Palm Beach Projects in Distress

(This story, in slightly different form, originally appeared in Incisive Media’s Daily Business Review.)

WEST PALM BEACH, FL-In further evidence that the wave of foreclosures against large residential projects in South Florida is far from over, lenders have moved to foreclose on two prominent projects in Palm Beach County. Country Lake at Palm Beach, a local rental complex, has been hit with a $19.5-million suit, while a condo and marina development in Delray Beach is facing a $17.8 million action.

The 192-unit Country Lake property is owned by a fund managed by Atherton-Newport, an Irvine, Calif.-based real estate investment company that bet big on South Florida’s apartment market in 2006 and lost. Atherton, which manages funds backed by investors that include several professional sports figures, acquired a number of multifamily properties across the country before filing last year in California for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors.