In an interview with KPCW, Coalville Community Development Director Don Sargent said he doesn’t expect the luxury living and golf development Wohali to go belly up.
“It’d be absolutely impossible, in my opinion, because there's just too much at stake. Other investors would come in and restructure if it got any more challenging,” Sargent said. “That's exactly what's happened here: a new investor has come into the picture and is very excited about getting things squared around financially with all vendors, all aspects of previous loans and move forward with the project.”
Numerous lawsuits are swirling around Wohali, which is located across Interstate 80 from most of the rest of town.
Foreign creditors who filed the largest lawsuit in Utah Business and Chancery Court July 9 want to recoup the rest of a $79.2 million loan they say Wohali has defaulted on. With outstanding interest, they claim the resort owes them $85.4 million.
But Sargent said a new financial partner named Jonathan Cox is hoping to put the project back on firm footing. On June 23, Cox introduced himself to the Coalville City Council as a newcomer to Wohali with over two decades of real estate development experience.
“It's going to take us another couple of weeks to get our feet under us, but once we do, I would like the opportunity to provide regular updates,” Cox told the council. “I think that it's important that folks know what's going on up there. It's a large-scale project in any community, really.”
KPCW was not able to reach Cox or independently confirm his involvement with the project July 30. Efforts to reach Wohali’s founding partners David Boyden, Thomas Cottone and John Kaiser either directly or through an attorney were also unsuccessful.
Sargent said communities generally want developments they approve to be successful.
“Anytime a major developer like this has a challenge in their project, the city should be concerned, because that could have ramifications,” he said.
Specifically, failed developments can affect tax revenue or infrastructure. But Sargent thinks there’s too much potential profit for investors to let Wohali fail long-term.
The resort has temporarily paused residential construction but not infrastructure projects it promised the city it would finish.
According to Sargent, Wohali has fronted the city money to repair and maintain a secondary reservoir, to be paid back with future tax revenue from the resort. It has already built Coalville a new sewer line and is currently constructing a sewer pump station.
But Wohali’s creditors claim there have been widespread layoffs at the resort in recent months, which Sargent said left a “bad taste” in the community.
“So I hope that — when they come back to life in terms of reinstituting their infrastructure construction and the resort moving forward — that can be somehow repaired, because that in a small town that doesn't go over very well,” he told KPCW.
He confirmed Wohali’s golf course is still active.
