Wallace-Bajjali lands San Antonio project

The City of Joplin's master developer, Wallace-Bajjali Development Partners, is one of three developers involved in a major project in San Antonio, Texas. The developer was hired to work on a $150 million project to rebuild the area around the Red Berry Mansion on the east side of the city.

Like city officials in Joplin and Amarillo, Texas, San Antonio officials say they have done their due diligence and have checked out the firm and its history of bankruptcies:

"We look forward to bringing in private-sector capital into San Antonio, to do these types of developments, create jobs and grow the economy," said CEO David Wallace.

But in some instances, the developer ended up in court:

Of 18-projects Wallace Bajjali includes on its website, the I-Team discovered nearly $40 million dollars in debt and bankruptcies. The most recent involves a downtown Joplin, Missouri project.

Wallace told the I-Team much of the debt problems stemmed from the downturn in the real-estate industry that struck after 2008. And Wallace said his firm used bankruptcies to preserve its investments and help re-pay creditors.

"I have bought companies, basically to put them through a chapter proceeding to basically save jobs and create value," said Wallace.

The City of San Antonio, much like its neighbors Houston and Waco, is required to analyze or "vet" prospective candidates for multi-million dollar projects.

Wallace Bajjali said it provided all of its bankruptcy history to San Antonio officials, who, in turn, said they considered it all.

City officials said they are satisfied the company will complete its Red Berry estate project, .and that the developer's incentives are tied directly to its success.