The bad news from Las Vegas just keeps coming:
In one of the potentially largest bankruptcies in Nevada history, Lake Las Vegas, a 3,592-acre residential and resort development in Henderson, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Thursday.
Lake at Las Vegas Joint Venture LLC, one of five related companies filing for bankruptcy, reported debts that total between $500 million and $1 billion and assets that total between $100 million and $500 million. The case could approach other major bankruptcies as measured by the amount of creditor claims.
Owners still believe they can make a go of this project:
The company said it obtained post-bankruptcy financing of up to $127 million from lenders led by Credit Suisse, a major Wall Street investment banking firm. The financing assures that day-to-day operations will continue without interruption, and employees will continue to receive wages and benefits, the company said.
The company employs 260 workers, mostly for its golf courses. It also has two hotels, a casino and 1,600 completed residences.
Keeping this project alive will not be easy:
The new owners cited "poor liquidity, substantial debt service, (and) extremely challenging real estate market conditions" as reasons for seeking bankruptcy court protection.
All of those problems are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
I wonder how much they paid per acre. 3,592 is a few acres.
Lake las Vegas is the “Fountain Hills” of Las Vegas. Sort of.
It is on the fringes of Las vegas, but not nearly as far out as Fountain Hills was/is. It is centered around a lake, except the lake is much larger in LLV (it is really a branch of Lake mead). LLV has celebrity residences, and substantial commercial developments.
The thing LLV has that may be furthering the bankruptcy is substantial soils issues. They did a lot of fill work on the slopes of the canyons. You get great views, but if the compaction and soil mix is off you have major issues with homes sliding. I would be curious to see how this is playing out.
Also, out of town people who want to buy a home are being drawn to the highrise condos. Impressive residence, and much easier to maintain than a mansion 45 minutes from the airport.