A judge approved an agreement between the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving and its landlords this week to grant the facility an extra 30 days to come up with nearly a quarter-million dollars of unpaid rent.
Officials with the Sun Valley Marina Development Corporation filed a motion on February 12 to force the school to pay the $245,402.56 in back rent out of a potential $675,000 loan from Arlington Street Investments. The motion called for all of the money — the rent had not been paid since November — to be repaid by March 1 or the school would close.
However, this week’s deal would give the school more time. Court documents showed the school paid Sun Valley $61,350 on Wednesday and, in return, would be given until April 1 to come up with the rest.
“The additional 30 days will enable the debtor to continue its operations, meet its obligations to its students and partners, and achieve an outcome that will be more advantageous for creditors than turnover of the leased premises, and Sun Valley will not be prejudiced by the additional time,” the documents read.
The school, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, had been accepting formal offers from potential investors and buyers through February 28. In December, officials said the school had a bright future despite the ongoing bankruptcy.
There was no immediate word on whether enough funds had been raised to save the school as of Thursday, though Sun Valley said it had “positive communications” with the facility and “is aware there are other potential purchasers interested in the business.”
“We are making steady progress towards the sale of the School, a key benchmark towards finalizing the School’s reorganization plan,” Tim Shaffer, the school’s chief restructuring officer, said in a news release. “We’re negotiating with several highly qualified investors, and the process with each one has been very positive. All of the investors have the means, expertise, and business acumen to continue running the School at full throttle.”
Shortly after it filed for Chapter 11, an employee walkout shuttered the school for a brief time. They claimed they had experienced a hostile work environment at the hands of school co-owner Patricia Bondurant.
She and her husband, school founder Bob Bondurant, have denied the former workers’ claims.
What ever became of the older cars 60s on back. Hells fire these 70s cars I can see running up and down my street any time.
That 53 chopped up truck just don’t get it.
While I thoroughly understand the concerns of creditors, there is a need for the broad spectrum of driver training courses that are available at Bondurant. I’ve taken the entire range of classes and while I’m no racer, I am a significantly better driver than I would have otherwise been.
There are no better instructors, no better instruction, and no better equipment.
One would hope that any qualified buyer/investor would take advantage of everything Bob Bondurant worked so hard to build over more than half a century.
Best wishes to all,
Davy