Montgomery, Ala., Acquires Recycling Facility Formerly Operated by IREP

The city of Montgomery has officially acquired the $37 million recycling facility formerly operated by Infinitus Renewable Energy Park (IREP).

The city closed on a bankruptcy agreement with IREP on Dec. 29 and had been locked in bankruptcy court since Aug. 2016 after bondholders of bonds issued by IREP in 2014 opposed the sale feeling they had a better claim to the facility. In order to finalize the deal, the city had to pay the agreed upon sale price of $625,000; $125,000 in other fees (including IREP's legal fees); and $195,000 in property taxes owed by IREP and accrued after the company closed the facility's doors in October 2015, said Barry Crabb, Montgomery's finance director.

The city also reached a settlement agreement with the 2014 bondholders in order to complete the sale. Crabb said he was unable to disclose the terms of the settlement due to a confidentiality provision, but Crabb said the city is "in the process of seeking consent to disclose the terms."