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Cincinnati mulls contractor bailout at Kenwood Towne Place

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/03/02/daily16.html

 

Cincinnati Councilman Chris Bortz will propose a $1.8 million relief fund for small businesses caught up in the financing crunch at Kenwood Towne Place.

 

“These are city businesses. Many of them are certified SBEs (small-business enterprises). Some of them are headquartered in the city,” said Bortz. “The city has a vested interest in trying to protect these businesses.”

 

Click on link for article.

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It's sure not generating any dolla bilz in it's current state!      What a mess!

It'd be nice to see Sycamore Twnshp. take the lead on this.

^That would seem to make more sense wouldn't it.

Towne Place faces permit problems

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090310/BIZ01/903110307/1055/NEWS

 

Sycamore Township's fire chief has given the developers of Kenwood Towne Place one week to fix problems with the building's roof, sprinkler and fire alarm systems before he pulls the occupancy permits for Crate & Barrel, Kroger Fresh Fare and the Container Store.

 

 

 

Click on link for article.

Sycamore chief: Kenwood Towne Place project should be OK

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/03/09/daily35.html

 

Safety issues at Kenwood Towne Place are being addressed, diminishing chances that Crate & Barrel, Kroger or other tenants would lose their occupancy permits, the Sycamore Township fire chief said.

 

 

Click on link for article.

Towne Place stores remain open

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090313/BIZ01/303130084/1055/NEWS

 

Problems still remain with the sprinkler system at Kenwood Towne Place, but Crate + Barrel, The Container Store and Kroger Fresh Fare can stay open, Sycamore Township Fire Chief William Jetter said today.

 

Click on link for article.

  • 3 weeks later...

This project is screwed, I don't see anything short of foreclosure/bankruptcy moving it forward by wiping the slate clean, and that will take forever.

 

Subcontractors sue Kenwood Towne Place

Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Lisa Biank Fasig Courier staff reporter

 

Eleven subcontractors who have worked on the Kenwood Towne Place have filed suit against the retail center’s developers and lender, claiming they have not made efforts to pay the group.

 

The suit, filed March 31 in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, argues that the subcontractors are owed a combined $5 million for work on the Sycamore Township project. The plaintiffs, all of Cincinnati, include Kraft Electric Contracting, Hicon Inc., Tepe Environmental Services and LaForce Inc. Defendants include developers Bear Creek Capital, Dov Ltd. and Neyer Holdings, principal Matt Daniels, Henry Schneider, Thomas Neyer, the Bank of America and the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Co.

 

Click on link for article.

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/03/30/daily32.html

Such an eye sore. Is there any concern about rust for the upper floors? I really hope they can just finish the building, and then work out these law suits.

What a clusterfuck of a project...

That is the problem, no existing contractor will work until they are paid, nor would any new contractor do it without the money in escrow probably. The developers and partners won't pony up any more cash, and the bank has cut off all funding (as well they should have due to unscrupulous practices by the developer).

An acquaintance works in a building across I-71 from this tower and watches a unioned Crane Operator climb up to the cab 5 days a week for 8 hours. Craziness...

"It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton

^Wtf and not work? That crane has not moved in 2 months.

^Yup. Don't know the ins and outs. It'd be nice if the Business Courier/Enquirer would report on this in their updates...

"It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton

From what I understand, a crane needs to be manned at all times - working or not

^Then that sounds like the worst shift ever.

Maybe but those guys make $30+ an hour

  • 3 weeks later...

Contractor takes $2.5M in Towne Place glass

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090422/BIZ01/904230308

 

By Laura Baverman • [email protected]  • April 22, 2009

 

 

About $2.5 million worth of glass curtainwall yet-to-be installed at the halted Kenwood Towne Place project is being removed from the construction site Wednesday.

 

Click on link for article.

"It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton

^What a frickin' mess.

  • 4 weeks later...

Fitness club sues Kenwood Towne Place

By Laura Baverman • [email protected] • May 14, 2009

 

 

Irvine, Calif.-based L.A. Fitness International has filed suit against Kenwood Towne Place LLC claiming it failed to pay the fitness center operator more than $750,000 in construction disbursements for the build out of its space.

 

Click on link for article.

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090514/BIZ01/905150357/1055/NEWS/Kenwood+Towne+Place+sued

Looks like the Neyers have put a lot of their Pleasant Ridge properties on the market to raise cash.  Anyone interested in buying an NBD?

Not exactly KTP, but related to Bear Creek.......

