Noteholder wants outsider to take over Holsum Lofts
Holsum Lofts, one of the early private attempts at downtown redevelopment, has run into a financial wall.
The entity holding the mortgage on the office and commercial center filed papers in Clark County District Court late Wednesday to impose a receiver. The loan, with a $6.5 million principal balance, went into default in January 2011 and foreclosure proceedings started in March.
The current noteholder, Holsum Note 231241 LLC, decided to ask for an outside company to take over management after recording its position on June 14. Court records did not identify who owns Holsum Note.
According to project developer and manager Jeffrey LaPour, Holsum Note won a recent online auction for the loan.
Holsum Note contended that the terms of the original loan, made by Goldman Sachs Commercial Mortgage in 2005 for $6.8 million, allowed it to install a receiver without notifying LaPour. He said he had not seen the case.
The loan matured early last year, LaPour said. He said he was current on the monthly payments, although Holsum Note contended he was withholding tenant rent payments, a key component of the lender's collateral.
The court papers included a photo of graffiti on one wall, an example of what Holsum Note called lax management.
"That is absolute garbage," said LaPour. "The property is properly managed. If there was graffiti, it has probably been there only an hour."
The complex is now about one-fourth empty. However, LaPour said a tenant has signed a lease to occupy all the remaining space.
LaPour bought what was the derelict Holsum commercial bakery in 2003, then renovated it into what has become offices, design studios and a restaurant at 231 W. Charleston Blvd. Although it has only 46,600 square feet and 19 units, it gained attention because it brought an urban feel and preserved the facade of a Las Vegas institution dating to the 1950s at a time when many other developers would not look twice at downtown.
Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.
