Bay Area luxury mall abruptly files for bankruptcy without warning tenants

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/blackhawk-plaza-bankruptcy-
22155502.php

Jung Dong Choi was scrolling on Facebook when a news article about his 
landlord, Blackhawk Plaza, forced him to stop. The owner of Danville’s 
luxury outdoor mall had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection without 
warning Choi. The recent filing was yet another blow for the restaurant 
owner, who described years of poor communication and neglect at the 
struggling Bay Area mall. 

“No one gave us any notification,” said Choi, owner of Blue Sakana 
restaurant. “It makes me very angry. They’re running around trying to hide 
things and not telling the full story of how things are going.” 

Ramanujan Group, the Newport Beach real estate company that owns Blackhawk 
Plaza, filed for voluntary bankruptcy protection on March 18, saying the 
company owes creditors and purveyors between $10 million and $50 million. 
Among the highest claims listed was $207,552.80 owed to Orange County 
property management company Vierergruppe Management Inc. and $112,502.06 
owed to PG&E. SFGATE could not reach Ramanujan Group or Blackhawk Plaza 
for comment. 

The mall is near the wealthy East Bay community of Blackhawk, where homes 
are worth an average of $2.287 million, according to Redfin. John Madden, 
Bay Area rapper E-40 and former Oakland A’s star Jose Canseco live or have 
lived in Blackhawk. 

The filing comes amid rising pressure for the once-luxury shopping center, 
which is also facing foreclosure proceedings from its lender, Nano Banc, 
which provided the Ramanujan Group with a $5 million loan in 2024. 
Blackhawk Plaza is at risk of having a court-appointed receiver take over 
the mall after it stopped making payments in March 2025, according to the 
East Bay Times. 

According to the Mercury News, several Blackhawk Plaza tenants have also 
filed a lawsuit against the Ramanujan Group for neglecting upkeep at the 
mall. According to legal filings reviewed by the Mercury News, tenants 
claimed that the Ramanujan Group “ignored maintenance and repair 
obligations, thus allowing the slow decay of the Plaza.” In late January, 
Draeger’s Market closed its doors at the shopping mall after an 18-year 
run. Owner John Draeger told SFGATE that his decision came amid increased 
vacancies and declining conditions at the plaza. 

“Despite our efforts, the landlord has been unresponsive, and we do not 
anticipate improvements that would allow us to operate successfully,” 
Draeger told SFGATE.

Choi also filed a separate lawsuit last July alleging Ramanujan Group 
illegally collected maintenance fees without using them for the required 
upkeep of the mall and illegally blocked a planned sale of Choi’s 
business. The restaurant owner stood to make $300,000 off the sale, 
according to the lawsuit, but the sale is now in limbo. 

“We cannot sell it because they don’t respond,” Choi said. “That’s how 
they do business.” 

With the recent bankruptcy filing, Choi worries his ongoing lawsuit will 
be put on hold and that he’ll never receive compensation for what he 
called overcharged CAM fees. It saddens him that the once-bustling 
shopping center has fallen on hard times and will continue to operate 
under the Ramanujan Group for the foreseeable future. 

“Everyone is so frustrated how degraded this plaza is,” Choi said. “It 
should be a prominent plaza. We're going to be stuck with the same owner.”

The Danville community is also concerned about what will happen with the 
vacancy-plagued mall. Rumors are swirling that the mall could be 
redeveloped into housing, although the city government has said no plans 
for housing have so far been filed.


-- 
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