 

 

Sycamore Twp. plaza faces foreclosure

By Laura Baverman • [email protected] • May 21, 2009

 

 

 

A foreclosure action has been filed against Kenwood Shoppes, a 125,000-square-foot office and retail property in Sycamore Township owned by an entity associated with real estate developer Bear Creek Capital.

 

Click on link for article.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090521/BIZ01/905220333/1055/NEWS/Sycamore+Twp.+plaza+faces+foreclosure

Who didn't see this coming?

 

Kenwood Towne Place foreclosure filed

By Lisa Bernard-Kuhn, Cincinnati Enquirer, May 29, 2009

 

SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP – The highly visible but stalled retail and office development Kenwood Towne Place will be sold at a sheriff’s auction and operated by a receiver, if Bank of America gets its way.

 

The bank filed a lawsuit this week in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court against Montgomery-based Bear Creek Capital and the project’s other developers.

 

A representative with the development group could not be reached Friday.

 

The bank seeks foreclosure and the appointment of Cleveland-based Forest City Commercial Development as a receiver to manage the partially finished $175 million complex.

 

See the link above for the remainder of the article.

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Deal may end Towne Place foreclosure

By Lisa Bernard-Kuhn • [email protected] • June 23, 2009

 

 

Construction could resume as early as this fall at the unfinished Kenwood Towne Place retail and office development if its ownership group is able to strike a deal with lenders and contractors who claim they are owed millions of dollars.

 

Click on link for article.

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090623/BIZ01/906240313

  • 4 weeks later...

Does anyone know if LA Fitness is locating across the street in Sycamore Plaza instead?  I was out there this weekend, and noticed that there was a gym (I think LA Fitness) listed on the sign.  I assume it would be going into the old Linens and Things location.  What a waste of whatever work they've done at KTP for the gym if that's the case.

That's just a sign up location.

 

 

ah.  Thanks.

  • 4 weeks later...

Cincinnati lawyer claims Kenwood Towne Place partners drained cash

Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Dan Monk

 

Contractors coping with millions in unpaid bills from the Kenwood Towne Place project have two new reasons to be upset with the developers who have left the $175 million office and retail center unfinished.

 

First, a new legal filing claims Kenwood Towne Place investors took millions of dollars out of their limited liability company as it headed for insolvency last year. Secondly, online fishing records show Kenwood’s managing partner, Matt Daniels, hasn’t let mounting legal controversies keep him from enjoying his 58-foot yacht in Bermuda this summer.

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/08/17/story5.html

Wow so is this thing going to be finished or what?

Electrical contractor John Kraft said it was “very disappointing” that banks allowed the Kenwood project to continue last year, at a time when Kenwood Towne Place owners “had little to no cash in the game.”

 

 

This guy is an idiot. He had no problem with winning the contract before the first shovel.  I guess he's part of the blame too.

^Not sure that makes any sense? Hardly the contractors fault that this happened.

 

Also, I heard some rumors from Sycamore Twp. that there are a couple options under cosideration, one includes tearing down the office portion and capping the project, the other is stop where it is at and just create a shell. Not sure what this would look like.

Not sure, but I walked around the complex yesterday and it is becoming quite the eyesore. It's just one fugly mess that looks bad on the entire region.

  • 1 month later...

I wonder what's going to happen to the Kroger's since  Towne place stopped payment on utilities today.

  • 2 weeks later...

Investor claims plot bled Towne Place

By Laura Baverman, Cincinnati Enquirer, October 1, 2009

 

A Kenwood Towne Place LLC investor claims Bank of America and affiliates of developer Bear Creek Capital entered into a conspiracy to divert and misappropriate millions of dollars from the half-finished office and retail complex in Sycamore Township, according to a document filed in court Thursday.

 

The lawsuit alleges that a senior member of Bear Creek Capital and the bank's senior commercial loan officer had an extramarital affair that included trips on the developer's private jet, travel to vacation destinations and golf outings, all which "served to bolster the magnitude and scope of the unlawful alliance between the Bank and the Bear Creek Group."

Investor claims plot bled Towne Place

By Laura Baverman, Cincinnati Enquirer, October 1, 2009

 

A Kenwood Towne Place LLC investor claims Bank of America and affiliates of developer Bear Creek Capital entered into a conspiracy to divert and misappropriate millions of dollars from the half-finished office and retail complex in Sycamore Township, according to a document filed in court Thursday.

