifer Price, wife of Macco President Lew McGinnis, is fighting the sales in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Price is asking the court to block the sale of 11 properties Macco owns or has equity in, including a 3,049-square-foot condominium on the 18th floor of the Claridge, a luxury high-rise condominium complex in Dallas. The building’s amenities include imported Spanish marble, hand-scraped oak floors, 24-hour valet service, a swimming pool, sauna and racquetball court, according to a website for the property. The condominium is worth more than $2.5 million, Macco reported in court documents.

Macco Properties was tricked into agreeing to let a court-appointed trustee take over its business operations in May, at a time when the company lacked adequate legal representation, Price said in court documents.

The property management company, with real estate holdings valued at $131 million, has been through several attorneys since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November.

“They don’t want all of the properties liquidated wholesale in the matter indicated by the bankruptcy trustee,” said Terrance Hiller, an attorney in Southfield, Mich., who represents Macco. “They’d rather the business continue to operate like it was before the bankruptcy.”

Michael Deeba, a court-appointed trustee for Macco, has asked the bankruptcy court for permission to hire real estate brokers to sell off some of the company’s properties. Apart from the luxury condominium, the other disputed properties include the 220-unit Remington Apartments, 7125 S Santa Fe Ave.; the 132-unit Newport/Granada Apartments, 3407 NW 39th and 3405 NW 40th St.; the 111-unit Emerald Court Apartments, 4746 NW 23rd St.; the 130-unit Winslow Glen Apartments, 4750 NW 23rd St.; and 11 acres of land in Canadian County, along with some office space and other holdings.

Some of the apartment complexes have had ongoing issues with roach infestation and tenants complain of everything from leaky pipes to faulty electrical wiring.

The Office of the U.S. Trustee, a branch of the Justice Department that oversees bankruptcy cases, asked a bankruptcy court judge in May to appoint a trustee to take over management of Macco’s real estate business on the grounds the company was grossly mismanaged, according to court records.

In an initial report to the court earlier this month, Deeba said the company’s operations appeared to be in constant crisis mode. Macco owes more than $3 million in late property taxes on some of its holdings, and utility bills were left unpaid until apartment managers received cut-off notices, Deeba reported to the court. Company employees also complained their payroll checks frequently bounced, according to court records.

Oklahoma City-based Price Edwards & Co. has been charged with managing the Macco apartment complexes and four other commercial properties in the metro area since July.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 December 2011 )