Developer sues Petersburg; judge sides with city
PETERSBURG, VA (WWBT) - A judge has ruled in favor of Petersburg after a developer sued the city for breach of contract.
Tom Wilkinson took the city to court over the redevelopment of the old BB&T building. Wilkinson bought the building from the city for $600,000. It was valued at $1.8 million.
Wilkinson says he cut a deal with former City Manager William Johnson, which would have obligated Petersburg to pay $57,000 per year as part of the deal for 10 years of lease space for the city to do work in, but that never happened.
New city administration came in and argued council never approved these agreements, and the city cant afford it anyway.
Wilkinson sued the city for $3 million in damages, but the judge ruled on Wednesday that the lease agreements were void as a matter of law.
The developer must now pay the city $480,000, which is the balance of the purchase price for the building.
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