Thomas Enterprises' problems with financing the Railyards development have reached a critical point after the state of California began efforts to yank more than $70 million in funding from the project. The California Department of Housing and Community Development has put the Georgia developer on notice that it's freezing disbursements because Thomas is in default on more than $187 million in private loans on the 244-acre project.  The state agency sent out a letter July 22 warning Thomas to pay the amount in arrears in order to bring the loans back into good standing and get the lender, Inland American Real Estate Trust of suburban Chicago, to end foreclosure actions within 30 days. T

A large national real estate investment company took the first step toward foreclosing on Sacramento's railyards Tuesday. Inland American Real Estate Trust recorded a notice of default against S. Thomas Enterprises of Sacramento, LLC, after the developer missed its April 30 deadline to pay $185 million in loans used to buy the 244-acre property in 2006. The effort to redevelop the former Union Pacific railyards is the biggest infill project currently underway in the country. The city is considering plans to build a new arena there. With its parent company headquartered in a Chicago suburb, Inland is reported to be the nation's eighth largest real estate owner. "Inland American has made

 Mayor Kevin Johnson criticized City Councilman Kevin McCarty Tuesday morning for holding a Friday press conference on the tax situation of the developers of the downtown railyards. McCarty held a press conference Friday morning outside the Amtrak station on I Street. He announced that if Thomas Enterprises did not pay its taxes, the city should try to block as much as $47 million in state funding to the railyards. The company paid the property taxes that day, according to Suheil Totah, vice president of Thomas Enterprises. Cynthia Gibbs, acting assistant tax collector, confirmed that the county received the payment from the company Tuesday. "I don't feel that (holding the press confere

The developer of the downtown Railyards paid Sacramento County about $218,000 in current and back taxes and penalties Friday, said Suheil Totah, vice president of Thomas Enterprises. Funds were sent from the company's Atlanta headquarters to the county's assessor office via overnight mail, Totah said. But Thomas Enterprises did not pay the property taxes in time to prevent city officials from publicly criticizing the company earlier Friday. The city had moved to cut off state grant payments to the company, according to an April 9 letter from city officials to the state’s housing and development department. A letter from Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said that as long as the taxe

Mayor Kevin Johnson’s volunteer task force on Thursday continued its second session of challenging proposals presented by prospective developers of a new arena in Sacramento. The 12-member task force heard presentations from Thomas Enterprises, the Kamilos Group, Natomas ESC Partners and Tripp Development. The prospective developers explained their financing plans, among other issues. Task force member Mike Kvarme asked how much of Thomas Enterprises’ project financing would rely on obtaining federal funding. “It’s a large part of it,” said Suheil Totah, vice president of Thomas Enterprises. Totah also commented on the site’s location at the railyards in Downtown. Thomas Enterprises is

Westfield Downtown Plaza and a citizens' group lost legal challenges against the Railyards development, developer Thomas Enterprises and the city announced Monday. The lawsuits against the city of Sacramento, the city's Redevelopment Agency and developer Thomas Enterprises argued that the poject's two environmental impact reports (EIRs) were inadequate and did not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act known as CEQA. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly ruled in favor of the city and developer on all points raised by the Downtown Plaza and three people represented by attorney Bill Kopper. Those individuals — Robert Castro Jr., Linda Powers and Chris Rich —

Piles are growing at the city's old railyard. Inside the long-abandoned Southern Pacific railroad shops, there are piles of metal, wood, debris and contaminated junk. Up on roofs, white-suited, specially trained abatement workers are pulling up roofing material and roofing adhesive containing asbestos. Outside one of the shops lies a makeshift salvage yard. Georgia developer Thomas Enterprises and a contractor, Allied Environmental of Placerville, are three months into a $5 million cleanup of the historic "Central Shops," which will form the centerpiece of a 244-acre mixed-used district dubbed the Railyards. The developers envision the shops as the cultural heart of a district that will

Cleanup of historic Southern Pacific railroad shops is expected to begin late this month as the next phase of the Sacramento Railyards project kicks into gear. Hazardous materials including lead paint, asbestos, metals and other industrial toxins need to be removed from the shops, which were built starting in 1868. Georgia developer Thomas Enterprises has put the abatement project out to bid and expects to award the contract in the next few weeks, said Richard Rich, development director for the Railyards project. In its heyday, Southern Pacific practically owned the town. The railyards drove Sacramento's economy, and nearly a third of all the city's residents worked there. The shops lay