Wohali’s latest issue concerns debt from building infrastructure for the city of Coalville.
When Coalville greenlit the golf course and residential development almost five years ago, its developers agreed to beef up local infrastructure — especially the city sewer.
Wohali decided to pay for it through public infrastructure districts, or PIDs, which issued millions of dollars in bonds that the resort would eventually need to pay back.
Fast forward to August 2025, and the golf resort west of Interstate 80 declares bankruptcy.
Then Dec. 1, it missed a $3.3 million payment to reimburse the PID for the sewer system. And attorney Matthew Cox said last month that if the PID went unpaid, Utah law requires it to foreclose on Wohali, which needs to make good on its promises to Coalville.
Bankruptcy Judge Peggy Hunt authorized a more than $4 million loan Dec. 8, allowing Wohali and its other creditors to avoid foreclosure.
The money will cover the PID payment and other urgent expenses like the golf course’s payroll.
Multiple parties were fighting to be the lender, since the lender could be first in line to be repaid after Wohali is restructured or sold.
Wohali’s trustee Matt McKinlay, who Hunt appointed to guide the property through bankruptcy, chose a loan from the group of foreign investors who are already the resort’s primary creditor.
The judge reviewed his decision and gave him the go-ahead.
“I'm finding that the trustee has exercised reasonable business judgment by entering into this — not that it is the best [possible loan] — but it's reasonable that he made the decision he made,” Hunt said during the Dec. 8 ruling.
Other creditors contested the foreign creditors’ loan. The competing creditors worry that the foreign investors want a quick bankruptcy auction where they would be in a good position to take control of the property.
The competing loan terms would’ve allowed other creditors, such as businessman Doug Bergeron, to jump ahead of the foreign creditors when it comes to repayment.
Whoever is first in line to get paid back has the advantage if Wohali is auctioned off, and Bergeon has already said he wants to buy it.
But McKinlay was worried that the fight for first would cost the bankrupt estate more in the long run — that’s why he went with the foreign investors’ loan.
Bergeron made a final offer at the eleventh hour, but McKinlay’s attorney said Bergeron’s offer was still more expensive and less flexible.
During the past couple weeks of testimony, Bergeron and attorneys for future Wohali homeowners raised concerns about the unknown foreign investors and alleged they carelessly flushed Wohali with cash to get green cards or visas.
Hunt took note of their testimony but indicated it might not be relevant to the loan issue she was deciding.
“Even if relevant, the evidence to date does not establish the owners’ allegations. It may be that the owners may be able to establish otherwise at a later date, but it is not a basis to deny the motion today,” she said.
Hunt emphasized she was making an “interim” ruling. That means it’s not the final word on where Wohali will get the money it needs during bankruptcy.
Having so far fended off Bergeron and the other challengers, the foreign investors are still in the best position to buy the resort if it comes to that. The next court date is Jan. 22.
Wohali filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections in August, which usually means restructuring its debts to pay back creditors — as opposed to Chapter 7, which is the more direct route to a sale.
Attorneys for the foreign creditors have suggested from the beginning that Wohali is headed for a sale regardless. The trustee previously testified there are at least six parties interested in buying the golf course and residential resort.
