Tampa Enclave 52 LLC recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and, although no sale has been announced, the Debtor’s assets may be available for acquisition under the right circumstances. The Debtor owns 144 unsold units in a condominium development known as “The Promenade at Tampa Palms” located in Tampa, Florida, valued at $5 million. The Debtor’s gross rent and income from the sale of apartments for 2007 was $7.3 million; for 2008 it was $2.6 million; and the gross rent for 2009 to date is $607,349.

Gordon W. Shaw Properties, Inc. recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and, although no sale has been announced, the Debtor’s assets may be available for acquisition under the right circumstances. The Debtor owns real property consisting of four parcels located at 19782 Golden State Boulevard in Madera, California, valued at $8.7 million. The total acreage of the property is 463, with 455 of the acres planted as an 11-year-old grade vineyard. The Debtor’s personal property includes wells and the pumps for the wells valued at $239,694.

Mammoth Corona I, LLC recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and, although no sale has been announced, the Debtor’s assets may be available for acquisition under the right circumstances. The Debtor’s real property consists of a commercial, three-story office building located at 4740 Green River Road in Corona, California, valued at $17 million. The Debtor’s rental income for 2007 was $18,909; for 2008 it was $117,635; and for 2009 it was $304,009.

Lilburn Marketplace, LLC recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and, although no sale has been announced, the Debtor’s assets may be available for acquisition under the right circumstances. The Debtor is engaged in the business of operating a commercial shopping center and currently has unexpired leases with nine tenants. The Debtor’s real property is a commercial shopping center located at 4805 Lawrenceville Highway in Lawrenceville, Georgia, valued at $12,864,695. The Debtor’s personal property includes accounts receivable of approximately $220,000.

BGM Pasadena LLC recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and, although no sale has been announced, the Debtor’s assets may be available for acquisition under the right circumstances. The Debtor’s real property is located at 210, 244 and 248 Orange Grove Boulevard and 369 and 375 West Del Mar Boulevard in Pasadena, California, valued at $10 million. The property is described as office and apartment buildings, with one commercial lease, seven residential leases, and one vacant residential unit.

5620 Central Avenue, LLC recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and, although no sale has been announced, the Debtor’s assets may be available for acquisition under the right circumstances. The Debtor’s real property is located at 5620 Central Avenue in El Cerrito, California, valued at $6 million. The property is described as parcels 510-053-32, 510-053-33 and 510-053-25. Real estate listings describe the property as a 142,000 sq. ft. vacant lot that is zoned C-3 Regional Commercial. The Debtor did not list any income.

After more than a decade of rising real estate values, the tide has turned against commercial and development real estate, prompting major builders and developers to commence Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. As a result of the enactment of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) in 2005, many Chapter 11 cases that revolve around real estate will fall within the Bankruptcy Code’s definition of single asset real estate (SARE) cases and are thus subject to special provisions in the Bankruptcy Code.1 As a result, it is now time to think about SARE.

Rather than immediately commencing foreclosure proceedings, lenders and servicers (acting on behalf of the lender) are seeking the judicial appointment of receivers with greater frequency when commercial real estate workout negotiations fail to produve the desired results and the borrower is not otherwise prepared to "turn over the keys."

This article appeared in the Dec. 9, 2009, issue of Lodging Law newsletter.

The economic meltdown has left many hospitality development projects in a ditch, but as 2010 approaches, some hospitality real estate projects may be ripe for new life. Pursuing distressed assets may offer a tremendous upside to developers, but the unforeseen downsides can devastate the effort if they are ignored at the front end of the deal. Some of these unforeseen downsides include:

470-Unit Apartment Complex in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania In re Ventana Hills Associates, Ltd. (Bankr. N.D. Ill.) Case no. 09-41755 In re Ventana Hills Phase II, L.P. (Bankr. N.D. Ill.) Case no. 09-41758