Lambuth Deal Remains in the Air
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With Lambuth closing their doors for good in almost three weeks, there is limited time for a clean transition of ownership of the campus to local stakeholders. Mayor Jerry Gist is one of them. He said he is fearful Radian, Lambuth’s biggest creditor, will slow down the negotiation process. “Radian, the bond holder has five buildings secured in their $5.3 million owed to them and those are the main five buildings of the campus,” explained Gist. The stakeholder group said Lambuth must take care of their bills before they can move forward. That is because they want to present the University of Memphis with a debt free campus, which could mean a bankruptcy declaration for Lambuth. Mayor Gist said, “that’s something that the board of trustees at Lambuth will have to determine, if they will petition a bankruptcy court to handle their creditors.” If Lambuth does go to court, the stakeholder group said that will leave them with limited time to close a deal and could possibly mean the campus will be deserted for a time. “That is troublesome when you think the campus will be vacant, obviously when the utilities are turned off the campus will be vacant shortly after,” said Mayor Gist. Jackson’s Fire Marshal said any vacant building in the city is a magnet for criminal activity and an empty Lambuth campus would be no different, “Places where drug users may go, drug sellers may use them as hangout, their even tempting to kids as vandalism purposes.” The ABC 7 Eyewitness news crew hoped to talk with Lambuth leaders but calls to the president’s office either went unanswered or unturned. Mayor Gist said as of right now the stakeholders are still on track to possibly work out a deal before the fall.
