Commercial developer Scott LaFavre’s company Eagle’s Rest Development declared bankruptcy last month in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in St. Paul.

In a phone message left at the Tribune this week, LaFavre said he filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 19. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is tailored for corporate reorganization. This gives him an additional 90 days to reorganize and get the funds together to redeem the 100-acre former Albert Lea Golf Club, which is in foreclosure.

“I’m attempting to reorganize and still make something happen with the asset because I still believe in it,” said LaFavre, who graduated from Albert Lea High School in 1981, in his message. Additional calls to LaFavre were not immediately returned.

LaFavre initially purchased the former 18-hole golf club for the residential Eagle’s Rest development in May of 2006. In April 2006 he announced his plans to bulldoze the property and build a 120-lot high-end neighborhood. In February of that year, he purchased the Wedge Nursery.

Since then, two notices of foreclosure totaling more than $1 million against the Eagle’s Rest development have been filed in the Freeborn County Recorder’s Office.

Because the second notice, for $937,500, was not resolved, the land was put up for public auction.

At the auction on Dec. 20, 2007, mortgagor American Bank of St. Paul purchased the land for $1,031,521.92 in what was the only bid.

After that point, LaFavre had up to a year to redeem the property back for the amount the bank purchased it, plus interest. That deadline was Dec. 19.

Several other mechanic’s liens have also been placed against the property, and LaFavre’s company Eagle’s Rest Tree Farms, which owns tree nurseries in Freeborn County and Rice County, declared bankruptcy in September in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in St. Paul.

On Dec. 12 Minneapolis-based Delinear Concepts — who had an equitable mortgage on the property confirmed by the Freeborn County District Court last June — filed an official notice with the Freeborn County Recorder’s Office of its intention to redeem the Eagle’s Rest property. This notice pushed the deadline back again.

Freeborn County Recorder Kelly Callahan said Friday morning that the most recent deadline passed, and nothing further has been filed with the Recorder’s Office by either Delinear Concepts, American Bank or LaFavre.

Callahan said in light of the bankruptcy filing it would not be uncommon for creditors to go to the courts and ask for a lift of the automatic stay, which requires all creditors to stop collection attempts. This would also cancel out LaFavre’s 90-day extension.

If the property ends up going to Delinear Concepts or American Bank, the company has to go to court to get a new certificate of title.