Fontainebleau's Soffer caught by Lehman Bros. bankruptcy - The Business Review (Albany):

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“When the retail division of the project lost accessd to fundingthrough Lehman, it was unable to repay the resor t for its share of costs,” said Scotrt Baena, of Bilzin Sumberh Baena Price Axelrod, who representx Fontainebleau Las Vegas LLC in the “That put enormous stress on the resort entity, and that was the beginningb of the problems.” Fontainebleau Las Vegas LLC and two of its affiliates filedx bankruptcy petitions in Miamik late Tuesday. The Fontainebleau Miami Beach is not includeds inthe filing.
Soffer, also principal with Turnberry construction anddevelopment companies, has partial, personal guarantees on portiond of the retail component of the Las Vega s project, but those portions are not in bankruptcy yet, Baena said. The complex is 70 percent SinceDecember 2008, Lehman refused to make any advanceas under the project’s $315 million constructionm loan, according to a motio n to maintain cash management filed in the After Lehman’s refusals, money stopperd flowing through the retail entity to the resor t entity. In March, other lenders pulled theif financing, and construction on the resort stoppedin May, Baenaq said.
The company said in a news releas e that the decision to file Chapted 11 was the result of litigatiojn with the other lenders on projecgt aboutnearly $800 million in construction fundingy for the project. Other lenders include , JPMorgan Chase Bank and Deutschse BankTrust Co. In the short term, the compangy is seeking to stabilize and protectf the finished portion ofthe building, Baenza said. “It’s no longer possiblre to downsizethe building,” he said. “The 30 percenyt remaining construction is principallythe interior. We’ve got a lovelt building waiting tobe finished.
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