Blackhawk Plaza faces new foreclosure, this time from its main lender
DANVILLE — Financial woes have mounted for a high-profile East Bay dining and shopping hub next to the posh Blackhawk subdivision in Danville now that the property’s primary lender has filed two loan defaults against the property.
The owner of Blackhawk Plaza in Danville is in default on two loans totaling a combined $31 million that were provided to the property by Preferred Bank, according to documents filed on Jan. 30 with the Contra Costa County Recorder’s Office.
These new delinquencies are separate from $5 million in financing that Nano Banc provided to the owner of the property, whose addresses include 3380 Blackhawk Plaza Circle, county real estate files show.
Once a magnet for shoppers and diners, Blackhawk Plaza has fallen on hard times and faces a murky future due to the foreclosure threats from primary lender Preferred Bank and the property’s other lender, Nano Banc.
In 2020, Ramanujan Group bought Blackhawk Plaza for $28.3 million. This means that the combined face value of $36 million for the three loans from the two lenders exceeds what the borrower paid for the commercial hub by 27%.
Preferred Bank provided Blackhawk Plaza with a $28 million loan in 2020, the county records show. Then in 2023, Preferred added a second loan totaling $3 million. In 2024, Blackhawk Plaza landed the $5 million Nano Banc funding.
Some tenants, such as Draeger’s Market, have decided to close their doors.
Separately, a would-be tenant, Apple Cinemas, said in 2023 that it wished to open a movie house at Blackhawk Plaza that would have replaced the long-departed Century Theaters that abruptly closed in 2022.
In addition to the default notices, a group of commercial property owners at Blackhawk Plaza have filed a lawsuit in Contra Costa County Superior Court that paints a picture of deteriorating conditions at the once-vibrant shopping center.
“Defendants (Ramanujan Group and its affiliates) have ignored maintenance and repair obligations, thus allowing the slow decay of the Plaza,” business owners stated in the court filing.
The group that is suing the property’s owner includes the Blackhawk Automotive and Cultural Museum and office building owners, court records show.
“Ever-widening cracks and potholes in parking lots, decrepit and non-functioning light stanchions, rusted and broken staircase railings, crumbling stairs, broken and inoperable irrigation pipes, unclean water, and dangerous erosion of soil” were among the problems listed at Blackhawk Plaza, the complaint states.
The lawsuit claims some of the problems appear to be life-threatening, such as “open and live wiring.” The complaint includes several photographs of deterioration and hazards.
According to a 2024 filing in county court, Ramanujan Group, through one of its principal officials, Deba Shyam, denied allegations about poor maintenance at the center. The lawsuit is still proceeding through the system.
At the time Ramanujan Group bought Blackhawk Plaza, real estate experts noted that the major challenge facing the commercial hub was the property’s significant distance from Interstate 680.
Separately, the operators of the Blackhawk Automotive and Cultural Museum said the museum remains open and fully committed to serving the community as these situations play out and beyond.
In contrast to these current difficulties, Blackhawk Plaza was frequently touted as a top-notch shopping center when it was in pristine condition.
“The plaza is a ‘one-of-a-kind’ open-air center, which combines village-style Mediterranean architecture, an aquatic landscaped interior, and welcoming terraced vistas that attract both tourists and neighborhood residents,” Contra Costa County court papers state.