A 55,000-acre housing project in New Mexico planned by Irvine-based master developer SunCal Cos. has been sold at a foreclosure auction to three of its largest creditors, according to local reports.
Western Albuquerque Land Holdings LLC, a newly formed company created by Barclay’s Capital Real Estate Inc., iStar Financial and Five Mile Capital, paid $148 million for the land late last week, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
SunCal and its New York-based financier, D.E. Shaw & Co., paid about $250 million for the land on the western side of Albuquerque in late 2006.
The massive property, which is twice the size of Boston, was set to be SunCal’s largest-ever project. But its development was stalled due to the down economy as well as local political issues.
In April, SunCal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the project, which operated under the Westland DevCo LP name.
That bankruptcy case was dismissed, and the land was later placed into receivership at the urging of the project’s main lender, Barclays Capital Real Estate Inc., a unit of Barclays PLC.
Barclays said it was owed more than $180 million in loans for the project and was pushing to foreclose on the land prior to the bankruptcy filing.
SunCal officials told the Albuquerque Journal last week that the company still was interested in remaining involved in the property, despite the foreclosure and loss of its assets.
