Petra to buy Frisco acreage in Tim Barton receivership
Developer Barton faces multiple criminal and civil charges
A luxury community developer put in the only bid for Frisco land recently seized from a developer accused of defrauding multiple Chinese investors.
Washington, D.C.-based Petra Development is set to buy 4.5 acres at the northwest corner of John Hickman Road and the Dallas North Tollway in the Gate, a partially built mixed-use project, the Dallas Business Journal reported. U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr is expected to approve the sale to Petra for $9 million.
This would be the first sale of commercial property that was seized from developer Tim Barton and his company JMJ Development and is being held in court-ordered receivership. Barton faces criminal charges as well as civil charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly scamming 100 Chinese investors out of $26 million by promising to buy land for them but accepting the money without ever buying anything.
The Frisco land wasn’t part of the alleged scam, but the judge ordered all of Barton’s properties and assets be put into receivership. Barton and the receiver, attorney Cort Thomas, agreed that the land in the Gate should be sold to help cover expenses related to the case.
“There is no personal animus against Mr. Barton at all,” Thomas wrote in an initial receivership status report filed with the court. “The Receivership Estate is in dire need of capital.”
According to court documents, Barton had arranged the sale of the land to Petra before it was put into receivership. Thomas and Barton have asked the court to put the proceeds of the sale, about $3 million after liens are paid, toward the receivership to minimize the need to sell any more properties.
Barton has accused the receiver of focusing on the sale of properties that are “particularly dear” to Barton, such as his home on Rock Creek Drive and commercial developments that are not far enough along to reap profit, the DBJ reports.
Previous to his legal troubles, Barton had planned to develop a Mandarin Oriental hotel and condo tower in Turtle Creek. That property, at 2999 Turtle Creek Boulevard, is also in receivership.
The Gate, located north of The Star mixed-use development on the southbound Dallas Parkway between Warren Parkway and Lebanon Road, is a 41-acre development in Frisco’s North Platinum Corridor. Barton and JMJ previously planned to build a 28- or 30-story luxury hotel and condo tower on the land.
— Victoria Pruitt