Adelaide Pointe developers Ryan and Emily Lesstma, along with five entities they manage, negotiated a settlement agreement with their lenders, court-appointed receiver, and state and local officials.
The agreement allows for the reorganization of the five entities and the completion of the bankruptcy process.
In September 2025, Independent Bank sued Ryan Leestma for defaulting on a $30 million loan. Leestma then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 1st, two months after a judge appointed a receiver for the development.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Leestmas would release all claims against their lenders and court-appointed receiver, John Polderman. Polderman would become chief restructuring officer for the five Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the state attorney general would also not enforce environmental matters regarding the project for 120 days.
In a statement, Ryan Leestma said, “The project has a tremendous amount of current and future value and has been growing in occupancy and revenue every single year. This gives us the time to finish building what we started.”
The reorganization and exit from bankruptcy are expected to take between four to six months.
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