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Anonymous
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| 09/07/2007 2:14 PM |
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It looks like Cosmopolitan Square went into foreclosure.
Street 701 ISLAND AVENUE - ETC. VACANT LAND SEE TD
Assesors Parcel Number 535-115-01-00 535-115-02-00 535-115-03-00 535-115-04-00 535-115-06-00 535-115-07-00 535-115-08-00
Owners SIMPLON BALLPARK L L C
Property Type Vacant Land
Sale Date 2007-07-27 PP
2007-08-17 PP
2007-08-21 PP
2007-08-31 PP
2007-09-06
SaleTime 10:00 AM
Sale Location S. entrance to the County Courthouse
220 West Broadway, San Diego, Ca
Estimated Default $ 16,589,018.08 |
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Mr_Brightside
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| 09/07/2007 2:21 PM |
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| Great find! I walked by this the other day and wondered what was taking place. To my knowledge this is the first large project to fail like this, I wonder who put the money up for this to start with? |
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
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| 09/07/2007 2:28 PM |
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It looks like the develop is pretty shaky. $16 million default on a project that is worth several hundred million dollars.
Talk about the level of leverage!! They could not even redeem the property, sell the project to another developer, or wait until a few years for a recovery. |
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Anonymous
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| 09/07/2007 2:30 PM |
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I wonder when developers will start folding causing buyers to lose deposits. Those deposits are not insured, are they?
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Mr_Brightside
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| 09/07/2007 2:43 PM |
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Pretty sure the deposits are in escrow with the title company and they are not an asset of the dead development company.
If anyone knows better please reply. |
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Anonymous
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| 09/07/2007 3:45 PM |
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Wow, it looks like a HUGE project going bankrupt.
And the city is losing a new fire station also.
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Located in downtown San Diego's East Village neighborhood.
Full block bounded by J Street and Island, 7th and 8th avenues
Simplon Corporation plans to construct a mixed-use project with 290 condominiums, 13,000 square feet of retail space, and 16,000 square feet of office space on the block bounded by J Street, 7th, 8th and Island avenues. The project will encompass the entire block and include the expansion of the existing Fire Station #4 facilities. The project is scheduled to start in late 2007, with a fall 2009 completion targeted.
Property New?* No
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Estimated Completion Date: Fall 2009
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Primary Use: Condominium (for sale)
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Secondary Use: Retail/Commercial
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Units/Rooms: 290
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Stories: 39
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Height: 478'
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Square Footage: Residential 326,500
Office 16,000
Retail/Commercial 13,000
Public/Civic 12,600
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Price Restricted Units? No
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Parking: 416
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Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC and Austin Veum Robbins Partners
www.kpf.com, www.avrp.com
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Developer: Simplon Corporation
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Contact: Simplon Corporation, (619) 595-0040
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Anonymous
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| 09/08/2007 2:30 PM |
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Wow, i can't believe that such a HUGE project failed.
I was hoping to see more tall buildings in San Diego. |
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Asher
Posts:64
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| 03/19/2008 8:47 AM |
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080319/news_1b19bankrupt.html
Big project downtown stalled by financing
Affiliate of S.D. developer has filed for bankruptcy
By Mike Freeman
STAFF WRITER
March 19, 2008
In the height of the housing boom, an affiliate of San Diego developer Simplon Corp. spent about $25.5 million acquiring a full block near Petco Park, where it planned a 35-story condo tower called Cosmopolitan Square.
This month, the Simplon affiliate filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy – in part because of difficulties securing financing in today's tight credit markets.
The Simplon property, bounded by J Street and Seventh, Eighth and Island avenues, is believed to be the largest pending downtown project forced into bankruptcy by the current housing slump and constricting credit markets.
Simplon executives say the bankruptcy of Simplon Ballpark LLC was necessary to buy time so the company could secure new financing, including construction loans, to push the project ahead.
“I am confident we will remedy the situation and emerge much stronger and well-positioned in the market in relatively short order,” said Jack Scull, chief executive of Simplon Corp., in a written response to questions. “I fully anticipate we can proceed with the strong commitments from our new lending partners and start construction of Cosmopolitan Square as planned and approved by the end of spring.”
