Cool Springs developer Crescent Resources has just filed for bankruptcy.  Crescent Resources is a commercial real estate company who developed the majority of Class A office space that is located on the East side of I-65, close to the Cool Springs Marriott, Embassy Suites and Nissan North America Headquarters.  Here is the story reported by Susan Stabley with the Charlotte Business Journal:

Real estate company Crescent Resources, a Duke Energy joint venture that developed a couple of large Triangle communities, and 120 of its subsidiaries have filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Crescent announced Wednesday.

Crescent and its subsidiaries were saddled with more than $1 billion in liabilities, according to bankruptcy filings.

The Charlotte-based development firm’s chief executive, Arthur Fields, has retired and will work with Crescent in an advisory capacity, the company says.

Andrew Hede, Crescent’s chief restructuring officer, has been named CEO.

“We have been in active discussions with our lenders and other stakeholders as we work towards an agreement that will bring our capital structure in line with the current economic environment,” Hede says.

Crescent has more than 5,000 creditors, according to its filing. Its assets are estimated at more than $1 billion.

Crescent says it intends to operate its continuing businesses without any significant interruption during the restructuring process. The company says that’s possible because of a recently obtained debtor-in-possession financing facility of $110 million from a group of its existing lenders.

As part of the Chapter 11 filing, Crescent says it seeks court approval “to make certain payments and to maintain key agreements with employees, customers, vendors and partners of continuing operations to ensure the company can maintain its commitment to delivering a high level of amenities and services.”

Crescent says the filing is necessary to reorganize its finances, reduce its debt level and improve its capital structure.

“We intend to reach an agreement on our new capital structure and emerge from bankruptcy quickly,” Hede says.

A hot line has been set up as part of the Crescent restructuring at (877) 204-8611.

The Chapter 11 petitions were filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of Texas, Austin division. The company has 120 days from the filing date to submit a reorganization plan.

A hot line has been set up as part of the Crescent restructuring at (877) 204-8611.

Attorney Eric Taube of Hohmann, Taube & Summers LLP in Austin, Texas, will represent Crescent in the proceedings.

The company — jointly owned by Duke Energy Corp. and Morgan Stanley — is best known in the Charlotte area for high-end real estate communities such as The Peninsula and Ballantyne Country Club. In the Raleigh-Durham area, Crescent developed the 588-acre Hidden Lake gated community in Youngsville and the 400-acre The Parks at Meadowview community in Pittsboro.

Before the Chapter 11 filing, Crescent faced payments on its debt of $50 million by the end of this year, $75 million in 2010 and $100 million in 2011.

LARGE LOSSES

Duke (NYSE:DUK) formed Crescent in 1969 to develop property it acquired through its core utility business that it didn’t need for power generation.

In September 2006, Duke entered into a joint venture with Morgan Stanley Real Estate. Morgan paid Duke $415 million in cash and assumed $656 million in debt for its stake in the company, then worth $2.1 billion. As part of the transaction Crescent borrowed $1.2 billion and distributed the proceeds to Duke to transfer the debt off Duke’s balance sheet.

Duke and Morgan Stanley each have a 49 percent stake in Crescent. The remaining 2 percent interest in Crescent — which would have been worth $42 million when the deal closed ­— was issued to former CEO Fields. The disposition of that interest will be determined through the reorganization proceedings, according to a spokesman for Crescent.

Duke no longer reports Crescent’s financial results, but its own filings, and those from Morgan Stanley, shed light on Crescent’s financial troubles.

For 2008, Crescent lost about $470 million, of which Duke suffered about $230 million in losses, according to filings.

In the first quarter of this year, Crescent cost Duke and Morgan Stanley about $150 million in direct losses and loan guarantees. The energy company has guaranteed about $100 million in surety bonds for Crescent, for which it has paid out at least $33 million. Duke pegs its total exposure at about $40 million for the year.

The company is active in commercial and residential real estate development and land management across the Southeast and Southwest and has created mixed-use developments, business and industrial parks, country-club communities, single-family neighborhoods and apartment and condo complexes.

The company has 38 residential communities under development in the Carolinas, Georgia, Texas, Florida and Arizona, and is currently building 1,200 apartment units.

It also owns 75,000 acres of land. Crescent has 264 employees.