business

Opus West Corp., the Phoenix-based division of Opus Corp., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday.

The Minnetonka-based developer said last week that Opus West planned to file the bankruptcy petition. The filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas listed assets of $100 million to $500 million and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million. The largest unsecured creditors included Bank of America, owed $205.4 million; Wells Fargo Bank, owed $61.7 million; Bank of the West, owed $36.5 million; and U.S. Bank, owed $9.2 million.

The filing includes some subsidiaries of Opus West but does not include about 48 projects it developed, said Opus spokeswoman Winston Hewett. One mixed-use project in Austin, Texas, previously filed a separate Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. The Austin project and another office complex developed by Opus West in Glendale, Ariz., both are in foreclosure.

Opus West is one of five regional companies in the nation overseen by Opus Corp. Washington, D.C.-based Opus East filed for Chapter 7 liquidation last week, and Atlanta-based Opus South filed for Chapter 11 in April. Company officials have said the two other regional companies, Minnetonka-based Opus Northwest and Chicago-based Opus North, have healthy balance sheets and have not been hurt as much by the commercial real estate downturn.

The company said last week it expects Opus West to continue operating with a reduced presence when its reorganization is complete. It will maintain its Phoenix office, plus one in the Dallas area and another in southern California. The division, which has developed more than 52.7 million square feet of space since starting operations in 1979, previously had seven offices in Arizona, Texas and California.

Opus East's Washington office already has closed, and Opus has said Opus South will close when its reorganization is complete.

Susan Feyder • 612-673-1723