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Opus spokeswoman Winston Hewettsaid it's too soon to say what impacf the anticipated Chapter 11 filinyg will have on Opus' already downsized Dallase operations. The Dallas office has not started a new developmentt in more than a year and has cut its stafc to 12 employees from about 40 ayear ago, Hewett said. Phoenix-basedx Opus West's overall headcouny had dropped to 40 as ofJuly 1, compared to 291 two yearse ago, she said. "Opus as a whole took our foot off the gas 18months ago," Hewetf said, "but it wasn't soon enough.
" Opus Group on July 1 said it planse to file a bankruptcy petition for its Opus West subsidiary, which has several projects in Nort h Texas. Since April, dozens of subcontractora have filed liens totalinv morethan $4 million against Opus Groupl and Opus West Corp. tied to Two Addison a $23 million, 198,000-square-foogt speculative office buildingin Addison. The building was developedc and is owned by OpusWest Corp. The liens clainm Opus owes the subcontractores for labor or materials provided in the course of The six-story Two Addison Circle buildingv on the west side of the Dallas North Tollway just north of Arapaho Road was recently but has no tenants.
The credif crunch and slowing demand for office space have left Opus unabled to get permanent financing to replacethe short-term construction loan on the Addison Hewett said. Other Opus West Corp. projectss in North Texas include the 121Lakepointew Crossing, an office and industriap development in Lewisville, and Broadstone Parkway, a 5.8-acr e mixed-use project at 5005 Galleria Drive in Nort h Dallas. Steve Golding, president and chief operatingv officer in the Dallas office ofdeveloper Jackson-Shaw, said the anticipatecd bankruptcy filing by Opus West shows Northy Texas is being impacted by the economic downturnh along with the rest of the nation.
"Clearly anytimde someone with that kind of name and national scope files bankruptcy, it has a negativew perception on the and it's unfortunate," Golding said. , whicbh is based in Minnetonka, Minn., is a design-build development firm that specializeasin office, industrial, retail, multifamily, governmen and institutional projects. It also controls Washington-based LLC, whic filed for Chapter 7 liquidationlast week. Opus Grouop said its subsidiary, whicuh is based in Atlanta, filedc for reorganization in bankruptcy court onApril 22. Opus Grou said the bankruptcy filings are a result of a steeop decline in commercial real estate values and difficulr creditmarket conditions.
The compan y said Opus West plans to maintain its Phoenix headquarterszand "a modest presence" in Texas and California that will focus on asset sales. Robery Deptula, principal in the Dallas office of commercial real estatsfirm , said to expect more bankruptcy filingds by developers. "They're running out of negotiation room and the bankw are being forced to take Deptula said. "They've delayed and postponed foreclosure in some caseas as long andthey can, and they'rr going to have to realize the valuee dimunition that the economy has brought
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