St. Mark’s Takes Out Loan Using Land as Collateral

St. Mark’s Medical Center (SMMC) took out a $350,000 loan last month and put up 38 acres of land it owns as collateral.

The property is located south of the hospital along US 77. There are no buildings on the property. The move caught the attention of lots of folks after property records appeared to show that the land had changed ownership from St. Mark’s to CR 230 LLC, a limited liability company based in Lee County.

However, a deed of trust on file at the Fayette County Clerk’s describes a loan that the struggling hospital borrowed from CR 230 LLC dated May 17. According to terms in the deed of trust, the lender may foreclose on the property if St. Mark’s defaults on the loan. The principal amount is $350,000 and the maturity date is Oct. 26 of this year. Fayette County Appraisal District valued the property at $661,940 this year.

Public records from the Fayette County Clerk’s Office showAlan and Robyn Roberts of Giddings as the managers of CR 230 LLC. The Roberts have been supporters of St. Mark’s Hospital. Alan Roberts once served on the board of the St. Mark’s Foundation, and Robyn Roberts previously served on the St. Mark’s Hospital board.

The Record attempted to reach the Roberts and St. Mark’s CEO Mark Kimball for comment about this development. Neither party returned our calls.

St. Mark’s laid off dozens of employees and slashed many of its services this February in order to transition to a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH). The REH designation provided the debt-laden hospital with an injection of cash. However, hospital leaders told the Fayette County Commissioners Court back in March that the hospital still won’t have enough revenue to cover its mortgage costs.