Douglas Wilson Companies looks forward to participating in three great upcoming conferences.

High Yield Debt Investment Conference

DWC is sponsoring the CRE Finance Council’s High Yield Debt Investment Conference, happening May 8^th & 9^th at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, CA.

Scott Thorn, Ryan Lund, and Nicholas Wilson will be attending; Ryan will be participating in Tuesday’s Current Trends in Receivership panel at 11:00AM.  Click here for the full program and additional details on the High Yield Debt Investment Conference.

 SAMA’s 3^rd Annual Conference

We will be exhibiting at the Special Assets Management Association’s 3^rd Annual Conference May 9^th-11^th at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa in Ojai, CA.

Please join Douglas Wilson, Scott Thorn, Ryan Lund, Nicholas Wilson, and Rexanne Dayes from our team onsite at the event. Doug will be participating in Thursday’s Receivership panel at 3:30PM.  Click here for the full program and additional details on SAMA’s 3^rd Annual Conference.

 24^th Annual Insolvency Conference

DWC will also be exhibiting at the California Bankruptcy Forum’s 24^th Annual Insolvency Conference, happening May 18^th-20^th at The Westin Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, CA.

Stop by our booth, hosted by Nicholas Wilson, Ryan Lund, Jordan Beal, and Rexanne Dayes during this event.  For the full program and additional details on the CBF’s 24^th Annual Insolvency Conference, click here.

If you would like to arrange a meeting with anyone from the DWC team during these events, click here. We look forward to seeing you at these events!

Douglas Wilson Companies’ role in turning around and finishing two distressed east coast assets was highlighted in The Washington Post. The recent article, titled “What Opus East started is now finished,” delves into the two surviving Opus East deals:

The eastern arm of what is now known as Minnesota-based Opus Group, Opus East had offices in Rockville and was active in some of the area’s hottest neighborhoods until it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in July 2009, opting to liquidate its holdings rather than try to resuscitate them.

Three years later, however, some of the company’s Washington area deals found success long after the team that acquired and designed the projects scattered. Two of the projects were recently completed with money from the bank providing original financing, and both have found new buyers.

A partially built 268,762 square-foot College Park research center for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was abandoned when Opus East filed for bankruptcy, with an estimated $60 million in construction still needed. A 10-story office project at 1015 Half St. SE was left as a skeleton.

Bank of America had nearly $300 million in construction loans on the two projects. When Opus ran into trouble, the bank asked for a court-appointed receiver, Douglas Wilson Cos. of San Diego, to manage the properties. “I think many financial institutions would have just said, ‘Let’s liquidate our position,’” Douglas Wilson said. “You can sell a partially built building, but you’ll probably get 30 cents on the dollar.”

Instead, Bank of America stuck it out — a testament to the strength of the Washington market. Wilson brought in new contractors to finish the projects with Bank of America funds. New York-based Acquest Development bought the NOAA building at the end of last year and Prudential Real Estate Investors is purchasing the Half Street building. Bank of America spokeswoman Shirley Norton said in an e-mail that the bank was “for the most part, repaid.”

To read the full article on The Washington Post website, click here.

Completed Half Street Building

A recent article in The Daily Transcript titled “Douglas Wilson completes two DC area buildings” featured two of our recent receivership properties:

The Douglas Wilson Cos. has completed two major building projects in the Washington, D.C. area – the new home for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Opus East Half Street office building.

Wilson, who acted as the receiver for both projects, explained that the NOAA building got off to a promising start in 2006.  Three years later, however, amid a series of disputes and lawsuits, the lease was in default and the project had abruptly stopped.

Wilson immediately began discussions with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the agency responsible for meeting the space requirements of federal agencies, and Bank of America, which provided financing for the NOAA building. At the time of the default, the project was nearly two-thirds complete, but it still required more than $65 million to be finished.

After working with Congressional officials, the GSA and BofA and others, Wilson arrived at a solution that enabled NOAA Maryland LLC to purchase the 270,000-square-foot NOAA building under construction last December.

The 400,000-square-foot Opus East Half Street office building is located in the Capitol Riverfront District of Washington, D.C., two blocks from the Washington Nationals’ new ballpark and near the U.S. Capitol. As Receiver, DWC was responsible for coordinating development and construction activities for the Opus property while negotiating the settlement of numerous mechanics’ lien claims in an effort to prepare the asset for takeout financing by another financial institution.

“This project was only about 40 percent built when we took over as Receiver;” said Wilson. “Less than two years later, it was ready for occupancy.”

Visit the San Diego Daily Transcript website to read the full article (subscription required).

On March 8, 2012, Douglas Wilson was appointed as Receiver of Fyre Lake National. Fyre Lake National is an 18-hole Nicklaus Design golf course on the west side of  Fyre Lake in Sherrard, Illinois.

Douglas Wilson Companies is accepting bids for the purchase of the assets of NexHorizon Communications: a distressed San Diego based cable company.

Douglas Wilson Companies is pleased to announce the sale of a note with a face value amount of approximately $14,000,000. The note, secured by two office buildings located at 30077 and 30101 Agoura Court, Agoura Hills, CA 91301, was purchased by a local investment group.

The two buildings total approximately 102,000 square feet and are located in the Canejo Valley submarket of San Fernando Valley.  Tigg Mitchell, Alan Scott, CCIM and Tom Olson, all of DWC’s Brokerage Division, represented the seller, JP Morgan Chase Bank.

On February 6, 2012, Douglas P. Wilson was appointed as Receiver of Victorville Pavilion.

Located in Victorville, CA, the center has approximately 24,500 square feet of retail space and currently hosts tenants such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and The Vitamin Shoppe.

Robin Gaglione

Douglas Wilson Companies is pleased to announce that Robin Gaglione, Assistant Controller, passed the Certified Financial Forensics exam (CFF). The CFF credential is granted exclusively to CPAs who demonstrate considerable expertise in forensic accounting through their knowledge, skills, and experience.

Congratulations Robin, we appreciate all your hard work.

On February 2, 2012, Douglas P. Wilson was appointed as Receiver of VTE Philadelphia, raw land in Pennsylvania.

Douglas Wilson Companies looks forward to participating in IMN’s 9^th Annual Winter Forum on Real Estate Opportunity & Private Fund Investing January 18^th-20^th at the Montage Resort & Spa in Laguna Beach, CA.

Please join Douglas Wilson, Robert Richley, Scott Thorn, Nicholas Wilson, and Rexanne Dayes from our team onsite at the event. Doug will be participating in Thursday’s Receiver’s Perspective Panel at 12:15PM, as well as Friday’s Special Servicer/Special Asset Manager Panel at 10:00AM.

If you would like to arrange a meeting with anyone from the DWC team during the Winter Forum, please click here. Please visit our exhibit booth onsite and say hi and pick up a personalized luggage tag. We look forward to seeing you at the event!

Click here for additional details on the Winter Forum on Real Estate Opportunity & Private Fund Investing.