A foreclosure sale scheduled for today for the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront hotel was postponed and then canceled at the request of the lender while the owners of the Downtown hotel continue to try and renegotiate the loan.
U.S. Bank N.A., as trustee for the lenders on the property, filed a motion to cancel the sale because it is “actively negotiating with the borrower on a loan modification,” according to a court filing.
However, the bank also said in the filing it could ask to reschedule the foreclosure sale if negotiations fall apart.
Duval County Circuit Judge Hugh Carithers approved the motion at a hearing Tuesday.
The Hyatt has been owned since 2005 by Oxford Jacksonville Riverfront Hotel LLC, a partnership led by a San Francisco hotel
investment firm called Chartres Lodging Group LLC. But in August 2011, U.S. Bank was awarded a $195.5 million judgment against Oxford Jacksonville.
A foreclosure sale was originally scheduled for January but postponed until today to give the owners time to try and negotiate a loan modification.
Last week, the foreclosure sale was postponed until May 16, but Tuesday’s order canceled the sale altogether.
U.S. Bank’s attorney, James Riley of Rogers Towers, said he understands the loan negotiations are ongoing but he didn’t have any information on the status.
The continuing negotiations have not affected the operations of the 963-room Hyatt, said Dan King, the hotel’s general manager.
“Through this period, the Hyatt is continuing all the day-to-day operations for guests and employees,” he said.
Riley said that a court-appointed receiver, Chad Crandall of Capital Hotel Management, has been overseeing the hotel for the past year.
“Mr. Crandall and Capital Hotel Management have an excellent reputation providing asset management services for high-end hotels and resorts throughout the country. He has been the court-appointed receiver since April 13, 2011, and is doing an excellent job running the hotel,” Riley said in an email.
The hotel originally opened as an Adam’s Mark hotel in 2001 and was owned by the Adam’s Mark chain’s parent company.
Oxford Jacksonville bought the hotel at 225 E. Coastline Drive and 122 S. Newnan St. for $67 million in 2005, according to property records. The hotel was then converted to a Hyatt.
Chartres Lodging, the lead partner, currently has a portfolio of nine U.S. hotels, according to its website.
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