Ted Rollins
Campus Crest Communities, which ousted CEO Ted Rollins on November 4, is selling land on which it had planned to build student-housing complexes. One piece of land is near the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.The Web site seekingalpha.com reported that the decision was part of the company's plan to get out of the construction/development business.
Rollins has been the subject of numerous posts here at Legal Schnauzer, mainly because of his central role in a grossly unlawful divorce case in Shelby County, Alabama, against his second wife, Sherry Carroll Rollins, who now lives with the couple's two daughters in Birmingham. Also, Rollins' corporate law firm has been Bradley Arant, of Birmingham, and he has been a major figure in Alabama business circles--with properties under The Grove banner at four of the state's public universities (South Alabama, Troy, Jacksonville State, and Auburn).
A fifth Campus Crest location, at the University of Alabama, was planned. Mayor Walt Maddox and the Tuscaloosa City Council approved the project in September 2013, but now it apparently has been scratched.
Before the Tuscaloosa vote, I notified Maddox and members of the city council about Rollins history of child abuse, apparent perjury, and refusal to pay court-ordered child support. Did anyone amid the Tuscaloosa leadership show concern? Not that we are aware of, and here is what we reported at the time:
Almost all of the information about Ted Rollins' unsavory history is a matter of public record. But can Maddox and members of the Tuscaloosa City Council be expected to comb through court records every time a developer seeks approval for a construction project?
Well, in this case, they didn't have to. That's because I did the work for them.
On the morning that the city council was to vote on a rezoning request connected to The Grove project, I sent an e-mail to Maddox and then council member Lee Garrison. (In the August 27 municipal elections, Garrison was elected chair of the Tuscaloosa City School Board and officially gave up his council seat.)
I identified myself as a journalist who had reported extensively on an Alabama divorce case involving Ted Rollins. I cited just some of the ugly facts in the CEO's background and provided links to articles and public documents. I asked Maddox and Garrison if they supported such a corporate executive entering the Tuscaloosa business environment, and if so, why.
University of Alabama
My query has drawn no response from either Maddox or Garrison. But I do know my e-mail reached its destination. A source tells Legal Schnauzer that Maddox mentioned the e-mail in a pre-council meeting that day and said he would distribute the information to council members.
Did the revelations have any impact? Did Tuscaloosa city leaders take the documented ugliness in Ted Rollins' background seriously? The answer appears to be no, considering that the rezoning request was unanimously approved that night--and the full Campus Crest project was approved at a subsequent council meeting.
You can check out all of the details at a post titled "Mayor Walt Maddox and the Tuscaloosa City Council welcome CEO Ted Rollins and his heavy baggage."
For now, Campus Crest Communities' future seems very much in doubt--and the board of directors has shown Ted Rollins the exits. This is from a company press release, dated November 20, 2014:
As a result of the Company's decision to discontinue its construction and development business, the Company is disposing of undeveloped land parcels held in the following student housing markets:
Allendale, Michigan (Grand Valley State University)
Bellingham, Washington (Western Washington University)
Boca Raton, Florida (Florida Atlantic University)
Charlotte, North Carolina (UNC-Charlotte)
Mt. Pleasant, Michigan (Central Michigan University)
Sacramento, California (Cal-State Sacramento)
San Angelo, Texas (Angelo State University)
Tempe, Arizona (Arizona State University)
Tuscaloosa, Alabama (University of Alabama)
Here is the description for the property in Tuscaloosa:
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
12.8+/- acre property located at Jack Warner Parkway and McFarland Boulevard Fully-permitted and fully-entitled for a 228-unit/ 628-bed development 0.1 miles from University of Alabama, along the Black Warrior River, and adjacent to other purpose-built student-housing
