A lender on The Aspen Club project recently filed court papers saying if refinancing is not completed by today, it will foreclose on the property Wednesday.
Foreclosing party GPIF holds the $45 million loan on which it claims The Aspen Club owes nearly $11 million. Pitkin County District Judge Chris Seldin, in February 2018, signed an order allowing the Pitkin County public trustee to sell The Aspen Club at a foreclosure auction.
That ruling led to the Pitkin County Treasurer’s Office setting March 7, 2018, as the foreclosure date. Wednesday represents one year from the original sale date, and by law the matter must be settled within a year or the foreclosure process is halted, according to Sydney Tofany, Pitkin County’s chief deputy treasurer and deputy public trustee.
Aspen Club President Michael Fox, however, said Friday the foreclosure sale will be postponed again. Calls to attorneys for The Aspen Club and the attorneys for GPIF Aspen and another lender, Revere High Yield Fund, were not returned last week.
“We’re close,” Fox said. “I know I’ve been saying that forever, but we are as close as we’ve been.”
Meantime, the general contractor on The Aspen Club’s mostly stalled redevelopment project, PCL Construction, is making a run at foreclosure through Pitkin County District Court.
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In that case, PCL Construction Services Inc. is trying to foreclose on a $17.7 million lien it filed against The Aspen Club on Sept. 26. Dozens of subcontractors also are party to the suit; elsewhere, more than $24 million in mechanics’ liens have stacked up against The Aspen Club and PCL Construction.
In the PCL suit, most of the parties have agreed to asking a judge for summary judgment.
On Feb. 22, both GPIF Aspen and Revere, which are parties to the suit, filed motions seeking more time to respond to the motions seeking summary judgment, which is when a judge is asked to make a final ruling on the dispute without going to trial.
“GPIF has been advised the closing on the refinancing of the property which is the subject matter of this action is scheduled for March 4, 2018,” GPIF Aspen’s motion states, noting the lawsuit dispute will be moot if The Aspen Club receives refinancing because it will satisfy all of the mechanics’ liens.
The motion continues, “If the closing does not occur, GPIF will proceed with its public trustee on the sale of the property, which is now scheduled for March 6, 2019.”
Revere’s motion, similar in language, also notes that it “is informed that prior to its … (foreclosure sale, if it happens) Aspen Club Redevelopment Company LLC will file a Chapter 11 proceeding which will stay this case.”
Fox, however, expressed confidence that neither the foreclosure nor bankruptcy scenarios will unfold this week.
“We’re excited to get this closed and get back to business,” he said, noting the subcontractors and creditors will be paid so that the construction work will resume in April.
On Dec. 28, a newly formed limited liability company, Aspen Club Partners LLC, submitted a form with the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing equity financing of $40 million. Fox said Aspen Club Partners still remains in the picture.
“Our equity partners are very strong and add value,” he said.
The Aspen Club project — remodeling work on a 40,000-square-foot Aspen Club & Spa building, as well as a 54,000-square-foot lodge with 20 timeshares, and another 13,600 square feet for 12 multi-family, affordable-housing units — came to a near halt in late August 2017. That’s when multiple contractors withdrew from the job because they had not been paid for their labor and materials.