Conan McClain, a partner with Seaboard Station owner Gregory & Parker, says the company's bankruptcy filing last week won't affect business at the retail center near William Peace University.

"I really can't comment about the situation other than to say that the Seaboard development and all of its tenants are fine," he said in an email. "It's business as usual."

Gregory & Parker and Gregory & Parker Seaboard LLC, which owns the roughly 85,000 square foot center, filed for bankruptcy last week.

Gregory & Parker listed estimated assets of between $100,000 and $500,000 and liabilities of between $10 million and $50 million. The Seaboard entity listed estimated assets of $50,000 or less and liabilities of between $10 million and $50 million.

Gregory & Parker borrowed $3.85 million from Georgia Capital between 2009 and 2011, according to Wake County property records. The seaboard property was put up as collateral for the loans.

Georgia Capital appointed a substitute trustee over the property in October, a move that often is a precursor to instigating foreclosure proceedings against a borrower.

Former film titan Kodak is said to be readying an application for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The WSJ.com report says Kodak is preparing the Chapter 11 filing in case its efforts to sell some of its digital patents fail.

The imaging giant still employs some 19,000. This report follows a warning that it could soon be delisted from the NYSE.

Kodak has been struggling to find its mojo for some time. Check out this promotional/inspirational video from 2006. It remains one of my all-time favorites.

Via YouTube
 

The Triangle's last Borders bookstore is finishing its liquidation sale and is scheduled to close for good on Monday.

The final days at the store on Six Forks Road in North Raleigh will feature discounts of up to 90 percent on all remaining merchandise and store fixtures. All sales are final.

All 359 Borders remaining nationwide are scheduled to close by mid-September. The chain fell victim to weaker consumer spending, and increasing competition from Amazon, Walmart and other powerful rivals.

Borders closed its five other Triangle stores earlier this year after filing for bankruptcy. Another store at Raleigh-Durham International Airport closed recently after its liquidation sale.

RDU officials are still working to find a new tenant for that spot in Terminal 2.

The closures leave large empty spaces across the Triangle for retail landlords to refill during an economic slump.

The last Borders in this region, in the Six Forks Station Shopping Center, is 27,000 square feet. The shopping center's property manager didn't return calls seeking comment.

The Triangle's last two Borders bookstores will start liquidation sales Friday morning, with discounts up to 40 percent off.

The deals will include all merchandise, including books, calendars, puzzles, CDs, DVDs and more. Borders also will sell store fixtures such as lights, shelves and chairs. The discounts are expected to increase over coming weeks to clear out as much as possible.

There is a large Borders in the Six Forks Station Shopping Center in North Raleigh, and a much smaller one available only to ticketed passengers at Raleigh-Durham International Airport's Terminal 2.

The Borders bookstore at Raleigh-Durham International Airport will begin a liquidation sale in the next few days and airport officials are beginning the search for a replacement tenant.

The bankrupt book seller announced Monday that it will ask a judge to approve liquidation sales at its 399 remaining stores on Thursday, after failing to find a buyer.

"This has happened very quickly, so we have not had an opportunity to speak to interested tenants," said RDU spokeswoman Mindy Hamlin. "However, we anticipate that there will be other concepts that will be interested in leasing that space very quickly. It is located in a prime location and RDU’s concession program is very popular with tenants and customers."

The preference will be to find another bookstore to fill the spot, she added.

The Borders bookstore at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, which was spared when the bankrupt chain closed other local stores, has dodged another bullet.

Borders Group on Thursday asked a bankruptcy court for permission to close 51 additional stores. The RDU store was on that list, but late Thursday night, Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis said that the location is no longer in jeopardy because RDU agreed to extend a lease-negotiation period.

She declined to provide further details.

"The caveat to that is we can never guarantee a store will remain open indefinitely, but the landlord agreed to the lease extension," Davis wrote in an e-mail.

There was some delay in receiving paperwork from Borders, but RDU agreed to give Borders more time to decide whether to accept or reject the lease, which runs through 2015, said RDU spokesman Andrew Sawyer.

The Borders in RDU's Terminal 2 opened in 2008 and has been one of the most successful retail spots at the airport, Sawyer said.

A group of North Carolina attorneys has launched an advocacy group for creditors rights.

Called the North Carolina Creditors Bar Association, the group says its members are "committed to protecting and enforcing the rights of those who make credit available."

The NCCBA put out a release today saying it will neither compete or replace the role of the North Carolina Bar Association, which advocates for all attorneys in the state.

“Although this organization is in its infancy, we have already discussed projects which will not only benefit the profession, but will also focus on educating individuals on how to protect themselves from debt," said Jerry Myers, an attorney with Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers and the association's first president.
 

Google has bid $900 million for thousands of patents held by Nortel Networks, the telecommunications company that filed for bankruptcy in 2009.

The so-called stalking horse agreement essentially sets that price as the minimum, and Nortel will ask a bankruptcy court for permission to seek higher bids on its patent portfolio.

The portfolio includes about 6,000 patents and patent applications for wireless, data networking, high-speed Internet and other technologies.

Nortel was once one of the largest private employers in the Triangle, and many of its patents involve at least some work done at its Research Triangle Park campus.

Harry & David, known for its fruit and gift baskets, filed for bankruptcy today, the latest retailer hurt by the economy and increasing competition.

The Medford, Ore.-based company plans to continue operating as it reorganizes in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The chain closed more than 50 stores before filing for bankruptcy and now operates 70 stores in 38 states. Its lone North Carolina location is at the Carolina Outlets in Smithfield.

The company ships fruit, nuts, baked goods and other snacks to customers around the world under brands including Wolferman's, Cushman's and Harry & David.

Bankrupt video-rental chain Blockbuster continues to reduce its retail footprint in the Triangle.

The stores in Garner and Clayton rented their last DVDs last week, staff writer Colin Campbell reports. The locations are holding liquidation sales before they close for good in April.

The Blockbuster in Raleigh's Mission Valley closed last week, and other closures are likely.

The chain filed for bankruptcy protection last fall amid mounting debt, consumers shifting to online rentals and increasing competition from rivals such as Netflix and the $1-per-night Redbox kiosks.