The Greens at Millerville

Published Oct 1, 2012 at 4:00 pm (Updated Oct 2, 2012)

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While Windy Gladney, Jim Tanner and BancorpSouth duke it out in court over who owes what to whom, the property at the center of their suit and countersuit—a 53-acre tract at the intersection of Interstate 12 and Millerville Road—appears finally to be on the path toward development.

Earlier this year, a partnership owned by some of Gladney's family members and friends, Appropriate Real Estate LLC, purchased the property out of foreclosure for $4 million.

It was the second time the property had gone up on the block. In 2011 BancorpSouth foreclosed on the land and demanded a sheriff's sale. However, the property didn't sell the first go-round. State law requires a property sell for at least two-thirds of its appraised value at a first sheriff's sale. No one at that sale bid on the property, apparently put off by its $9 million appraisal price.

“We're just happy to get it back into commerce again,” says Gladney, who is manager of the LLC and will oversee development of the new project, to be called The Greens at Millerville.

As currently envisioned, the mixed-use development will include an apartment complex, 30 acres of retail development and an auto dealership. However, the project was deferred last month when it went before the East Baton Rouge Parish Planning Commission for approval because of concerns from neighborhood residents over the planned auto dealer.

“They just didn't have adequate information, which is why we deferred,” Gladney says. “So we're going to meet with them and hopefully Councilman Mike Walker (who represents the district) and try to address their concerns and make sure everybody knows what we're trying to do.”

Gladney is optimistic the Planning Commission will eventually approve the project and that The Greens at Millerville will finally become a reality, more than seven years after it was originally envisioned. However, he says the years that have been wasted in litigation with his former partner and his bank have diminished the value of the deal.

“It's less valuable now than it was then,” he says. “But we still think it's a great piece of real estate, and I'm excited for my friends and children that they'll be able to develop it.”