A prominent downtown property slated for a 46-story Ritz Carlton Nashville tower has been sold in a foreclosure auction after the developer allegedly stopped making payments to the bank.
R Squared Properties LLC of Washington bought the triangular-shaped 1.2-acre lot at 727 Korean Veterans Boulevard for $35 million on Thursday, according to the deed filed with Davidson County Register’s office.
The property was sold to the “highest bidder for cash” at Metro Nashville Courthouse on Thursday morning, the deed states. The sale price is the same amount the site sold for in March 2020 — $35 million.
R Squared officials did not immediately respond to requests about whether they will continue with development plans for the Ritz hotel.
Seller RC Nashville Development Partners, led by Timothy J. Morris, was sued for defaulting on a $10 million construction loan by Oakworth Capital Bank, the financiers for the original Ritz project. A U.S. Magistrate Judge said on April 1 that the defendants continue to fail to adequately respond to legal filings.
“RC Nashville has not filed an answer,” Judge Barbara D. Holmes wrote. “Although Morris filed a letter on behalf of himself and RC Nashville that could be construed as an answer to the complaint, RC Nashville can only appear in this case through a licensed attorney because it is a limited liability corporation.”
Ritz Carlton Nashville plans stalled shortly after they were announced
Plans announced in 2021 were to build a $585 million hotel and condominium tower filled with upscale design and amenities.
Morris told The Tennessean at the time that he was inspired by the success of Four Seasons Nashville.
“They came in as trailblazers,” Morris said. “They established the fact that people would pay the prices they’re paying for that type of luxuries and that brand and amenities.”
However, trouble surfaced in 2022 when construction was delayed due to financing challenges.
In October 2023, Oakworth Capital Bank filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee alleging that Morris and his RC Nashville Development Partners failed to make payments on a $10 million line of credit.
In court documents, Morris said he was beset by difficult economic conditions including high inflation and post-Covid supply chain interruptions.
“It seems only fair to a layman like me that (Oakworth Capital Bank) can take the deed in lieu of foreclosure, sell the property, a course of action I would fully support,” Morris wrote the court. “Plaintiff would be made more than 100% whole financially based on the purported value of the property.”
Morris faces numerous lawsuits
Developer Tim Morris has found himself at the center of several lawsuits regarding his business dealings.
Morris is principal of M2 Development Partners and RC Nashville Development Partners, which was also sued for allegedly failing to make payments on a $10 million loan.
In a separate suit, Oakworth Capital also alleges Morris failed to make payments on a $5.3 million loan for a project he is working on in Washington, D.C.
On April 1, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara D. Holmes ruled in favor of Oakworth that Morris was in default of his loan payments for that case.
“Although Morris has made some filings in this case, he failed to follow the Court’s instruction in its February 15 order to respond to the motion for entry of default,” Holmes wrote in her order. “Morris’ disregard of the Court’s order justifies entry of default against him.”
In January, real estate development company The Bradley Projects filed a suit against Morris and Patterson Street, LP, alleging the defendants failed to pay back a promissory note totaling $218,750. According to the lawsuit, the payment was due in full Dec. 31, 2023.
M2, Morris and RC Nashville are listed as defendants in another suit filed in December by office building Fifth+ Broadway in downtown Nashville. According to the complaint, M2 and RC, of which Morris is the guarantor, failed to make rent payments to the office owner. The plaintiff is seeking $184,955.46 plus additional damages and interest to be determined at trial.
A famous boutique hotel built in 1820 along Main Street on Mackinac Island has a new owner.
The Harbour View Inn, located at 6860 Main St., near Sainte Anne’s Catholic Church, has been purchased by Jon and Lauren Cotton, of Grosse Pointe, the parties involved announced Wednesday.
The selling price was not disclosed.
This latest acquisition brings to a total of five historic hotels and two waterfront restaurants in northern Michigan purchased by the Cotton family since 2020.
“As longtime residents of Michigan, my family and I have visited the island many times and understand the importance of these historic hotels to the future of Mackinac Island,” Jon Cotton said in a news release. “I am excited to honor the history and tradition of the Harbour View Inn.”
Jon Cotton is former president and chief operating officer of Meridian Health Plan Michigan.
He and his wife “look forward to planning and curating the appropriate building renovations and landscape for this iconic hotel so that it will continue providing the highest level of service and best guest experience possible well into the future,” the release said.
Elected officials on the island, along with year-round residents, support protecting the historic feel as properties with multigenerational owners transition out, according to longtime Mayor Margaret Doud, who has been reelected every election cycle since 1975. She operates the Windermere Hotel on Mackinac Island, which is across the street from the Hotel Iroquois.
The island is known as a haven for hikers, runners and families who enjoy an automobile-free environment that depends on horse-drawn carriages and bicycles exclusively.
Hotel Investment Services of Troy will continue managing Harbour View, as it also manages Hotel Iroquois. “There is tremendous opportunity to build upon the excellent reputation this hotel has established over the years and to continue to honor its historic importance,” CEO Ron Wilson said in the news release.
What is now an 86-room hotel was used as a summer cottage into the 1990s, Sam Barnwell, chief development officer for Hotel Investment Services, told the Detroit Free Press. His family sold the Hotel Iroquois at 7485 Main St. on Mackinac Island to the Cotton family in 2020.
“These are unique historic hotels that offer what northern Michigan is really known for, and why everyone comes here,” Barnwell told the Free Press. “This is lodging with an identity.”
The Harbour View property was owned by Karen Pulte of Naples, Florida, widow of housing developer Bill Pulte, and his daughter and son-in-law, Katie and Timothy Moskalik, of Mullett Lake. The family, including grandson Bill Pulte, has longtime ties to business and philanthropy in Michigan.
Harbour View Inn is a legend on the island, having been built by Magdelaine (Marcot) Laframboise, a successful fur trader and granddaughter of the Odawa chief Kewinaquot. She grew up in the Odawa village along the Grand River at Grand Haven and was baptized in 1786 at Sainte Anne’s Church on the island, according to Mackinac history assembled by Keith R. Widder and cited on the Michigan State Parks website.
Laframboise, a women of Odawa and French-Canadian descent born in 1780, left a legacy of leadership on the island during the first half of the 19th century and caring for the poor, according to historical accounts.
Her former homestead has been the site of weddings and summer vacations for more than a quarter of a century. It is tucked among other grand cottages and mansions and consists of four buildings including Bill’s Grill restaurant.
Late last year, Lauren and Jon Cotton purchased five properties from Stafford Hospitality: The Bay View Inn in Bay View, The Perry Hotel in Petoskey, The Crooked River Lodge in Alanson, The Pier Restaurant in Harbor Springs, The Weathervane in Charlevoix and The Noggin Room Pub in Petoskey.
Bay View, located at the tip of the Mitten that’s known for its Victorian homes, is on the National Register of Historic Places. And, like its neighbor to the north ― Mackinac Island ― prime tourism season in Bay View also runs April/May through October.
Mackinac Island continues to see increased travel since its “absolutely crazy” revenue record set in 2021, as cruise ships now unload passengers with some frequency. Hotel rooms have already sold out for the 100th consecutive 2024 Bayview Mackinac Race from Port Huron to Mackinac Island in July.
The Inn at Stonecliffe reopens this year after spending $30 million on renovations. In recent years, new owners of the iconic Grand Hotel spent $10 million on refurbishing the property, including rooms, a new pool, slide and cabanas. Then they spent another $8 million on a nature center and miniature golf.
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More:Mackinac Island gets new restaurant on Main Street honoring old Michigan family
Contact Phoebe Wall Howard:313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com.Follow her on Twitter@phoebesaid.