Notice of Foreclosure Filed Against Maranatha Owner, Facilitys Future in Flux

Only two years after opening the $5.3 million Maranatha Family Center in the Town of Richmondville, owner Stella McKenna was served with notice of foreclosure on December 16th by the New York State Business Development Corporation, according to documents published on the Schoharie County Clerk's Office. 

The notice reads "that an action has been commenced and is now pending in the Supreme Court upon the Verified Foreclosure Complaint of the above named Plaintiff against the above named Defendants for the foreclosure of a mortgage in the original principal amount of $1,850,000.00..." 

Maranatha's struggles were first publicized when the Village of Richmondville shut off their electric in early September following months of unpaid bills and thousands in late fees. It has since been discovered that the project had been in trouble from day one, owing everyone from state agencies to local banks and even the federal government. 

At stake for Ms. McKenna is not only the recently built physical fitness complex located on Route 7 in the Town of Richmondville, but Maranatha's original site on Elm Street in the Village of Cobleskill and two personal residences, all of which will be lost as the final grains of sand escape her already depleted hourglass.

New York City investor Da-Lai Wu had signaled renewed interest in obtaining the property after the Town of Richmondville approved a waiver request to Empire State Development to allow different ownership, but to date no deal has been reached between Mr. Wu and Ms. McKenna, leaving the partially publicly funded facility's future in flux.