Lenders poised to take back stalled Meadowlands project

Xanadu, the $2 billion stalled retail and entertainment project in East Rutherford, N.J. is expected to land back in the hands of its creditors after an Aug. 9 financing deadline, according to the Wall Street Journal. Behind the nearly-complete project, which stalled in early 2009 not long after the collapse of its original lender, Lehman Brothers Holdings, is a group of developers led by Colony Capital. The group had been negotiating with Stephen Ross’s the Related Companies, among other potential partners, to help finish the complex, which is adjacent to the New Jersey Nets’ current home at the IZOD Center. Now that creditors are poised to take over, sources say that Related is in direct talks with the project’s lenders. A state commission also recently recommended state financing to help complete construction. [WSJ]