In the wake of a foreclosure action, the Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk Hotel property is scheduled to be sold at a Duval County public auction in January.
Miami Beach-based GECMC 2007-C1 Prudential Drive LLC filed a notice of sale Nov. 16 that, pursuant to a final judgment of foreclosure Nov. 9, the property will be sold to the highest bidder for cash at 11 a.m. Jan. 26 on the Duval County Clerk of Court website, www.duval.realforeclose.com.
GECMC’s manager is LNR Partners LLC, based in Miami Beach. A call for comment to LNR was not returned by deadline.
GECMC (GE Commercial Mortgage Corp.) filed the action against Riverwalk Hotels LLC, based in Miami, and several other individuals and corporations.
Riverwalk Hotels’ manager is Riverwalk SGB Management Inc., whose president is Miami lawyer Stevan Pardo. Pardo did not respond to a request for comment.
Wyndham General Manager Donald Harris did not return a call for comment. Harris, a Jacksonville hotel management veteran, said in September he had been named to the Wyndham position three months earlier.
The final foreclosure judgment in Circuit Court states that GECMC is owed almost $34.1 million and that the plaintiff holds a lien for the total sum, constituting a first mortgage lien and security interest that “is superior” to any other rights, interests or claims by others.
The $34.1 million includes a principal balance of almost $25.9 million as well as other fees, expenses and interest.
The final foreclosure judgment shows that GECMC is owed $3.9 million in accrued interest from June 1, 2009, through the date of the judgment and accrued default interest from July 1, 2009, of $3.1 million.
It isn’t the first auction announced for the property. In September, California-based Auction.com announced it would sell more than 325 nonperforming notes and commercial real estate owned properties in the Southeast, including the Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk.
The online auction of the Wyndham concluded Oct. 6. After an opening bid of $3 million, the latest bid posted the morning the auction concluded was $3.25 million.
An Auction.com representative said in October the organization does not disclose the name of the buyer. A representative did not return emails asking for the status of that sale.
The Wyndham was developed in 1980 along the Southbank of the St. Johns River as a Sheraton, rebranded as a Radisson and converted to a Wyndham in 2006.
It is described on its website as a full-service, five-story hotel with 323 rooms and two restaurants. It includes a conference center of more than 30,000 square feet, features 25 meeting rooms and a 10,000-square-foot ballroom.
It also has a roof-top ballroom with a veranda.
Property records show that Riverwalk Hotels LLC bought the property in February 2001 for $21.05 million. Records show that for 2011, the property has a land value of $6.3 million, a market value of $9.2 million and an assessed taxable value of $8.8 million.
The lawyer for GECMC is listed on the notice of sale as Jeremy Sahn with Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP in Miami. The firm directed questions to LNR.
Duval County records show that in a foreclosure case from Jan. 27, 2010, GECMC claims Riverwalk Hotels LLC defaulted on its loan involving the Wyndham Jacksonville Riverwalk by failure to make a payment July 1, 2009.
GECMC was the last in a long line of lenders for the Southbank property. GE Commercial Mortgage Group gained possession of the note when U.S. Bank assigned it to GE Nov. 16, 2009.
Notice of the Wyndham property auction follows reports in September that U.S. Bank filed a public notice with the Circuit Court that it will sell the property occupied by the Hyatt Downtown in a public auction Jan. 11.
The 963-room waterfront Hyatt is the largest Downtown hotel and the newest built along the St. Johns River. The Northbank property, then the Adam’s Mark hotel, hosted the 2005 Super Bowl and served as NFL headquarters.
The Northbank hotel continues its day-to-day operations.
“Through this period, the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville is continuing all its usual day-to-day operations for guests and employees, accepting guests and holding meetings,” said General Manager Dan King in September.
“Hyatt has a long-term agreement to operate the hotel, and we do not foresee any changes to that agreement. We look forward to welcoming guests and hosting successful events here in Jacksonville for years to come,” King concluded.
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