It was a mere six months ago that the Standard-Examiner delivered optimistic Emerald City economic development news, with the announcement that a Las Vegas investor had acquired the venerable Ben Lomond Hotel. Ian Dixon, president of UIG Resorts reportedly intended to renovate the Ben Lomond’s lobby, install an upscale restaurant, convert existing commercial space into 147 condominiums, and ultimately build a 200-room tower near the hotel’s parking garage.
What a difference six months (and an economic recession) make. The Std-Ex reports this morning that Dixon's ambitious project, or at least a portion of it, is headed for the auction block:
OGDEN — A notice of default on a $5.3 million bank loan has been filed against a corporation that owns condominiums and suites within the historic Ben Lomond Hotel.We had a fairly robust discussion on the this topic back in January, in which a number of our gentle readers expressed reservations about the wisdom of launching another hotel project in the Ogden market, where existing hotels already seemed to be struggling with low occupancy rates. On top of that, a few of our readers expressed concerns about the financial capacity of UIG, whose sole apparant assets appeared to be limited to a website, some undeveloped acreage in Paraguay and the Phillippines, and a vague business plan emphasising mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and... get this... web design.
The notice filed with the Weber County Recorder’s Office indicates 2510 Washington LLC is in default because it has failed to make monthly installment payments to Financial Freedom Loans Inc.
Information was unavailable Wednesday regarding whether foreclosure on the Ben Lomond is imminent. Timothy W. Blackburn, an Ogden attorney representing Financial Freedom Loans, was out of the office.
The notice doesn’t detail whether the default involves all of the hotel and doesn’t list the principal owners of 2510 Washington LLC.
It’s unclear whether the entire Ben Lomond is owned by a single corporation or multiple individuals, said Tom Christopulos, the city’s business development manager
According to this morning's story, this is one of the few downtown development projects that hasn't been on the public dole, so this doesn't appear to be a project where taxpayer dollars are at risk. Nevertheless, the apparent failure of this project piques our curiosity, and we're curious about what happened here, as a highly ambitious privately-financed developer seems to have hit the terminal skids.
Was Mr. Dixon and his company simply hamstrung by the tight credit market, which has existed since at least March of 2007? Did Mr. Dixon make the original puchase on the basis of flawed due diligence, learning only after acquiring the property that The Godfrey Vision wasn't quite the "hot real estate ticket" that had been portrayed by the administration? Did Mr. Dixon lack the financial capacity to pull off such an ambitious project in the first place, as several of our readers suggested? Did Mr. Dixon acquire his ownership interest in the property merely as a short-term play, with the intention of "flipping" it for a quick profit, once the newly-sworn in Boss Godfrey, secure in his third four year mayoral term of office, set forth to work his high adventure destination magic? Does this latest story development have anything to do with gondolas... or lack of gondolas?
We realize these questions all call for plenty of speculation, since today's story is a mite thin on the facts. And in the next few days, time permitting, we plan to mosey on down to the County Recorder's office to find out who's really in title... and whose property interests are truly at stake.
In the meantime however, we invite you all to put on your thinking caps, and offer your own insights at to what may be happening at the Ben Lomond Hotel.
And if any of you are privy to additional facts to add to the discussion, we'd love to hear about them.
Comments, anyone?
