In a move that stunned real estate executives and residents of the
building, the sponsors of 20 Bayard Street in Williamsburg filed the
condominium into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late this
afternoon. According to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Brooklyn, the
condo by North Development Group owed more than $10 million to more
than 50 creditors. The reason for the filing was unclear, however bankruptcy is often
used by developers to prevent a property from being foreclosed on.
Records with the city Department of Finance show that Istar Financial
inherited the building loan from subprime lender Fremont Bank.
However, court documents show that Manhattan-based hard money lender W
Financial among the listed creditors. The creditor with the largest unsecured claim was Add Plumbing, a
contractor at 120 Evergreen Avenue in Brooklyn. The claim was for
$325,000. [more]


