Prominent Healdsburg developer files bankruptcy

<p>Healdsburg real estate investor Lukhbir Gill, who developed plans to build a string of hotels, office buildings and gas stations in Sonoma County, has filed bankruptcy and is attempting to restructure his debts.</p><p>Gill's company, B&G Group Inc., owes at least $12.9 million to its 20 largest creditors, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Rosa. They report assets are somewhere between $1 million to $10 million.</p><p>A second business managed by Gill, Fast Lane Central Valley LLC, has also filed bankruptcy. That company listed nearly $8 million in debts and $3.5 million in assets.</p><p>Gill and his wife, Christina, also filed personal bankruptcy. In that case, they listed debts of $25.8 million and assets of nearly $2.8 million.</p><p>All three cases were filed under Chapter 11, which allows borrowers to restructure their debts and remain in business. Some lenders appear as creditors in all three cases.</p><p>Gill could not be reached for comment. His attorney, John MacConaghy, did not return telephone calls seeking comment.</p><p>The historic downturn in real estate has battered some of Sonoma County's biggest developers and real estate investors. The list of those who sought bankruptcy protection includes financier Clem Carinalli and developers Orrin Thiessen, Richard Dowd and Wendell “Del” Nordby.</p><p>The cracks in Gill's business empire began to appear this summer. The Gills filed personal bankruptcy on July 18. One week later, Fast Lane Central Valley LLC filed Chapter 11. B&G Group followed suit on Sept. 20.</p><p>The grandson of a developer in India, Gill came to the United States in 1985 to study business and law, according to the B&G Group website. In 1997, he began developing retail projects in Sonoma County and expanded in 2000 into hotel, office and housing projects.</p><p>Gill won praise from city officials in 2000 when he listened to neighbors and modified plans to build the Fountaingrove Executive Center, a 200,000-square-foot office complex in the hills of northeast Santa Rosa. The project, which was initially rejected by the Planning Commission, was approved unanimously. Three of the project's four office buildings were later developed jointly by Basin Street Properties and Billa Enterprises, which Gill headed until 2002, when it was taken over by Telecom Valley entrepreneur Ajaib Bhadare.</p><p>In 2001, Gill won approval to build a 108-room Hilton hotel in Windsor, but later sold his interest in the project. Three years later, he was part of an investment group that acquired the historic Hotel La Rose in Santa Rosa and continues to own half of the hotel, according to court records.</p><p>In 2008, Gill opened the 90-room Hilton Garden Inn near the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in partnership with Henderson Hospitality Group.</p><p>According to his personal bankruptcy filing, the five largest unsecured creditors are: Rabobank, owed $4.3 million; Five Star Bank, $4 million; Sonoma Mortgage and Investment, the lender controlled by Carinalli before his 2009 bankruptcy, $3.2 million; Wells Fargo, $2.8 million; and Sterling Savings, $2.5 million.</p>