The unfinished condominium-hotel on Fort Lauderdale Beach once slated to bear the Donald Trump name will be sold in a foreclosure auction March 14, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
New York-based developer SB Hotel Associates planned to develop a $200 million, 298-unit Trump International Hotel & Tower at the site, at 551 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard. More than 100 people put down 20 percent deposits to buy units, which ranged from $500,000 to more than $3 million each.
But lender Corus Construction Venture, which acquired the initial $139 million building loan from failed Corus Bank, filed to foreclose on SB Hotel in March 2010. The bankruptcy judge that ordered the auction ruled that SB Hotel owed more than $165 million to the debt-holders.
Many of the buyers have sued to recoup their money, which went into building the hotel, according to Joseph Altschul, an attorney representing purchasers of 52 units.
Beacuse of the complicated litigation surrounding the buyers, the new group of debt holders and the bankruptcy, the Sun Sentinel speculated that whoever stepped up to acquire the property would likely finish it as a traditional hotel. Trump is no longer associated with the property. [Sun-Sentinel]