DE-Shaw

Excerpt:

One of the nation's largest land developers, SunCal Cos., still is wrestling with the consequences of dozens of failed investments made before the real-estate bubble burst. Yet the company is making deals again.

Excerpt:

Former principals of SunCal, the large-scale private developer whose failed project partnerships with bankrupt Lehman Brothers have grabbed headlines since the financial company imploded in 2008, have hung out their shingle on a new real estate management firm.

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Known for its obsession with computer-driven investing, the New York company surprised many real-estate deal makers in late 2006 by teaming up with developer SunCal Cos. to buy the 55,000-acre property—twice the size of Boston—for $250 million.

Excerpt:

Irvine-based SunCal Cos.’ largest proposed project—a 55,000-acre housing development planned near Albuquerque, N.M.—is no longer in bankruptcy. But the master developer still has a tough battle on its hands if it wants to retain an ownership stake or a management role in the land’s development.

The massive property, which is twice the size of Boston, now is being run by a court-appointed receiver.

Outline

Background
Two Remaining Mandatory Milestones
.Finalized Navy Term Sheet
.Disposition and Development Agreement

Discussion
.Denial of SunCal Modified OEAOptional Entitlement Application
..Findings for Denial
...Lack of Commitment to Mixed-Use Transit-Oriented Development
...Jobs/Housing Imbalance
...Need for Economic Development Strategy
...Traffic Impacts
...Impacts to Endangered Species
...Risk of Project Infeasibility and Adverse Outcomes
...Lack of Community Support

..Responses to Questions from Alameda's July 7, 2010 Meeting

Excerpt:

In the rocky suburbs of Las Vegas, meanwhile, Angelo, Gordon & Co. recently paid $35 million for land parcels zoned for about 2,500 residential lots. That is roughly half the amount the former owner sank into the property for roads, sewers and other infrastructure alone. At the same time, land investor SunCal Cos. is working with firms like D.E. Shaw & Co. to close a dozen land deals in Arizona and California.

Excerpt:

A bankruptcy judge has denied SunCal Co.'s request to block Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) from closing a deal to buy back $1.5 billion in loans from affiliate Fenway Capital LLCLimited Liability Corporation pending an appeal.

The ruling by Judge James Peck of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan is a blow to SunCal, which had hoped to prevent the repurchase of seven loans that are at the center of a long-running dispute between the developer and the failed investment bank over stalled California real-estate projects.

Excerpt:

A 55,000-acre tract of land on the western edge of Albuquerque scheduled for development by Westland DevCo LP was placed in receivership based on the creditor's claims on the unpaid loan balance, a judge ruled from the bench last week.

Page one story
Albuquerque Journal
May 20, 2010

Excerpt:

A federal judge in Delaware last week threw out a bankruptcy claim filed by Westland DevCo, a limited partnership formed between D.E. Shaw and SunCal Cos. to develop a 55,000-acre parcel west of Albuquerque into a master planned community.

...

Excerpt:

Opponents of a state-backed tax scheme to help develop a parcel of land on Albuquerque’s West Mesa say they aren’t surprised by news that the company behind the plan has filed for bankruptcy.

Here’s a copy of the bankruptcy filing.

“What we all said was going to happen and what we knew was going to happen finally happened,” said Rep. Ben Rodefer, a Democrat from Corrales. “They were not viable financially and not of the caliber we should want to be in a relationship with.”