Andrews racetrack, mall up for grabs

    Andrews – The 28 acres of land previously occupied by the Hillbilly Mall, Bear Ridge Mall and Bear Ridge Speedway is up for grabs.
    The property owners, Robert William Smith and Judith Ann Smith, defaulted on a loan. That led to a foreclosure sale, which took place at the Cherokee County Courthouse steps in Murphy on Nov. 4.
    Robert Smith purchased the property in March 2007, paying a real estate excise tax of $3,600, according to county deeds. In March 2013, he used the property – located at 200 Stewart Road, just off U.S. 19/74 – as collateral to borrow $1.5 million from United Bank in West Virginia.
    Foreclosure documents show the Smiths requested to change the terms of the loan several times since then and still owed United Bank more than $1.2 million as of June 20.
    Cherokee County Commissioner Cal Stiles – who along with his wife, Janet, owns land adjacent to the go-kart track – was the lone party to attend the foreclosure sale. The bank opened bidding at $840,000, which Stiles declined to match.
    There is still time for someone to take the bank’s place as top bidder by raising the offer at least 5 percent and paying a deposit of the new bid. If no one makes an offer during the 10-day upset bid period, United Bank will take ownership of the property.
    However, the lack of a bid does not mean no one is interested in purchasing the race track.
    “There’s some people who are really big into racing that might be interested that the bank foreclosed on that property,” said Stanley Laymon Jr., who lives in Clarkesville, Ga., and managed the go-kart track for about 14 months until earlier this year, when foreclosure proceedings heated up. “I’ve been trying to talk to a bank about [a plan to take over the property].
    “It’s absolutely one of the most perfect race tracks in the country.”
    While some local residents have complained about loud engines revving late at night, Laymon said he received a lot of support from local businesses that helped keep the race track’s lights turned on.
    “I think I could’ve gotten more businesses involved, but I didn’t have enough time,” Laymon said. “That Huddle House normally suffers, but on race nights you couldn’t find room there to eat. When people left the race, they all stopped there, and you couldn’t even get in the parking lot.”
    Laymon said most race patrons traveled from Georgia. Local residents who may have been interested in participating as a driver met financial roadblocks that were difficult to overcome.
    “It was hard trying to get the local people up there to go into debt to buy racing equipment,” Laymon said. “But go-kart racing helps the economy all throughout [the Blue Ridge Mountains]. A bunch of people I talk to stop in Murphy to eat.”
    He said the race track’s one drawback is its proximity to the abandoned mall building, which is reportedly a haven for homeless residents, with broken doors and windows.
    “That mall hides the race track, so you don’t see it from the four-lane highway,” Laymon said.
    “Tourists would sometimes stop and watch after seeing lights flashing behind the mall. It’s one of the best race track facilities in this area. Everybody loves it when they get up there, but they don’t like traveling through the mountains, and we didn’t really have a local audience.”
    At the foreclosure sale last week, the bank also offered two additional properties owned by the Smiths: 79 Dedie Lewis Lane and 820 Beaver Creek Road. The opening bid on those properties were $60,300 and $72,900, respectively.
    “Damn, that’s a shame,” Laymon said.