Troubled Blackhawk Plaza ‘likely' going up for sale, court files show
DANVILLE — Blackhawk Plaza, located in a wealthy enclave next to Danville, is “likely” to be sold, although other financial remedies are being evaluated.
Ramanujan Group, the center’s primary owner, has already filed for bankruptcy.
Two different lenders, Preferred Bank and Nano Banc, provided loans to help finance the property, Contra Costa County public documents show. Unsuccessful attempts to pay back those loans could force the property’s foreclosure
The Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, foreclosure threats and a shrinking tenant base that includes the loss of Draeger’s Market this year have left Blackhawk Plaza with an uncertain future.
Howard Grobstein, a principal executive with Grobstein Teeple LLC, whose expertise includes providing receivership services and restructuring insolvent companies, has begun looking into Blackhawk Plaza, he stated in court papers.
“I am in the early stages of evaluating whether to refinance or sell the property,” Grobstein stated in an April 22 filing with the bankruptcy court. “Based on my professional experience, I believe that a sale is the most likely outcome.”
Even though Ramanujan Group filed a Chapter 11 proceeding to attempt to reorganize its finances, the case could only delay foreclosures by the banks, not actually prevent the forced sale of the property.
The Chapter 11 filing stated that Ramanujan Group’s total business is a single real estate asset, Blackhawk Plaza.
The two banks that are expected to wind up as major creditors in the case provided loans to the Blackhawk Plaza owner over a period of a few years, county documents show.
In 2020, Preferred Bank provided a $28 million loan, Contra Costa County real estate county records show. In 2023, the bank added a second loan totaling $3 million.
In 2024, Blackhawk Plaza landed $5 million in funding from Nano Banc.
All told, Ramanujan Group, which is led by business executive Deba Shyam, received $36 million through the three loans, county documents show.
Ramanujan Group owes unpaid property taxes of about $657,600 in addition to the delinquent real estate loans, according to Grobstein, who has been appointed by an Orange County court to manage Ramanujan Group.
The bankruptcy proceedings have emerged at a time when Ramanujan Group is tangled in a web of failed loans in Southern California that have engulfed multiple banks and delinquent properties.
Blackhawk Plaza had an “as-is” market value of $57.4 million in 2023, as determined by an appraisal conducted by Nano Bank, a bankruptcy court filing showed.
That appraisal, however, was conducted before Draeger’s departure. It wasn’t clear whether the appraisal took into account the sudden exit of a Century Theaters movie complex at Blackhawk Plaza in December 2022.
“As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the debtor (Ramanujan Group) lost a significant number of tenants that it has been unable to replace” at Blackhawk Plaza, Grobstein stated in court papers.
The departure of tenants unleashed a cascade of financial complications, court files show.
“The vacancies and corresponding revenue reduction interfered with Ramanujan Group's ability to make regular payments on its secured obligations,” Grobstein stated, referring to the now-delinquent loans.
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This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 10:48 AM.