Looky-Loos Descend on Bankrupt Baldwin Cos.

Several major home building companies reportedly have voiced interest in acquiring parts of bankrupt Baldwin Cos. real estate empire after reviewing the company’s land holdings.

The deadline for bidding on the Newport Beach builder’s properties--put on the block several months ago in the hope of raising cash to help pay off more than $245 million in debt--expired last week.

But interest in more than 5,000 acres controlled by brothers Alfred and James Baldwin, much of it in southern San Diego County’s Otay Mesa area, reportedly has been lukewarm at best, sources said Friday.

None of the proposals received were very specific, said one of the attorneys involved in efforts to market the company’s land. And hopes of getting one bid for everything were never realized. The attorney would not identify the bidders.

The land, including lots in Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura and San Diego counties, is being marketed through a so-called war room in the Newport Beach office of industry consultant E.Y. Kenneth Leventhol.

In recent weeks, sources said, representatives of most of the large home builders in the country have trooped through the war room. But most were either looking for land at giveaway prices or were put off by the complexities of dealing with the Baldwin Cos. financial situation. Most of the land is pledged as security for loans and any land purchases have to be approved by the Bankruptcy Court.

According to papers filed in court this week, the Baldwin Cos. and its creditors and chief lenders will meet later this month to discuss the proposals.

The company, which is supposed to file its financial recovery plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court at the end of the month, has asked for an extension until April 29 to give it time to handle any land sales that might be agreed to.