Westside Lofts condo files for bankruptcy

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Westside Lofts condo files for bankruptcy

Proposed South Beach condominium Westside Lofts filed for bankruptcy in a bid to reorganize the troubled development.
BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN
mhaggman@MiamiHerald.com

A real estate development company whose investors include Major League Baseball players Edgar Renteria and Luis Castillo with plans to build a trendy five-story South Beach condominium has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Miami.

The move comes amid legal battles in Miami-Dade Circuit Court between the development company and its lender and general contractor. Eastern National Bank is seeking more than $2 million for an overdue construction loan and Diez Construction $200,506 for unpaid bills, according to court filings.

Developer Robert Thorne of Royal Bay Group headed up the development company called Westside Lofts LLC. Its investors include Minnesota Twins second baseman Castillo and Atlanta Braves shortstop Renteria. Both players are former Marlins.

Westside Lofts isn't the first of Thorne's projects to run into trouble. He is managing partner of the Chelsea, a proposed 30-unit condo in Miami Beach that is delayed, and the entire project is for sale.

Attorney John Kozyak filed papers late Tuesday on behalf of Westside Lofts LLC, seeking bankruptcy protection from creditors in a bid to reorganize the company. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol is presiding over the case.

''Edgar Renteria invested $600,000 in one of the hottest real estate markets and persuaded his friend and former teammate to put up $430,000,'' said Kozyak. ``Construction was delayed, the construction loan matured, contractors and suppliers were owed money, yet only the second slab was poured for a five-story project. We need to find out what happened and turn this situation around.''

The troubled 15-unit condo at the corner of West Avenue and 14th Terrace has been stalled for many months, not only prompting legal action from its lender and builder but exasperating buyers who made deposits on units there.

''People were getting very upset,'' said Cara Mantovani, owner of Mantovani Real Estate in Key Biscayne, which previously sold Westside Lofts units but is no longer associated with the project.

``There is only so long you can tell people there is a project coming when the weeds are growing faster than the rebar is coming in.''

Thorne has now been replaced as the project's managing partner by Jeffrey Lane, who is also Renteria's baseball agent.

Lane couldn't be reached for comment.

Thorne -- who this year sold an interest in the Coconut Grove project, Lofts at Mayfair -- attributed Westside Loft's troubles to rising construction costs and the fact Eastern National insisted the project go forward even though construction costs hadn't been nailed down.

''When we got to the point the construction numbers were higher, we went back to the bank,'' Thorne said. ``We agreed to put up some more equity, but at the eleventh hour they backed out and doubled the amount of equity we had to put in. If not for that, the building would be up and done.''

Eastern National's attorney Geoffrey Travis, a partner with Shutts & Bowen, didn't return calls for comment.

In a twist, Thorne also insisted that he transferred his entire interest in Westside LLC to Renteria and Castillo earlier this year. His claim runs counter to Tuesday's bankruptcy filing, which lists Thorne with Castillo and Renteria as investors with more than a 5 percent stake in the company.

Asked Wednesday if he has a stake in Westside Lofts LLC, Thorne responded: ``I can't answer that question. It's a legal question.''

Neither baseball player could be reached for comment.

But bankruptcy attorney Kozyak said he was surprised that Thorne claims no ownership interest.