Worn out by the seemingly never-ending saga of the sale of LH Plaza?

Understandable if you are, but honestly, we can't afford to take our eyes off the prize.

The ups and downs of this sale, and the viability of the small businesses that call it home, make it a microcosm of the larger development picture in our community.

In short, it matters to Lake Highlands what happens at this intersection.

So it is unfortunate to report that just as everything appeared in order for LH Plaza to be purchased by The Retail Connection, the brakes were abruptly applied by the company early this week.

"We thought we could put together the deal and felt like we had everything in order, but this is a tough market," said David Wilson, president of Connected Development Services, a division of The Retail Connection.

"In the end, there were a lot of factors involved in us walking away from the property."

True perhaps, a lot of factors may have led to the firm's decision to pull out of the deal, but the biggest issue was likely the lack of traditional financing.

"It’s a tough market for lenders these days," Wilson added. "A real tough market."

Being that The Retail Connection has historically focused on retail-only investment properties, the attempt to purchase LH Plaza was a little out of the norm for the company.

As we’ve previously reported, the company was aiming to do away with a good portion of the vacant retail buildings on the property and replace them with up to 16 single family residential homes.

When David Wilson and his colleagues first met with local business owners and homeowner associations to review their plans for LH Plaza, he made it clear that a large portion of the equity required to close on the deal would need to come from an investor pool comprised of Lake Highlands residents.

In short, it simply wasn't happening, and Wilson's firm appears unwilling, or unable, to take on any additional risk in order to close on the deal.

So where do we go from here?

At this point, sources indicate there are at least three potential buyers still in play for LH Plaza. Their pecking order, however, is widely disputed.

Regardless of where they stood prior to The Retail Connection's contract negotiations, all potential buyers of the property will now likely be given the chance to sharpen their pencils and submit new bids.

As for the LH Plaza saga, we’ll be sure to keep you informed.

Tired of it or not, it's just too important an issue to let go just yet.