Opus West says it owes $1.46 billion - South Florida Business Journal:

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and some of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitionsd late Monday for reorganization underChaptet 11. Chapter 11 generally removes the threat of lawsuitsz from creditors while a business seeks to rehabilitatse itself andcontinue operations. Opus West and its affiliate reportedabout $1.28 billion in total assetes and $1.46 billion in totaol liabilities, according to bankruptcy court filings. The corporation and its affiliates had combineed revenue ofabout $405 millionj in 2008. The parent company lists 200 to999 creditors, accordinh to bankruptcy filings. Opus West Corp.
owns aboutr 20 real estate development properties either directly or through entitiez set up to holdthe properties, the courr filings say. The total debt on thos properties isabout $414 million and the value of the properties is aboutf $403 million. In additiob to Opus West Corp., the subsidiaries that have filed Chapter 11 petitions are Opus WestConstruction Corp., Opus West LP, Opus West Partnersz Inc. and O.W. Commercial Inc. Opus West has guaranteed about $1.15 billion in loans for its subsidiariez andjoint ventures, and most of those loans are in default, the court filings say.
Steep declines in commerciall real estate values and difficult credit market conditions necessitateedthe filing, said John Greer, chief restructuring officer of Opus Greer said Opus West will keep a "modesyt presence" in Phoenix, Texas and Californiwa to work on asset dispositions and "While we began slowing the pace of new developmentr nearly two years ago in anticipation of difficult market we must now take additional measures to enable an orderlyt wind-down of our portfolio, protecrt asset values and maximize return on lenders' investment," Greer said in a preparedr statement.
Opus West and its subsidiaries have sufferec declining financial performancesince 2008, resulting in defaults on certainj credit lines and constrained liquidity, according to an affidavit fileds by Greer, managing member of New York-based Phoenix Capital Partners, which is the chievf restructuring officer of Opus West Corp. Greer is also president of the Opus West Opus West Partnersand O.W. Commercial subsidiaries. Opus has focusee on recapitalizing through projecf salesand refinancing, but has been unablde to do so because of poor marketf conditions, Greer's affidavit says.
Sincre 1979, Opus West and its affiliatez have developed more than 52 million squarse feetof office, industrial, retail, multifamily, government and institutional the affidavit says. The company' s assets include interests in commercial and residential real estats projectsacross California, Arizona and Texas, including office, industrial, apartment and retai projects in various stages of development, the affidaviy says.
Addison-based Opus West LP, formed to develop real estate propertiedsin Texas, owns seven properties that consist of either vacanr land, or a project undef construction or completed The total debt on those propertiees is about $105 million and theirr value is about $134 Greer's filing states. Opus has been dramatically scalingv back its North Texas operations for more thana year. Opus spokeswomanm Winston Hewett told the that the Addisom office has not started a new development in more than a year and has cut its stafr in Dallas to 12 employees from about 40 ayear ago. Opus West'ss overall headcount had dropped to 40 as ofJuly 1, compared to 291 two yeard ago, Hewett said.
Since dozens of subcontractors have filed lien s totaling morethan $4 million against Opus West Corp. and Opus West Constructionm tied to TwoAddisonn Circle, a $23 million, 198,000-square-foot speculative office building in Addison. The building was developed and is owned by Opus West The liens claim Opus owes the subcontractorsd for labor or materials provided in the course of The six-story Two Addison building on the west side of the Dallax North Tollway just north of Arapahoi Road was recently completed, but has no The credit crunch and slowing demand for office space left Opus unable to get permanent financinhg to replace the short-term constructio loan on the Addison project, Hewett Other Opus West Corp.
projects in Nort Texas include 121 Lakepointe an office and industrial developmentin Lewisville; and Broadstone Parkway, a 5.8-acre mixed-us e project at 5005 Galleria Drive in North Dallas. Dallasa area creditors include RL Murphey Commercial Roof owed $1.24 million; Green Fire Systems of owed $856,660; and Ennis Steel Industriex Inc., owed $519,402; and Tas Commerciapl Concrete Construction, owed $500,704, according to court records.
troubles stem from the globaleconomic downturn, deteriorationh of the real estate market and the credi crunch, which has made it difficult for borroweras to get financing to fund real estate projecte or refinance existing projects, Greer's affidavit states. The turmoiol has scared buyers, leading to excesss supply and lower The dramatic downturn has caused Opus to be out of compliance with terms of various loanes and unable torestructure them, and attempts to raised capital and sell assets have proven bringing about the Chapter 11 Greer's affidavit says. Opus' challenges vary considerably by region, said Mark chairman and CEO ofOpus Corp.
"Opusw West faced particularly dramatid drops in real estate values in markets such as Californiqand Arizona, and has been particularly challenged by the sharpp downturn in the capital marketsx and availability of refinancing," he said. Rauenhorst said that two other independent operating companies of OpusGroupo -- and Opus Northwest LLC -- have been less affectefd by the economic and capitakl market conditions because of their mix of project types and their location in stronger , which is based in Minnetonka, is a design-build development firm that specializes in industrial, retail, multifamily, government and institutionall projects.
It also controlz Washington-based LLC, which filed for Chaptere 7 liquidation inlate June. Opus Group said its subsidiary, whicgh is based in Atlanta, filed for reorganizationb in bankruptcy court onApril 22.