$61M deals in works for office towers
Bankrupt owner looking to offload Medical Center buildings
The bankrupt owner of twin office towers near the South Texas Medical Center has proposed selling the buildings for a combined $61 million under a reorganization plan filed Monday.
Highpoint Lifehope SPE LLC, which sought protection from creditors in August, submitted the plan to sell the Highpoint Towers at 8401 and 8415 Datapoint Drive amid efforts by its largest creditor to dismiss the bankruptcy case.
Highpoint Lifehope of Alpharetta, Ga., has two separate agreements in place to sell the pair of 10-story, roughly 150,000square-foot buildings.
Alpharetta-based 8401 Highpoint Tower I MOB SPE LLC has agreed to pay $32.5 million for the building at 8401 Datapoint, while 8415 Highpoint Tower II MOB SPE LLC of the Houston area has agreed to buy the 8415 Datapoint building for $28.5 million.
Highpoint Lifehope outlined the deals in a reorganization plan and disclosure statement. Creditors have until Dec. 13 to raise objections and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Parker has set a Dec. 20 hearing to consider approving the disclosure statement.
Lender Capital One sued Highpoint Lifehope in August in state District Court in San Antonio for allegedly defaulting on a $51.1 million loan made in 2019.
Capital One sought the appointment of a receiver and an order directing Highpoint Lifehope to turn over the buildings subject to the lender’s liens. The bankruptcy, which came during a court hearing on the appointment of a receiver, put a hold on the litigation.
Last month, Capital One filed a request for an order dismissing the bankruptcy case. The lender cited the debtor’s “inaction and continuing gross mismanagement” in
making the request.
Capital One has accused the debtor of diverting $415,000 to affiliates and others just before filing for bankruptcy. It also said “many of the existing tenants” in the buildings have not been paying rent. In addition, the lender said Highpoint Lifehope stopped paying its employees, causing the cleaning crew to quit.
As an alternative to dismissing the bankruptcy case, Capital One has filed a motion for an order allowing it to take action against the debtor or its property that would otherwise be prohibited by
the bankruptcy’s automatic stay.
Whether Capital One intends to proceed with those motions, set to be heard Monday, couldn’t be determined. Attorneys for the lender didn’t respond to a request for comment. A lawyer for Highpoint Lifehope couldn’t be reached.
Capital One has been joined in its motions by Houston-based Woodbranch Highpoint LLC, which has leased the ground under the buildings
to Highpoint Lifehope for 99 years.
Highpoint Lifehope reported $61.6 million in assets and $67.8 million in debts in September. It valued the buildings at a combined $59.6 million.
The company is affiliated with Richmond Honan Development and Acquisitions LLC and Lifehope LLC, which are both based in Alpharetta. The latter says on its website it owns and operates 1.5 million square feet of medical office space and has developed
more than 5 million square feet. Most of its real estate is in Georgia.
Highpoint Lifehope said no insiders own membership interests in either of the buyers.
However, Highpoint Lifehope manager Scott Honan has ties to at least one of the proposed buyer’s representatives. Honan is part of the executive team at Lifehope Health System, which designs and builds healthcare facilities. A co-founder of Lifehope Health is Brian Mccoy,
manager of the proposed purchaser of the 8401 Datapoint tower.
The sole member of the buyer of the 8415 Datapoint tower is Fulshear-based Four Star Capital Group Inc., led by Gary Wadkins.
Highpoint Lifehope said it analyzed whether a Chapter 7 liquidation made more sense but concluded that it likely would result in a much lower purchase price for the buildings.