H. Thomas O’Hara Architect designed Twenty9th Park, on left, and the Mondrian Hotel, on right

The luxury Manhattan design firm H. Thomas O’Hara Architect filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, but remains in operation, recent court documents show. The firm, which designed buildings such as Twenty9th Park at 39 East 29th Street and the Mondrian Hotel at 150 Lafayette Street, filed for Chapter 11 protection Dec. 11 in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan. The filings show assets of $1.2 million and debts of $4.3 million. The bulk of the money counted as assets, some $1.1 million, was in unpaid money owed to the firm by clients, the papers show. The largest amount the firm owes was $1.5 million to Citibank Commercial Loan Servicing, while the second largest amount was owed to the Internal Revenue Service for unpaid payroll taxes, totaling $643,166. The president and managing member of the firm, H. Thomas O’Hara, said in an interview with The Real Deal today that he filed the suit because of the difficult financial pressures brought on by the declining economy. [more]