By Michael Bradwell

Business editor

mbradwell@observer-reporter.com

A spokesman for JCPenney Co. said late Wednesday that the company is closely monitoring the temporary closure of two other retailers at The Foundry shopping center because of soil movement, but plans to remain open.

Meanwhile, it was learned Thursday that the developer of The Foundry project has filed for bankruptcy protection and that the local project and nine others are now under ownership of the private equity firm that had loaned money to the developer.

JCPenney spokesman Tim Lyons said in a telephone message that the company, based in Plano, Texas, has been monitoring its Foundry store and sent a structural engineer to check the building Wednesday.

"We've had engineers out there, we've been monitoring the soil situation on an ongoing basis for a while," Lyons said. "It hasn't affected our store to the point where we're considering taking any extraordinary measures as our neighbor has done."

JCPenney, which is the anchor at The Foundry, opened its 100,000-square-foot store on March 9, 2007.

Earlier this week, Penney's neighbors, Bed Bath & Beyond and Ross Dress-for-Less, which opened in April 2007, announced they were temporarily closing their stores because of soil movement beneath the foundation.

Neither store gave any indication how long it would remain closed.

Bari Fagin, spokeswoman for Bed Bath & Beyond in Farmingdale, N.Y., said Thursday afternoon that the company was still evaluating the situation.

While the evaluations proceed, Premier Properties USA Inc. is moving through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, meaning that the company is seeking to reorganize itself.

In its recent bankruptcy filing, the Indianapolis company listed 20 creditors that are owed more than $2.8 million.

Among the creditors is Langholz Wilson Ellis Inc. of Pittsburgh, which helped Premier secure retailers for The Foundry. According to the documents, Langholz Wilson is owed $308,521.

The listing of creditors owed money did not include millions of dollars in unpaid bills connected to specific properties in Indiana, as well as projects in several other states that the company no longer controls.

Henry Efroymson, an Indianapolis attorney, said Thursday that Dominion Capital, a private equity firm from Atlanta, Ga., that had loaned substantial amounts to Premier Properties for 10 of Premier's limited-liability corporations, including The Foundry LLC, now owns the properties through the various LLCs.

Several newspapers have reported that Premier and its founder, Christopher P. White, face numerous lawsuits alleging unpaid bills, defaulted loans and check fraud, with most of the problems stemming from credit market turmoil that began last year and made it difficult to obtain credit.

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