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Motions filed to get condo project finished, sold

The appointed bankruptcy trustee for Mira Villa condominiums has filed two motions necessary to get the project finished and sold, an attorney for one of the major creditors said.

One motion is for a $46 million bond to complete first-phase construction, market the project and pay interest on loans, said Jerry Gordon of the Gordon & Silver law firm, representing Nevada State Bank.

The second motion is to allow the sale of condo units as they're completed to pay off the existing debtor-in-possession loan and to authorize the sale of units to existing buyers and new buyers, Gordon said.

Subcontractors have filed about $2.5 million in mechanics' liens on the property.

"It's really sad that the bankruptcy court is allowing this and hired a trustee who doesn't have any concern about contractor debt," said Mike Lee, president of Harber Co., a general engineering contractor. "Their only concern is to finish the project. The contractors are the real losers in this deal."

Alan Schrimpf, chief operating officer of Southern Vegas Valley Contracting, figures his firm is out $190,000 for concrete work, including the recreation center foundation, walkways and Americans with Disabilities Act-mandated ramps.

"We're done. All the subs get nothing," he said. "You'd think a local bank would want to help out the community, that they'd at least hire back the same subs so we could try to get whole."

Las Vegas-based Westmark Homes, doing business as HDB LLC, filed bankruptcy in January on the midrise luxury condo project in the master-planned Summerlin community, near the JW Marriott.

Mark Oiness, managing member of HDB, said 21 buildings are in various stages of construction, some near completion. Current debt includes about $66 million in construction costs and $14.5 million in additional development costs, he said at a creditors' meeting in March.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Trustee Timothy Cory said it will take $30 million to $35 million to complete Mira Villa's 113-unit first phase. He is negotiating with Nevada State Bank, Colonial Bank and TierOne Bank, primary lenders on the project, to devise a restructured financing plan.

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.

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