Wine resort facing foreclosure

YAKIMA – A $500 million destination golf and wine resort, touted as a major springboard for Yakima Valley development during its groundbreaking just one week ago, is fighting foreclosure.

The 500-acre property intended to house the Vineyards Resort is scheduled to be sold Oct. 17 on the steps of the Yakima County Courthouse, according to a legal notice printed in Friday’s edition of the Yakima Herald-Republic.

Resort backers are trying to negotiate an extension with a Wisconsin hedge fund on an unpaid $12.9 million short-term note intended as interim financing to get the project off the ground, according to an attorney for the developers.

The project is being developed by SBC, a joint venture with partners in Colorado and the Yakima Valley. According to the notice, the developers were served with a notice of default on the loan in May. A trustee hired by the originator of the loan, First National of America, is handling the sale.

Paul Larson, the Yakima attorney for the Vineyards developers, said he is trying to negotiate an agreement that would cancel the sale.

The Vineyards hopes to build on the growing wine industry in Washington state as a way to attract tourists and home buyers. The project includes an 18-hole golf course, 532 home sites, a hotel, clubhouse, recreation center and Tuscan-themed village. The golf course is expected to be completed by summer 2010.

The total project is estimated to be worth $500 million.