Title: How the Pratt/Archer Family Lost Markham Hill to a Developer – Part 1
Part 1: How It Started
The following is from the article “Pratt Place to maintain operations in wake of Chapter 11 filing: Pratt Place says it looks to improve”, written by Christie Swanson on January 28, 2015 for the online Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
“A Fayetteville inn and event center will continue operations despite a recent bankruptcy court filing, its owner said. Julian and Jane Archer, owners of Pratt Place Inn and Barn, filed Jan. 15 for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Chapter 11 allows a filer to propose a reorganization plan that allows a business to continue running while paying creditors. ‘We are here with the property, which has been in the Pratt/Archer family since 1900, and we are going to continue being here,’ Julian Archer stated in an email Monday night. Pratt Place opened in 2008 on top of Markham Hill west of Razorback Road. The property was purchased by Cassius and Maggie Pratt in 1900 and includes a boutique hotel, cottage and barn used as event space.”
“Archer wrote that Simmons Bank's purchase of Metropolitan Bank was one of the actions that led to the bankruptcy filing but did not respond to additional questions. Simmons First National Corp. bought Metropolitan National Bank for $53.6 million in September 2013 as part of a bankruptcy case. ‘This will allow us to improve our operations and is something many businesses, large and small, do,’ he [Archer] stated in his email.”
“The January filing is the third Chapter 11 filing affiliated with the Archers. The couple filed for bankruptcy protection on April 21 for Archer LLC and Sassafras Hill Communications Inc. The Archer LLC filing shows debts to the Washington County tax collector of $77,500 for 2010-13. It lists the 68.4 acres [east side of the property] on Markham Hill with a value of $3.75 million. The filing shows monthly average income from the facilities at $41,000. The Archers asked the court's permission Thursday to sell a parcel [on Halsell Rd] to Darin and Jeanne Nutter for $70,000. Sassafras Hill Communications leases a cellphone tower to Verizon. The monthly financial report the Archers must file with the court shows the corporation had a monthly income of $4,431 monthly from May to November.”
“Pratt Place Inn and Barn has received several accolades over the past several years, including being named a Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Hotel in 2014. It was one of 82 hotels worldwide to earn the designation. It also has received the AAA Four Diamond rating and was chosen as one of the top 50 places for destination weddings in the U.S. by Martha Stewart Weddings.”
#SaveMarkhamHill #KeepFayettevilleForested #PreserveFayetteville #MarkhamHillHistory #MarkhamHillNativeAmericans #MarkhamHillWildlife #MarkhamHillInspiredArt #PreserveFayettevilleHistory
Photo: Event Barn on the top of Markham Hill on the edge of the Big Meadow, surrounded by 200 acres of urban forest. To be destroyed by developer Specialized Real Estate Group (SREG) unless they sell at a reasonable price to a group who will preserve this historic, natural area in the middle of Fayetteville, Arkansas.