Balboa Inn Owners File for Chapter 11

Owners of the Balboa Inn, a fixture on the sands of Newport Beach since 1929, have filed for bankruptcy protection and say they may put the hotel up for sale later this week.

The 34-room inn, which remains open, is owned by a group of investors that consists of the general partner, Griswold Development Corp., and 11 limited partners including basketball stars Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Ralph Sampson.

In a recent filing in federal bankruptcy court in Santa Ana, Griswold asked for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which keeps a company’s creditors at bay while it tries to work out a plan to pay its bills.

The filing listed liabilities of $5.7 million and assets of $6.1 million to $6.8 million, depending on the value of the hotel. Secured creditors include Lloyd’s Bank, holder of a promissory note for $2.6 million, and the Chein Shan Wang family of Anaheim.