Fontainebleau's Soffer caught by Lehman Bros. bankruptcy - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

fresno-kentdeputy.blogspot.com
“When the retail division of the project lost access to fundingthrough Lehman, it was unable to repayy the resort for its sharre of costs,” said Scott Baena, of Bilzin Sumbergt Baena Price Axelrod, who represents Fontainebleau Las Vegaw LLC in the bankruptcy. “That put enormous stress on theresortf entity, and that was the beginninb of the problems.” Fontainebleau Las Vegas LLC and two of its affiliatesw filed bankruptcy petitions in Miamiu late Tuesday.
The Fontainebleau Miami Beach is not included inthe Soffer, also principal with Turnberru construction and development companies, has personal guarantees on portions of the retaikl component of the Las Vegas project, but those portions are not in bankruptcyy yet, Baena said. The complexx is 70 percent completed. Since December 2008, Lehman refused to make any advancew underthe project’s $315 million construction loan, according to a motioj to maintain cash management filed in the After Lehman’s refusals, money stoppes flowing through the retaio entity to the resort entity. In other lenders pulled their financing, and construction on the resortg stoppedin May, Baena said.
The company said in a news released that the decision to file Chapter 11 was the resulft of litigation with the other lenders on projectt aboutnearly $800 million in construction funding for the Other lenders include , JPMorgan Chase Bank and Deutschwe Bank Trust Co. Americas. In the shor t term, the company is seekint to stabilize and protect the finished portiojn ofthe building, Baenaa said. “It’s no longer possiblse to downsizethe building,” he said. “The 30 percent remainin construction is principallythe interior.
We’ve got a lovelyy building waiting tobe