A company created to build two Tempe high-rise condo towers, Tempe Land Co., filed for bankruptcy on Friday. But developers said the project’s first tower will still open next spring.

The company, a limited liability company that developer Avenue Communities created to build the Centerpoint Condominiums, also filed a lawsuit against Mortgages Ltd., Arizona’s largest private lender, which provided financing for the condo towers, according to a news release from the developer.

The two towers are under construction near Mill Avenue in downtown Tempe.

Avenue Communities did not return calls for comment by deadline. Attorneys for Mortgages Ltd. could not be reached by deadline.

According to the news release, Mortgages Ltd. defaulted on a loan agreement of about $150 million to finance the Centerpoint project.

Tempe Land Co. filed for bankruptcy in order to find new funding for the project’s construction, the release stated.

Construction started on the project in 2005 but was stalled in late 2007 when Mortgages Ltd. began to default on the loan agreement, the release stated.

According to the release, Centerpoint Condominiums has $22 million in presale commitments and is expected to open its first tower in spring 2009 and a retail level during the summer.

Reach the reporter at matt.culbertson@asu.edu.