Dallas-based firm JMJ Development filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week on three LLCs used for land development deals in North Texas.
This follows a legal dispute involving the entities two years ago in which several Chinese investors attempted to force them into Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which would have led to their liquidation.
JMJ’s Chapter 11 filing means they will be able to continue their operations and are not required to liquidate assets during the proceedings. The plan for reorganization must be both approved by the bankruptcy court and allow for the debt to be paid off over a reasonable amount of time.
Back in 2020, after JMJ allegedly missed payments on loans, several Chinese investors attempted to force JMJ into Chapter 7 bankruptcy on six of its development entities. At the time, JMJ argued that the claims were without merit and related to a long-term legal dispute.
Those entities — designated as WALL009 LLC, WALL010 LLC, WALL011 LLC WALL012 LLC, WALL016 LLC and WALL017 LLC — included hundreds of acres of developments in Kaufman, Tarrant, Johnson, and Parker counties according to the investors’ filings with the United States Bankruptcy Court Northern District of Texas.
JMJ has now voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy of three of those projects — WALL012 LLC, WALL016 LLC and WALL017.
Chinese developers have been increasingly large players in Texas real estate since at least 2015, when declining returns in coastal markets led investors to look for opportunities in the Sun Belt. And foriegn capital of all origins has been flowing into the state recently, attracted by its red-hot market.
JMJ is a prominent development with several high-profile projects across North Texas, including in Dallas’ Turtle Creek neighborhood and the design district. In 2020, an entity linked to JMJ — MO 2999 Turtle Creek LLC — which purchased a 2.5-acre site for a planned 25-story Mandarin Oriental Hotel and condo tower, was threatened with foreclosure by New York firm Madison Realty Capital.
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