Layrite Products Co., the longtime Spokane block maker that shut its doors last year, allegedly is in default on four major loans, and property on Trent Avenue where its plant operated for decades is slated to be sold in a trustees sale to satisfy the debts.


The principal amounts owed on the four loans total more than $3.5 million, according to a published legal notice on the sale, which is to be held May 1. The money is owed to Tri-West Mortgage, a subsidiary of Sterling Savings Association, of Spokane, says Michael Currin, a Spokane attorney involved in the matter.


Currin works for Spokanes Witherspoon, Kelley, Davenport & Toole PS law firm and is a vice president of Blackstone Corp., a company that specializes in handling trustee work and is wholly owned by Witherspoon Kelley.


Its highly unlikely that Layrite will attempt to pay the $1.75 million needed by April 20 to stop the trustees sale, especially considering that the company isnt a going concern, says Currin. After April 20, Layrite would have to pay off both the principal and interest on all four loans, he says.


Layrites attorney, David Eash, of Spokanes Huppin, Ewing, Anderson & Paul PS law firm, couldnt be reached for comment.


The nearly 14-acre site at 1225 E. Trent includes the companys block plant, offices, and the yard where it kept its concrete blocks and other masonry products, Currin says. He says he believes that through the trustees sale, Tri-West will be able to collect all the money its owed. At least, thats the goal, he adds.


Layrites problems first came to light last fall, when Eash confirmed that the company planned to sell off its operating assets. He has said that nearly 60-year-old Layrite had suffered from declining sales and growing losses over the past few years as a result of the changing competitive environment and other factors.


The loans that are in default now all were secured with the property within the last two years, with three of them made on Jan. 30, 1996, and the fourth on Jan. 30, 1997, the legal notice says. Since early November, Layrite has sold its stove shop to Greg and Donna Fuller, of Spokane, and its retail operation to Silver Lake Masonry Supply, of Coeur dAlene.