Nov. 16--The lender that financed the 45-day-old Westin Beechwood hotel and the adjacent Creeks at Beechwood golf course in north Fort Worth has filed a foreclosure petition against the $53.5 million development. 

Unless a settlement is reached between CoServ Realty Holdings and Beechwood Co., the properties will go to auction Dec. 4 in Denton County. 

It is the largest foreclosure posting in North Texas since the 1980s real estate crash, when billions of dollars in properties were forced on to the market, said George Roddy of Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. 

Foreclosure postings on commercial properties and homes in the Dallas area have grown in the last few months because of the sluggish economy. 

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks also dealt the hospitality industry a blow, causing hotel occupancy rates to drop -- a double whammy for the Beechwood properties at State Highway 114 and Interstate 35W. 

"We may start to see foreclosures in isolated cases throughout the area, but lenders in today's marketplace generally have taken a much more cautious approach than in the 1980s," Mr. Roddy said. "In the mid-1980s, we were seeing 60 to 70 percent of what was posted being foreclosed." 

David Farmer, Beechwood's chief financial officer, said costly storm damage to the golf course led to the foreclosure posting for both properties. 

"The hotel is not delinquent on payments. It was cross-collateralized with the golf course," he said. "The golf course has had fairly severe problems this spring. We've been discussing a restructuring with the lender since the spring, but we've been unable to arrive at an agreement. The lender's response was to cross-default the hotel loan." 

Mr. Farmer said Beechwood is "very hopeful we will be able to restructure the loan." 

Officials with CoServ Realty, a subsidiary of CoServ Electric, the Denton County utility, did not return calls for comment. 

Mr. Farmer said CoServ does not have an ownership position in the hotel or golf course. 

A foreclosure posting is a legal filing that is required before lenders can force the sale of a property to meet unpaid debts. 

The Westin Beechwood, a 286-room hotel located between Texas Motor Speedway and Alliance Airport, opened Oct. 1. The cornerstone of the 902-acre Beechwood Business Park is targeting corporate meetings and small conventions. Mr. Farmer said the business park is not affected. 

The Creeks at Beechwood, a Greg Norman-designed course, opened in October 2000. 

After last year's wet and cold winter, a spring flash flood caused structural damage, putting the course behind on its projected profits, Mr. Farmer said. 

"We were closed for 45 days," he said. "The course, quite frankly, had already suffered before the storms." 

Hospitality industry analysts said it is unheard of for a hotel to be in foreclosure after being open only 45 days. "In 45 days, no one would usually pull the trigger," said John Keeling, a senior vice president with PKF Consulting. 

"You can't even begin to tell how a hotel will do after 45 days," he said. 

CoServ and Beechwood could still reach an agreement, Mr. Roddy said, adding that in today's market, about 40 percent of postings result in foreclosure. 

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