Today’s Journal:

A foreclosure dispute in downtown Winston-Salem is pitting members of the city’s black community against the only black-owned bank operating here.

At stake is the Trade Street Galleria, a 42,000-square-foot building at 545 N. Trade St.

Mechanics and Farmers Bank started foreclosure proceedings on the building in February. At that time, the building was owned by Wiley Brown & Associates LLC, a real-estate and property-management company operated by Tanya Wiley and her husband, Dorrel Brown.

The bank and Wiley said yesterday that the company had fallen behind on its mortgage payments after losing several tenants. Dorrel Brown also filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in May.

With the parties unable to reach an agreement, Mechanics and Farmers paid $601,725 for the property at a May foreclosure hearing. It took ownership of the building in November……

Wiley said that Mechanics and Farmers’ reputation in the black community is suffering because of its unwillingness to resolve a dispute with one of the city’s prominent black-owned businesses. “It’s been disheartening because I did everything I could to resolve this with the bank before foreclosure became a possibility,” Wiley said. “I sit on their local board of directors, and I have helped them build a loan portfolio in the community.

Black leaders are rallying around Wiley Brown and are rallying this morning. What’s interesting here is Wiley Brown, despite its financial troubles, was even able to secure another loan from Southern Community Bank. I’m no financial expert, but I would consider this very fortunate and a signal that the company should set up shop elsewhere.