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Old Posted Mar 8, 2012, 9:53 PM
HX_Guy HX_Guy is offline
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Quote:
Hotel Monroe deal to bring in boutique property nearly sealed
Phoenix Business Journal by Jan Buchholz, Reporter
Date: Thursday, March 8, 2012, 1:51pm MST


A deal to turn the Hotel Monroe into a boutique hotel is nearly finalized. The property has languished for several years following the bankruptcy of Mortgages Ltd.

The proposed Hotel Monroe in downtown Phoenix that never really got off the ground will become a boutique hotel after all. That’s assuming that a sale of the property — a former bank building built in 1931 — to Evergreen Devco Inc. goes through as planned. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Randolph Haines gave the OK today for ML Manager to sell the vacant property to Evergreen for $7 million.
Evergreen, which has offices in Phoenix and Glendale, Calif., has built a strong reputation for developing neighborhood shopping centers and building retail stores such as Walgreens and Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets. They’ve also done residential community work.
The Phoenix Business Journal has a call out to Evergreen for comment.
According to Mark Winkleman, chief operating officer for ML Manager, Evergreen plans to redevelop the former Valley Trust Bank Building at Central Avenue and Monroe Street as a boutique hotel, just as the original developers envisioned. This time, however, Winkleman is confident Evergreen will see it through.
“These guys are capable of doing a very cool project,” Winkleman said outside the court room.
Grace Communities, a now defunct Scottsdale developer, acquired the 157,000-square-foot building in 2007 and began the remodeling process with a $27 million loan from Phoenix commercial lender Mortgages Ltd. The money ran out in 2008, and Mortgages Ltd. was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization by several unhappy borrowers. Grace Communities was unable to find alternative financing in the midst of the turmoil and stopped construction.
When Mortgages Ltd. emerged from bankruptcy, it was renamed ML Manager LLC with the mission to administer the company’s portfolio of loans and foreclose on non-performing loans.
The would-be Hotel Monroe fell into that category, and ML Manager took possession of it. For the past couple of years, Winkleman has been trying to market the property and even had some near-miss deals. Part of the problem is ongoing issues with the original contractor and outstanding liens. Some of those issues still need to be resolved in Maricopa Superior Court, and thus the pending sale will have an extended escrow, Winkleman said.
“We had a number of offers, but this was deemed the best,” he said.
The 12-story building has been vacant since Grace Communities terminated construction and largely exposed to the elements, but at last check the marble floors have been covered with thick cardboard. The ornate brass elevator doors and molding have survived, as well. The architect of record was Morgan, Walls & Clements, a highly acclaimed California firm in the early 20th century. The style of architecture is influenced by modern Los Angeles designs. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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