Of course, not all news about residential real estate in Indiana is bad news. It just seems that way. Stories about residential real estate these days are as likely to mention foreclosure weeds and foreclosure pets as to paint pictures of white picket fences and granite-countered kitchens. Commercial real estate news seems to have a greater proportion of good news in the mix.
I’m always reading, trying to gather information that can be of use to my Indiana bankruptcy clients. I learned that, last month, DBSI Inc., the Idaho real estate firm that had sold interests in several central Indiana properties to investors around the country filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The first inkling Investors had that things were going very wrong was when, this October, DBSI stopped paying dividends and fired most of its staff.
On the positive side, Blue Real Estate, a company from California, has been using money earned from selling west coast real estate at its peak to buy up Indianapolis properties at a discount. Blue now owns the Century Building in downtown Indianapolis, along with office buildings and distribution centers in Park 100, Castle Creek (Progressive Insurance has headquarters there), and Park Fletcher (where Rolls Royce is one major tenant). This is a very hopeful development for Indy, because Blue’s newly acquired 1.6 million square feet of property in Indianapolis has a value of $120 million. Even better, the company is planning to hire a property management team that is locally based, starting with five full time positions. Another positive aspect of this story is that Blue is renovating and improving each property, spending money with local contractors and suppliers.
As a small business bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, I’m constantly being made aware of how the fates of different businesses and individuals are intertwined. When Blue Real Estate from California upgrades the heating and air conditioning in the Century Building, that could mean that one of my bankruptcy clients gets – or keeps – her job. That could mean that a small business owner who supplies parts or service to Blue gets to keep the doors of his business open despite the fact that other customers have been slow to pay their bills.
The bankruptcy system in which I practice law is designed to serve as a safety net for people whose circumstances have simply spun out of control. Post-bankruptcy, clients need steady income in order to make debt repayments and rebuild their financial lives. I’ll tell you, positive developments on the local business scene make this Indiana bankruptcy attorney very happy!