A court-appointed caretaker has taken over an unfinished senior housing facility in Castle Rock that “is in financial freefall” and “hemorrhaging money,” according to its lender.
Solterra Companies, an Arizona developer, broke ground in 2021 on Bridgewater Living, a 142-unit complex at 4003 Home St., on a hillside just east of I-25. Bridgewater was scheduled to open to low- and middle-income seniors in mid-2022, according to past media reports.
“But the project was impeded and undercapitalized at the outset,” UMB Bank said.
Arni Thorsteinson, a Canadian real estate investor, almost immediately reneged on a promise to contribute $8 million to the project, according to the bank, which loaned $38.4 million to it. Since that inauspicious beginning, there have been construction cost overruns, UMB said.
“In short, the borrower is insolvent, undercapitalized or unable to pay its debts as they become due. Numerous events of default have occurred,” UMB wrote in a June 10 lawsuit.
Meanwhile, “the project is vacant and incomplete,” it “has no source of revenue,” and its investor has “financially abandoned” Bridgewater, according to the lawsuit, filed in Castle Rock.
“Because the borrower cannot turn things around, there is an acute and immediate need for a receiver to stabilize the situation,” UMB wrote. “The only way the project will stop hemorrhaging money and reach completion is if the court appoints a receiver to take the helm.”
Douglas County District Court Judge Andrew Baum agreed and, on June 11, appointed Michael Staheli of Cordes & Co. to oversee the project. Staheli is an experienced receiver in Denver, including for a large, bungled apartment complex project in Lakewood.
“I have no comment on the claim at this time,” Solterra CEO Steve Jorgenson said.
Thorsteinson, the investor, did not answer a request to discuss the Bridgewater project.
UMB Bank, which is based in Kansas City, is represented by attorneys Nathan Coco and Dallas Taylor with the law firm Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo in New York City, alongside Katie McDermott with the Denver firm Davis Graham & Stubbs.
A court-appointed caretaker has taken over an unfinished senior housing facility in Castle Rock that “is in financial freefall” and “hemorrhaging money,” according to its lender.
Solterra Companies, an Arizona developer, broke ground in 2021 on Bridgewater Living, a 142-unit complex at 4003 Home St., on a hillside just east of I-25. Bridgewater was scheduled to open to low- and middle-income seniors in mid-2022, according to past media reports.
“But the project was impeded and undercapitalized at the outset,” UMB Bank said.
Arni Thorsteinson, a Canadian real estate investor, almost immediately reneged on a promise to contribute $8 million to the project, according to the bank, which loaned $38.4 million to it. Since that inauspicious beginning, there have been construction cost overruns, UMB said.
“In short, the borrower is insolvent, undercapitalized or unable to pay its debts as they become due. Numerous events of default have occurred,” UMB wrote in a June 10 lawsuit.
Meanwhile, “the project is vacant and incomplete,” it “has no source of revenue,” and its investor has “financially abandoned” Bridgewater, according to the lawsuit, filed in Castle Rock.
“Because the borrower cannot turn things around, there is an acute and immediate need for a receiver to stabilize the situation,” UMB wrote. “The only way the project will stop hemorrhaging money and reach completion is if the court appoints a receiver to take the helm.”
Douglas County District Court Judge Andrew Baum agreed and, on June 11, appointed Michael Staheli of Cordes & Co. to oversee the project. Staheli is an experienced receiver in Denver, including for a large, bungled apartment complex project in Lakewood.
“I have no comment on the claim at this time,” Solterra CEO Steve Jorgenson said.
Thorsteinson, the investor, did not answer a request to discuss the Bridgewater project.
UMB Bank, which is based in Kansas City, is represented by attorneys Nathan Coco and Dallas Taylor with the law firm Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo in New York City, alongside Katie McDermott with the Denver firm Davis Graham & Stubbs.