HOT SPRINGS -- The rescheduled closing for the Majestic Hotel property has been suspended indefinitely over concerns about a Missouri judgment against the incorporator of the owner of the hotel and some of his other corporations, City Attorney Brian Albright said Wednesday.
The Hot Springs Board of Directors voted July 7 to purchase the hotel complex from Park Residences Development LLC for $680,000 and allow the difference between the cash price and the estimated market value of $2.032 million to be considered a donation to the city.
The closing was originally scheduled for Aug. 7, but the owner had requested a delay. The closing was then scheduled for Friday, then tentatively rescheduled for Thursday at Garrison Hassenflu's request, Albright said earlier in the week.
However, late Wednesday, Albright said creditors of Hassenflu and some of his corporations and limited liability companies in Missouri had filed suit earlier this year and received a judgment that placed a lien on those companies.
Albright said he doesn't believe the lien is a proper lien, but the underwriters of the title policy have concerns and the closing was suspended pending the resolution of the judgment.
The city has worked with Park Residences Development LLC for more than a year to clean up the Majestic Hotel property since the "yellow brick building," the oldest structure in the complex, burned on Feb. 27, 2014, and was razed on Feb. 28 and March 1 in the interest of public safety.
State Desk on 08/22/2015