VIDALIA, La. — A former Fruit of the Loom plant that once housed Vidalia Mills, which sought to produce sustainable selvedge denim, now belongs to several credit unions due to millions of dollars in unpaid loans.
The property, including the 900,000 square foot building and 81.87 acres of land a that was purchased from the Town of Vidalia in 2017, had been advertised for a sheriff’s sale that took place Aug. 6, according to the Natchez Democrat, which noted that in Louisiana, sheriff’s sales are public auctions conducted by the Sheriff’s Office to sell property that has been seized by court order, typically to recover unpaid debts.
The auction took place following reports that Vidalia Mills owed approximately $32.5 million in principal interest and late charges to the Jefferson Financial Credit Union & Greater Nevada Credit Union, the publication stated.
Bids Under Appraised Value
At auction, the highest bid was $1,005,000, which was under the appraised value of $1,193,185.
According to the Natchez Democrat, Mickie Harvey, chief civil deputy of Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office, said the property will be deeded back to Jefferson Financial Federal Credit Union & Greater Nevada Credit Union.
“There has supposedly been considerable interest — particularly among manufacturers that value authentic, domestically-produced denim — in the historic Draper X3 looms that were to be sold as one piece along with the land and building,” the Democrat reported, citing the publication SJDenim. “However, the credit union and Gibbs International were the only two participants in the auction last week.”
$30 Million from Two CUs
According to the report, in 2018, Vidalia Mills, also known as Vidalia Industrial Facilities LLC, received a $25 million loan from Jefferson Financial and a $5 million loan from Greater Nevada to purchase equipment for the startup of a domestic denim factory with locally grown cotton spun and dyed at the facility.
There is currently a lawsuit pending: Jefferson Financial Federal Credit Union & Greater Nevada Credit Union v. Vidalia Mills, it added.
