Eli Pace / epace@skyhinews.com
The lender who filed a judicial foreclosure against Granby Ranch wants to adjust the filing and take on management of operations.
Documents obtained by the Sky-Hi News reveal that lender Granby Prentice motioned on Feb. 12 to halt further proceedings for the judicial foreclosure filed in January against Granby Realty Holdings. The other filing, a protective order submitted Feb. 21, outlines Granby Prentice’s plans for the future management of Granby Ranch.
The amenities at Granby Ranch, including ski and golf operations, are owned by Granby Realty Holdings, leased by Headwaters Metropolitan District and managed by Granby Ranch Amenities for now.
According to the document, Headwaters issued a request for proposals for new operators to take over Granby Ranch Amenities in June 2018. At the time, no party had responded and the deadline had been repeatedly extended.
Granby Prentice claims that Granby Ranch Amenities told both the lender and receiver that it would continue to operate amenities through April 15 and that arrangements should be made for a new operator after that date.
To ensure continued operations, Granby Prentice said it formed affiliate entity, GP Granby Amenities Holdings, and hired a consultant, Ridgeline Executive Group.
Ridgeline is a Boulder based LLC and was incorporated Feb. 19, just two days before the lender’s filing. Andrew Wirth signed the protective order as co-founder of Ridgeline.
Wirth is well known in the ski industry, most recently as the president and CEO of Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, the parent company of Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts. He also held multiple leadership roles at Steamboat Ski Resort.
The protective order asks for confidential documents from Granby Ranch Amenities that would only be available to Ridgeline to help with the proposal for management. At the same time, Granby Prentice is changing its foreclosure strategy.
The initial complaint asked both for the court to appoint a receiver for Granby Realty Holdings and for a judicial foreclosure. The motion to stay would only be for the judicial foreclosure and would keep the receiver through the completion of the proceedings.
What makes this move unusual is that, on the day Granby Prentice filed a judicial foreclosure, the company also filed a non-judicial foreclosure with the Grand County public trustee.
“At the time of filing the verified complaint, Granby Prentice had not yet determined its preferred course for foreclosing on the property,” the motion said.
A judicial foreclosure is a civil lawsuit against the borrower handled by the court, while a non-judicial foreclosure in Colorado does not go through the courts and is handled by the county’s public trustee, who processes the sale of the foreclosure.
At the time, Public Trustee Christina Whitmer said she returned the filing because of the complex nature of the case and inaccuracies contained within the filing. Whitmer said that the courts are better to handle foreclosure cases like Granby Ranch’s, which includes five deeds of trust, multiple amendments, assignments and releases.
The motion said that Granby Prentice is working to finalize the documents necessary to begin a non-judicial foreclosure, which the lender said should be finalized in the coming weeks.
Non-judicial foreclosures make for an expedited process. A deed in lieu of foreclosure remains possible in the meantime, in which the owner would surrender the property and avoid proceedings.
The attorney for the Granby Board of Trustees said it’s possible for the foreclosure to be resolved by summer if it continues down the non-judicial route.