The former Dogtown Brewing Co. building, now Bolo’s Eatery, will be auctioned next month. (BizSense file photos)
A grab bag of Manchester real estate owned by imprisoned local businessman Michael Hild officially has a date with the auction block.
The court-approved foreclosure auction of a handful of the former developer and Live Well Financial CEO’s properties is set for Dec. 9.
The scheduling marks the latest step in Virginia Credit Union’s yearslong effort to claw back the properties from Hild, who’s serving a nearly four-year prison sentence for fraud that led to the fall of Live Well, a once-fast-growing local reverse mortgage company. While running Live Well, Hild and his wife had purchased a slew of properties throughout the Manchester area and have since defaulted on the loans attached to some of those properties.
VACU, the Hilds’ lender, gradually worked through the legal process of reclaiming those properties as collateral, successfully suing to have a receiver appointed to control them. Last month a Richmond Circuit judge issued an order approving VACU’s request to sell the properties.
The most prominent of the properties set to be sold are the trio of mixed-use buildings along Hull Street. They are 1209-1213 Hull St., two connected buildings with a total of 16 apartments above two commercial spaces occupied by brewpub Bolo’s Eatery and bakery Scharolina’s; and 1200-1206 Hull St., with brunch spot The Sassy Biscuit on the ground floor and 10 apartments above it.
Also set to be sold is a 0.25-acre surface lot adjacent to the Bolo’s building at 1124 Bainbridge St., and a small, one-story home at 2010 Maury St.
The properties will be auctioned in person Dec. 9 at The Westin Richmond hotel at 6631 W. Broad St. Bidding will start at 11 a.m. The sale will be handled by auction house Tranzon Key.
Bill Londrey, a managing partner at Tranzon Key, said it will have options for interested bidders to call in if they’re not able to attend in person. There will be no set starting bid amounts, and all sales would later need to be approved by the court.
The three Hull Street properties are stabilized with commercial tenants and residential occupancy rates over 90%. Londrey said he expects the Bainbridge parking lot will be desirable to any buyer that picks up one of the Hull Street buildings, but the lot has upside as a development opportunity. It’s zoned for multifamily buildings that could reach up to three stories, and its potential uses wouldn’t be substantially changed under the city’s new Code Refresh rezoning effort. Londrey noted that the patio and parking lot next to The Sassy Biscuit at 1200 Hull St. could also be a development site.
The five properties were assessed by the city this year at a total of more than $7 million.
In 2019, just months after Hild’s arrest, a crop of other Hild properties were sold at auction, an event that drew plenty of interest from local developers.
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