Popular pumpkin farm faces $7.2 million foreclosure lawsuit

BRADENTON — Hunsader Farms, a landmark Manatee County attraction known mostly for its popular fall pumpkin festival, faces a foreclosure lawsuit on a $7.23 million loan. The loan, court documents show, originated with Synovus Bank. It's since been sold to Portland, Ore.-based Red Hills Holdings, an equity firm that buys distressed assets. 

The Bradenton farm is one of the defendants listed in the lawsuit, filed in September in Manatee County civil court. Other defendants include  Michael Hunsader, David J. Hunsader, Constance M. Hunsader, Cathy Marie Raye and Bridge Creek Inc. Michael and David Hunsader have pledged personal guarantees to repay the debt, records in the lawsuit show. 

In a phone interview, Kim Hunsader, a family member not named in the lawsuit, told the Business Observer the matter was a "misunderstanding." She declined to offer further details about the foreclosure. Synovus originated the loan out of the bank's Sarasota office in 2014, court documents show, initially for $6.2 million. It was set to mature Oct. 9, 2019.

Court documents also indicate that in October 2015, the Hunsaders came back to Synovus and requested and received an additional $1.5 million, which extended the loan maturation until Oct. 2021 but also drove the interest rate up by 75 basis points, according to the lawsuit. The final payment due date is listed as Oct. 9, 2021. Court records allege Hunsaders was supposed to make semi-annual payments in February and August and they missed at least one, triggering a clause that says they have to pay back the entire amount in one lump sum.

In a phone interview, Synovus' attorney, Lara Roeske Fernandez of Trenam in Tampa, says the bank worked on modifications with Hunsader family, and Red Hills "has been in contact with the borrowers." Fernandez says she also represents Red Hills, and plans to file a foreclosure action on the loan for that entity as well.  

The Hunsader Farms' website says the farm started in 1967 when three Hunsader brothers planted a crop of 80 acres of tomatoes. The site also says, "The operation prospered and grew, and in 1990 was handed down to their sons who gave it the name Hunsader Farms."  The Hunsader Farms property is now 840 acres, according to the foreclosure lawsuit. 

The site lists several expansion projects undergone by the farm since the 1990s. It says, "In 1990 we built the barn style Farm Market, then added the petting zoo in 1991. In 1992 we kicked off our first Pumpkin Festival, while the summer of 1995 was spent building a playground and picnic area for families. The year 1997 brought the construction of our modern-day outhouse. In 2002 we built our craft and antique store, The Farmer’s Wife, and in 2005 turned it into an ice cream and gift shop.  In 2013 we opened our antique barn. The old town was added in 2014."