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SIMMONS PUTS ROSSWOOD COUNTRY CLUB UP FOR SALE

By Ezra Mann/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Friday, December 7, 2007 11:16 PM CST

Officers of Rosswood Country Club Inc. have filed a warranty deed in lieu of foreclosure in the Jefferson County Circuit Clerk’s office, authorizing Simmons First National Bank to sell the 189 acres at the south edge of Pine Bluff.

The deed was filed Wednesday at the county courthouse to satisfy a 1995 mortgage, including extensions, according to the document. The warranty deed stated that the debt on the property “substantially exceeds the value of the real property as of the date of this conveyance.”

A member of the club’s board of directors confirmed last month that the board hoped to sell the property to four unidentified individuals from the White Hall area.

An advertisement printed in Friday’s edition of the Pine Bluff Commercial stated that Simmons First National Bank now owns the club and is accepting sealed bids for the property through Dec. 14. Rosalind M. Mouser of the Ramsay, Bridgforth, Harrelson and Starling law firm of Pine Bluff will represent the bank in the bidding process.

Mouser was out of her law office Friday and was not available for comment. A bank spokesman declined comment and calls to the Rosswood Country Club went unanswered.

The Jefferson County assessor’s office Friday said records indicate the country club property totals 189 acres that is divided into four parcels. The assessor’s office valued the four tracts at $1,076,950.

In late 2006, the club also was proposed for sale to IBAC Corp., former majority owner of the Royal Arkansas Hotel & Suites in downtown Pine Bluff. However, that deal also was never consummated.

A spokesman for IBAC said the firm planned to purchase the club and land surrounding the golf course and build high-end single family homes, condominiums and time share/vacation villas on the property.

That fell through when IBAC’s ownership in the Royal Arkansas Hotel was terminated in foreclosure proceedings. The hotel has since been acquired by a Colorado firm.

Dan Edwards, the former president of the club’s board of directors, told The Commercial last year that the club did not have the necessary funds to operate the restaurant and bar and that necessary renovations had been put on hold.

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