A Little Rock property owner recently turned to Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize its $8.6 million in debt.
RWL Investments LLC of Little Rock filed for the bankruptcy protection nine days after Centennial Bank of Conway filed a foreclosure lawsuit against it for defaulting on eight loans totaling $2.6 million.
Centennial also named RWL’s owner, Ronald W. Lazenby of Little Rock, as a defendant for personally guaranteeing the loans, according to the court documents in Pulaski County Circuit Court.
Lazenby referred questions about the bankruptcy to his son, Ryan Lazenby, who Ron said is running RWL Investments.
Ryan Lazenby didn’t immediately return a call for comment.
RWL’s bankruptcy attorney Kevin P. Keech of the Keech Law Firm in Little Rock, also didn’t return a call for comment on Thursday.
RWL’s bankruptcy filing shows it has 25 pieces of property and most of those are in Little Rock and available for rent.
One of RWL’s more famous properties is the historic Villa Marre in downtown Little Rock. RWL bought the landmark house at 1321 Scott St. for $480,000 in late December 2011. The first floor was available for soirées, while the upstairs served as office space for Lazenby’s real estate investing business.
RWL’s gross revenue was $750,000 in 2014 and 2015, according to the filings. Its revenue from Jan. 1 until March 8 was $125,000.