In 2025, SPE Specialists served as independent director, independent manager, or springing member on $1.2 billion in loan transactions across structured finance, private credit, and our first aviation deal. Sponsors continue to choose us for speed, cost-efficiency, and deep transactional expertise—and many first-time users are already repeat clients. More announcements coming soon.

Via Mizner’s return to Chapter 11 headlines — this time involving the Mandarin Oriental hotel and residences — highlights a recurring lesson in complex real estate projects. While the multifamily component exited bankruptcy earlier this year, unresolved structural vulnerabilities remained elsewhere in the platform. This case underscores how distress that is not properly isolated can resurface, even after a project appears “resolved.”

A downtown Austin property scheduled for foreclosure paused the process with a last-minute Chapter 11 filing, offering a clear look into how leverage, timing, and entity structure interact in today’s commercial real estate market. The case shows that while single-asset LLCs can isolate risk, they cannot compensate for high leverage and weak structural safeguards in redevelopment-driven assets.

The Bon Morro, LLC, owner of The Bon in Boston’s Fenway, filed Chapter 11 on Nov. 2, 2025, after a dispute with its landlord over refinancing consent. Despite 95% occupancy, a $165M senior loan and leasehold restrictions created timing pressure. The case highlights how consent-dependent refinancing under ground leases can drive distress even in well-leased assets.

Hasen Construction LLC, led by Brandon Chasen, rose quickly in Baltimore’s adaptive-reuse market by converting aging offices into housing, including the $11 million One Calvert Plaza project. But rapid expansion built on high leverage and short-term debt unraveled as rates rose and liquidity dried up, leading to defaults and bankruptcy. Weak governance and minimal reserves exposed deeper structural flaws, showing that in real estate, vision without structure is risky.

The Holiday Inn Port of Miami-Downtown, purchased for $65M in 2015, is headed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy auction this December with a $175M listing price. Its owners defaulted on a $70M floating-rate loan as rising interest costs strained finances. Despite valuable air rights and redevelopment potential, the project’s timing and structure proved vulnerable, underscoring that resilience, not entitlement, defines real estate success.

Bankruptcy offers a financial reset for those overwhelmed by debt. The two main types, Chapter 7 and Chapter 11, serve different needs. Chapter 7 liquidates non-exempt assets to clear most debts quickly, while Chapter 11 allows businesses to reorganize and continue operating under court oversight. Knowing which fits your situation is key to regaining financial stability.

Independent directors safeguard bankruptcy remoteness across CMBS, ABS, project finance, CTL, and private credit. They protect cash flows, meet rating agency standards, and bolster lender confidence. SPE Specialists provides experienced directors who ensure structures remain compliant, credible, and resilient.

An Independent Director in CRE isn’t a strategist or advisor—it’s a safeguard. Their sole role is to protect lenders by maintaining bankruptcy remoteness and preventing unauthorized filings. Simply put: Independent Directors protect lenders; Board Directors protect equity.

In structured finance, ratings live or die on deal structure. One element agencies often require for investment-grade, especially on $20M+ deals, is an independent director. Here’s why that role curbs bankruptcy risk, strengthens SPEs, and lowers financing costs, and how SPE Specialists helps issuers meet the mark.

Independent directors are widely used to help maintain bankruptcy remoteness, but is their power to block a bankruptcy filing truly enforceable? U.S. bankruptcy law is built on the principle that any eligible entity should have access to the protection of the courts when facing financial distress.

101 Via Mizner Bankruptcy Ends in Fire Sale. Sold for $235M, well below the non-bankruptcy reported value and and Grant Cardone, which will be merging this asset with a $100MM bitcoin fund with a planned condo exit

In structured finance, the role of an independent director isn’t about daily oversight or executive leadership, it’s about control at critical moments. Their job and responsibilities center on protecting the bankruptcy-remote status of a Special Purpose Entity (“SPE”), especially when the stakes are highest.

A NYC multifamily developer just combined dozen of entities and 5,000 units into a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing - exactly what bankruptcy...

Independent Directors are individuals who are unaffiliated with the borrower or its corporate group and are appointed to serve on the board or governing body SPE.

In today’s fast-moving commercial real estate debt markets, timing is everything and the checklists are daunting. At SPE Specialists, we don’t just promise rapid execution, we deliver it. Last week, a sponsor came to us with a last-minute closing deadline and zero margin for error. In under 24 hours, our team had everything in place to keep the deal on track.

What Is Bankruptcy Remoteness and Why Does It Matter? In the world of structured finance, risk isolation is everything. When lenders and investors commit capital to a transaction, they need certainty that their investment won’t be swept up in someone else’s financial troubles. That’s where bankruptcy remoteness comes in—a legal and structural safeguard that helps protect assets from the fallout of corporate insolvency.