WASHINGTON, D.C. — Washington-based Opus East and Phoenix-based Opus West are preparing for liquidation and reorganization under Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings, respectively. Opus East has already filed a petition, and Opus West is expected to enter into bankruptcy in early July. Both companies are independent entities of the Opus Corp.; these actions do not affect the remaining Opus companies, Opus North and Opus Northwest.
“Declining real estate values and tight credit markets continue to impede the refinancing of assets and restructuring of lending agreements,” Mark Rauenhorst, CEO of Opus Corp., says in a statement. “A court-supervised process and transfer of distressed assets will assist Opus in reorganizing.”
For Opus East, credit pressure comes from its development of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Center near the University of Maryland for the General Services Administration. According to Marshall Burton, executive vice president of Opus East, the GSA has been slow to make payments on more than $35 million in tenant improvements. Burton will oversee the disposition of Opus East’s assets. In addition to the GSA building, Opus East is developing 1015 Half Street, a 442,000-square-foot sustainable office building in Washington, and a 228,000-square-foot warehouse in Bethlehem Crossings Industrial Park in Bethlehem, Penn.
John Greer will serve as the chief restructuring officer for Opus West; employees will modestly staff offices in Phoenix, California and Texas until the company’s assets are sold. Current Opus West office projects include the 365,989-square-foot Opus Point Stanford Ranch in Rocklin, Calif., and the 448,200-square-foot Opus Center Sierra Point in Brisbane, Calif.
— Jon Ross