 

From what I gather, Bear Creek Capital was a bit corrupt even prior to this.  The NuTone site in Madisonville was supposed to be their job too, but of course they spewed out a horrible design and couldn't even follow through with the job.

A little more....

 

Kenwood Towne Place investor files suit

Business Courier of Cincinnati - by By Dan Monk Senior Staff Reporter

 

The long-simmering Kenwood Towne Place legal controversy exploded into a firestorm late Thursday with a 29-page legal filing that accuses the project's lead developer, Bear Creek Capital, of "large-scale fraud" and its lender, the Bank of America, of engaging in improper relationships with Bear Creek.

 

 

 

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/09/28/daily59.html

A little more info.....click link for full story.

 

 

For Cincinnati's Kenwood Towne Place, cavalry could be close

Settlement said possible with big new investor

Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Dan Monk Senior Staff Reporter

 

 

The looming winter and a white knight named BlackRock could offer new hope for a settlement at Kenwood Towne Place, the mixed-use development site crippled by liens and litigation.

 

Sources involved in the project, who requested anonymity, describe a new settlement attempt that would increase the amount of cash available to subcontractors that have filed $60 million in liens against the project since last fall. They also describe a possible cash infusion from a new investor to the project. Various companies are said to have taken a look at such an investment, including Duke Realty Corp., Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate, Cincinnati United Contractors and American Financial Group Inc.

 

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/10/05/story1.html

You just can't make this stuff up.  What a frickin' mess.

  • 1 month later...

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/11/16/daily28.html

 

Kenwood receiver can borrow for repairs

Business Courier of Cincinnati

 

 

Hamilton County Judge Beth Myers has authorized the court-appointed receiver for Kenwood Towne Place to borrow up to $1.7 million to cover utility costs through the end of the year and make repairs to address life and safety issues at the troubled mixed-use development.

 

"We have a list of 30-some items that need to be addressed, things that we think are a priority," said Attorney Hank Menninger, who was appointed in September to manage the property in the Bank of America's foreclosure case against Kenwood Towne Place developers.

Dec. 4 deadline for Towne Place tenants

 

By Laura Baverman • [email protected] • November 17, 2009

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20091117/BIZ01/911180347/Dec.+deadline+for+Towne+Place+tenants

 

 

The receiver appointed to remedy safety concerns at the stalled Kenwood Towne Place development in Sycamore Township warned Tuesday that tenants in the building could lose their occupancy permits and electric service by Dec. 4 if some action isn't taken.

 

Operating in the building are Crate + Barrel, Kroger Fresh Fare, L.A. Fitness, Mitchell's Salon & Day Spa and the Container Store.

Any shot of completing this thing won't start until this spring at the earliest.  Plenty of offers to purchase, but all of them will result in the subs getting screwed.  Bear Creek should be criminally charged for the way they handled this project.

  • 3 weeks later...

Towne Place receiver asks to quit

By Laura Baverman, Cincinnati Enquirer, December 3, 2009

 

Unable to secure the funding needed to complete repairs and remedy safety concerns he deemed crucial to the future of Kenwood Towne Place, court-appointed receiver Hank Menninger Thursday asked that a Hamilton County judge to let him resign.

 

Under an order executed by Common Pleas Judge Beth Myers Nov. 17, Menninger was permitted to borrow money to fund repairs and pay a staff to manage the building. Bank of America and Northern Lights LLC, a company owned by Kenwood Towne Place partner Hank Schneider, each offered the funds, but with stipulations that doomed negotiations.

This thing just keeps getting messier and messier.  Who actually thinks that this building will ever be finished?

Sometimes you need case studies in what not to do.

Bank to pay for Towne Place fixes

By Laura Baverman, Cincinnati Enquirer, December 11, 2009

 

Bank of America will fund $263,000 in emergency repairs at the half-complete Kenwood Towne Place retail and office complex, according to a court order issued today.

 

In addition, Common Pleas Judge Beth Myers asked court-appointed receiver Hank Menninger to remain in his post through December 21 to ensure that necessary repairs to the building's busway, fire and sprinkler systems be made.

  • 2 weeks later...

Hearing set for new Kenwood Towne Place receiver

By Dan Monk, Business Courier of Cincinnati, December 21, 2009

 

Combatants in the foreclosure case involving Kenwood Towne Place head back to court Monday for a hearing on a potential new receiver to replace attorney Hank Menninger.

 

But after a conference call interview with the receiver, nominated by the Bank of America, an attorney for subcontractors questions whether Frank Hertge is qualified for the job.

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