Blair House Suites files for bankruptcy haven
A recent partial renovation was not enough to financially rescue the Blair House Suites.
The boutique hotel, a block east of the Encore tower at 344 E. Desert Inn Road, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection less than a day before its mortgage holder planned to take title on Wednesday. According to court papers, Blair House owner Desert Inn Management Co. will use the legal shield to try to rework a loan that now totals $9.5 million.
As the visitor industry started to recover last year, Blair House management poured $250,000 into freshening the common areas and 46 of the 221 one- and two-bedroom suites. Due to a "significant growth in revenue," according to an affidavit by manager Michael Talbott, the hotel generated operating income in excess of $150,000 during the first five months of this year.
However, negotiations last year with lender 2010-1 CRE Venture LLC to ease the mortgage terms did not produce a deal. 2010-1 CRE is an entity that owns commercial real estate loans from failed banks that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sold two years ago to an affiliate of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Colony Capital LLC. Ironically, Colony surrendered the Las Vegas Hilton to lenders earlier this year.
Foreclosure proceedings were launched against Blair House two years ago by the FDIC a month before selling the loan, but CRE did not move to take possession while both sides tried to negotiate easier repayment terms.
Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at
toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.
