The World Class-controlled company that owns the Offices at Braker filed for chapter 11 protection on May 2, just days after a subsidiary of Karlin Real Estate scooped up the senior mortgage loan tied to the properties, the Austin Business Journal reported. The properties, owned by Nate Paul's World Class Holdings through an entity called WC Braker Portfolio LLC, are part of the sprawling North Austin office park near the intersection of Metric Boulevard and West Braker Lane in North Austin. Karlin's involvement adds an additional layer of intrigue, as the Los Angeles-based development firm has feuded in the past with World Class and is increasingly invested in the Texas capital. The WC Braker portfolio consists of nearly 45 acres valued for tax purposes at roughly $163 million, according to Travis Central Appraisal District records. It includes 13 single-story office buildings comprising 546,823 rentable square feet, according to court documents recently filed in New York. The true value of the properties could far exceed the taxable value. Legal disputes have been fought over the Braker portfolio since at least 2019. World Class is an Austin-based real estate investment firm that owns prominent development sites across the city. The embattled firm has faced a series of lawsuits, bankruptcies and foreclosures in the wake of a 2019 raid of its headquarters by federal investigators. No charges have resulted from the raid.
