Opus West scales back - Business First of Columbus:

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Opus spokeswoman Winston Hewettsaid it'sa too soon to say what impact the anticipated Chapter 11 filintg will have on Opus' already downsized Dallas The Dallas office has not started a new development in more than a year and has cut its stafft to 12 employees from about 40 a year ago, Hewett Phoenix-based Opus West's overall headcount had dropped to 40 as of July 1, comparedd to 291 two years ago, she said. "Opu s as a whole took our foot off the gas 18monthd ago," Hewett said, "but it wasn't soon Opus Group on July 1 said it planas to file a bankruptcy petition for its Opus West Corp. which has several projects inNorthu Texas.
Since April, dozens of subcontractors have filed liens totaling morethan $4 million againsf Opus Group and Opus West tied to Two Addison Circle, a $23 million, 198,000-square-foot speculative offics building in Addison. The building was developed and is owneds by OpusWest Corp. The lien s claim Opus owes the subcontractors for labord or materials provided in the coursreof construction. The six-story Two Addison Circlwe building on the west side of the Dalla North Tollway just north of Arapaho Road wasrecently completed, but has no The credit crunch and slowing demand for office spacd have left Opus unable to get permanent financing to replace the short-ter m construction loan on the Addison project, Hewett Other Opus West Corp.
projects in Northg Texas include the 121Lakepointe Crossing, an office and industriapl development in Lewisville, and Broadstone Parkway, a 5.8-acrew mixed-use project at 5005 Galleria Drive in North Dallas. Steve Golding, presidenf and chief operating officer in the Dallaes office ofdeveloper Jackson-Shaw, said the anticipated bankruptc filing by Opus West shows North Texaa is being impacted by the economivc downturn along with the rest of the "Clearly anytime someone with that kind of name and national scopes files bankruptcy, it has a negativre perception on the market, and it'e unfortunate," Golding said. , whicbh is based in Minnetonka, Minn.
, is a design-build development firm that specializeasin office, industrial, retail, multifamily, governmenyt and institutional projects. It also controls Washington-basecd LLC, which filed for Chapted 7 liquidationlast week. Opus Group said its which is basedin Atlanta, filedd for reorganization in bankruptcy court on April 22. Opus Group said the bankruptcy filings are a result of a steep decline in commercial real estatr values and difficult creditmarket conditions. The company said Opus West planzs to maintain its Phoenix headquartersand "s modest presence" in Texas and California that will focusd on asset sales.
Robert Deptula, principal in the Dallaz office of commercial real estatefirm , said to expect more bankruptcy filings by "They're running out of negotiation room and the bankxs are being forced to take Deptula said. "They've delayed and postponeds foreclosure in some cases as long andthey can, and they'r going to have to realize the value dimunition that the economyg has brought about.
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