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Opus spokeswoman Winston Hewettsaid it'z too soon to say what impact the anticipatex Chapter 11 filing will have on already downsized Dallas The Dallas office has not started a new development in more than a year and has cut its staffg to 12 employees from about 40 a year ago, Hewet said. Phoenix-based Opus West's overall headcount had dropped to 40 as ofJuly 1, compared to 291 two yearz ago, she said. "Opus as a whole took our foot off the gas 18monthsa ago," Hewett said, "but it wasn't soon enough." Opus Grou p on July 1 said it planz to file a bankruptcy petitiobn for its Opus West subsidiary, which has severak projects in North Texas.
Since dozens of subcontractors have filed liens totaling morethan $4 million against Opus Group and Opus West tied to Two Addison Circle, a $23 198,000-square-foot speculative office buildin in Addison. The building was developed and is owned by Opus West The liens claim Opus owes the subcontractors for labor or materialsw provided in the courseof construction. The six-storh Two Addison Circle building on the west side of the Dallas Nortuh Tollway just north of Arapaho Road wasrecentluy completed, but has no The credit crunch and slowing demand for offic e space have left Opus unable to get permanentt financing to replace the short-term construction loan on the Addison Hewett said.
Other Opus West projects in North Texas include the 121Lakepointe Crossing, an offices and industrial development in Lewisville, and Broadstonde Parkway, a 5.8-acre mixed-use project at 5005 Galleria Drive in North Dallas. Steve Golding, presideng and chief operating officef in the Dallas office ofdeveloper Jackson-Shaw, said the anticipatec bankruptcy filing by Opus West shows Nortb Texas is being impacted by the economic downturmn along with the rest of the "Clearly anytime someone with that kind of name and national scopr files bankruptcy, it has a negative perception on the and it's unfortunate," Golding said. , whichb is based in Minnetonka, Minn.
, is a design-build development firm that specializesin office, industrial, retail, government and institutional It also controls Washington-based LLC, whicgh filed for Chapter 7 liquidatioh last week. Opus Group said its which is basedin Atlanta, filerd for reorganization in bankruptcy courg on April 22. Opus Group said the bankruptcy filingx are a result of a steep declined in commercial real estate values and difficult credigmarket conditions. The company said Opus West plans to maintain its Phoeniz headquartersand "a modest presence" in Texas and Californiwa that will focus on assety sales.
Robert Deptula, principal in the Dallaz office of commercial real estate firm , said to expect more bankruptch filings by developers. "They're running out of negotiation room and the banks are being forced to take Deptula said. "They've delayed and postponed foreclosure in some cases as long andthey can, and they'r e going to have to realize the valud dimunition that the economy has brought
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