Wilmer's Park company files for bankruptcy

Development will continue, owners say

Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

The Brandywine company that is trying to redevelop a historic concert venue has filed for bankruptcy protection, but its CEO says its efforts will continue.

The Arthur W. Wilmer Foundation filed last month for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Maryland.

Since September 2002, the for-profit company has worked to build a $200 million housing-retail-entertainment complex on the 80-acre site known as Wilmer's Park, on Brandywine Road just north of Cedarville Road, which once hosted musical legends such as B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, James Brown and Stevie Wonder. Wilmer's daughter, Leslie, started the company after the Brandywine park's entertainment operation shut down in 2001. The park opened in 1951.

Bruce D. Chatman, president and CEO of the company and owner of the site, intends to create a 384-unit gated community for residents 55 and older, featuring recreational facilities, a shopping center, a full-service dialysis center and a hotel. To continue the park's entertainment tradition, Chatman's proposal also includes a 5,000-seat, open-air amphitheater.

The Prince George's County Council approved a special zoning exemption for the park in 2007, creating a definition for a rural entertainment park as part of the county zoning code.

Chatman said the Oct. 16 bankruptcy filing has not changed plans for the development and that the project remains in its engineering and architectural states. He declined to comment on reasons for the filing.

"Everything's still going on as usual," he said.

Residents have legally challenged the zoning legislation allowing the park since 2007, arguing that it violates the uniformity provision in the county zoning code because the special exemption helps only Wilmer's. The uniformity provision states that all regulations should be the same for each class or kind of building throughout any district or zone.

The dispute is ongoing in the county's circuit court, with the latest hearing in July, according to court information. Another hearing is scheduled in the upcoming months, said Kelly Canavan, president of the Accokeek, Mattawoman, Piscataway Creeks Communities Council, a party in the suit.

"This was a poorly conceived project from the beginning," Canavan said, adding that the proposed project doesn't preserve the historical integrity and value of the original entertainment park. "We're continuing to pursue efforts to preserve this historic property."

The bankruptcy filing lists more than $2.5 million in debts to five creditors, including $2.4 million owed to Chatman. Its assets are between $1 million and $10 million.

No current timeline exists for the project, Chatman said. In late 2007, he gave 2012 as his most optimistic estimate for completion.

lrobbins@gazette.net