But court documents filed by the company's largest creditor contend that Simplon Ballpark has been granted short-term extensions since its existing debt came due in May and it still has been unable to obtain financing. It defaulted on the extension agreements and filed for bankruptcy on the eve of foreclosure, the creditor contends.
The creditor also said in court documents that Simplon owes nearly $40 million on the property to 14 additional lenders or investors. It faces an additional $1.5 million in liens for unpaid bills to engineering, architectural and consulting firms.
The property was recently appraised at $26.5 million, according to the creditor, which has asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to proceed with foreclosure.
In addition, a different Simplon affiliate also has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on another condo/hotel site downtown – this one on a partial block at Ash and Front streets. The debt on that parcel, now a parking lot and taco shop, is about $13.5 million, according to court documents.
The company said it expects to refinance the debt on the site in the “immediate future.”
Simplon isn't alone in seeing its downtown projects stumble. Several have been shelved. Atmosphere, a roughly 80-unit loft project on Fifth between Beech and Ash streets, began construction but has since stalled, leaving unsightly steel bars around the site.
Cosmopolitan Square originally was approved for 334 condos with ground floor retail. It also included a city fire station.
“I believe this is one of the very best undeveloped sites downtown,” said Gary London of London Realty Advisors, a San Diego real estate consulting firm. “It is not likely to be developed by anybody for at least five or six years.”
Simplon has redesigned the high-rise. It now includes a “five-star hotel” for 210 rooms and 113 “very high end” condos, according to the company.
Hotels are considered easier to finance in today's tight credit markets than pure residential towers, according to real estate experts. Simplon didn't respond when asked if it has lined up a hotel operator.
But London noted that hotels are not immune to the current credit crunch, in which lenders are reluctant to take big risks on ambitious projects.
“Hotels still look good, but they're hitting the top of the market right now, and I think investors and lenders sense that,” London said.
Simplon Ballpark got its original $15 million loan in 2005 from Liberty Bankers Life Insurance. Last year, a limited liability company led by Steve Black, a principal in Cisterra Partners, bought the note from Liberty. Cisterra developed DiamondView Tower, an office high-rise just outside the right field wall of Petco Park.
Black contends that Simplon Ballpark now owes more than $18 million, including interest, penalties and other costs. He has asked the court to allow foreclosure to go forward. Simplon Corp. previously developed the Radisson Bay View, a 22-story, 334-room hotel in San Diego, the 10-story Radisson Hotel in National City and the Rancho Santa Fe Creek high-end subdivision, among other projects. The company emphasized in a statement that it believes it will be able to get financing to build Cosmopolitan Square.
“The credit markets have been a challenge for all developers over the past year or so and Simplon has certainly been delayed in its efforts,” the company said. “But the commitments it has received have been reaffirmed to Simplon, both as to additional equity partners and debt structures, which is why we anticipate an expeditious exit from the filings made.” |
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Brian
Posts:1876
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| 03/19/2008 9:32 AM |
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I love to see foreclosure because some other developer will get to acquire the property at a lower cost to complete the project and sell it at a lower price.
There is no moral hazard and that's how our system is supposed to work. It just takes time. |
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Brian
Posts:1876
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| 04/16/2008 5:39 PM |
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Saving downtown hotel/condo project
Bankruptcy records reveal rescue plans
By Mike Freeman
STAFF WRITER
April 16, 2008
Developers of a proposed 39-story hotel/condo project in downtown San Diego are counting on the chic Mondrian brand and a possible loan from a Chicago bank in hopes of salvaging the troubled project.
Simplon Ballpark LLC is trying to fend off its largest creditor, which wants a bankruptcy judge to allow it to foreclose on the full-block site bounded by J Street and Seventh, Eighth and Island avenues in East Village near Petco Park. Real estate experts say the site is one of the best remaining development parcels downtown.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080416/news_1b16downtown.html |
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