StoryBuilt’s collapse is dragging into its third year, and the selloff meant to clean up the infill housing developer’s balance sheet has barely moved the needle.
More than half the company’s assets are unsold, leaving investors with little clarity on whether they’ll recover funds from what was once billed as a $2 billion pipeline, the Austin Business Journal reported.
The drawn-out process was detailed in a recent receivership update from Stapleton Group, the Los Angeles firm overseeing the wind-down.
StoryBuilt — legally PSW Real Estate — entered voluntary receivership in August 2023 after lawsuits from investors and condo owners piled up and the firm axed more than 100 employees. At the time, the receiver put the entire development pipeline on the market.
Two years later, the picture is bleak.
The receiver determined that the widely touted $2 billion valuation never reflected reality, and that “overly optimistic” financial data from stakeholders overstated the value of projects across the company’s holdings.
As a result, expectations of a clean resolution have evaporated, and the update makes clear that full financial recovery for StoryBuilt or its investors is unlikely.
Some projects have been shed through foreclosure, while others were revived long enough to finish construction and sell.
But StoryBuilt’s interests in 14 joint ventures across Texas, Colorado and Washington state have proven nearly impossible to monetize. Many joint venture agreements gave partners sweeping control over operations — including the ability to remove StoryBuilt as manager — which chilled outside interest. Those arrangements, the receiver noted, were “unfavorable” and left the firm with minority positions buyers don’t want to inherit.
As of Aug. 31, StoryBuilt held stakes in just two active developments, down from 13 when the portfolio first hit the market in late 2023. One is North Bluff in South Austin, where construction restarted and all condos had sold by the end of August. The other is Jolene, a West Dallas mixed-use project once envisioned to hold 800 homes and retail; that site still carries more than $46 million in secured debt. No update was provided on its progress.
The receivership has generated about $18.7 million in revenue from sales, paying off nearly $14 million in secured debt tied to completed projects. Altogether, roughly $21.1 million has been returned to creditors since late 2023, though the total amount owed is murky.
With 14 joint ventures still tied up in long development timelines, Stapleton is now in the second phase of a receivership that could stretch for years. The final outcome hinges on whether those stakes can be sold, bought out or simply held until the projects eventually deliver.
— Eric Weilbacher
Read more
StoryBuilt co-founder fires back at receiver in new lawsuit
StoryBuilt still has 19 stakes to settle
StoryBuilt receiver pins company’s failure on former execs in lawsuit
Firm that wanted StoryBuilt receivership tries to end it
