Halsey Minor, owner of the Landmark Hotel on the Downtown Mall, has hired a new developer to finish what he started more than four years ago.
The chosen man is Tim Dixon, who was recently named Hotelier of the Year by the Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association, and whose Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee was named Boutique Hotel of the Year for the second consecutive year.
“Tim and I think exactly alike,” said Minor in an interview. “When I walked into his hotel, I already knew that he was the guy." He says that he and Dixon share a vision of how a hotel should function: "Basically, what he believes, and what I believe and what is the core of everything that he does, is that a hotel experience tells a story and it has to be a part of the community."
Since construction halted on the Landmark Hotel, Minor has spent a fair deal of his time in court. Minor’s company, Minor Family Hotels LLC, won $4.2 million in damages and $2.2 in legal fees from the Landmark’s former developer, Lee Danielson, after an arbitration hearing favored Minor. Last September, Minor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to consolidate multiple hotel lawsuits into a single venue. According to Richard Maxwell, Minor’s attorney, a judge in federal bankruptcy court gave Minor until January 13 to submit a reorganization plan to keep his hotel plans alive.
More after the photo.
The Landmark Hotel sits half-built on the Downtown Mall.
According to Maxwell, Dixon testified before the bankruptcy court about the development of his own boutique hotel in Milwaukee, about the current state of the industry and his vision for the Landmark. “He testified that he would be able to have a plan by January 13 and secure financing by that time,” said Maxwell.
The Landmark Hotel has sat unfinished and exposed to the elements since 2008. Minor, however, doesn’t seem worried.
“As it turns out, the actual building itself is in perfect condition,” he said. “We went in and a lot of people have wondered, including us, have there been problems? It’s concrete, some exposed, and even the air conditioners are designed to be exposed.”
Minor said Dixon might change the hotel’s layout to be more in line with his aesthetic, but the last major hurdle is securing financing.
“The problem from a financing standpoint is that most of the financing is going to buying bankrupt hotels for less money. There is very little money going to ground-up [hotels],” he said. Minor added that with the combination of the money he will put in, Dixon’s reputation and background and the minimal amount of debt needed to finish the hotel, “it’s our hope that one of the Charlottesville banks would step up and, for what is a pretty low risk opportunity, get some very good publicity from the community for helping to finish this thing."
Meanwhile, the bank that originally financed the Landmank Hotel, Atlanta-based Silverton Bank, has run into problems of its own. Last month, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) filed a $71 million lawsuit against Silverton in order to minimize its losses after the bank was taken over by the FDIC in 2009.
In the suit, the FDIC argues that Silverton’s officials spent millions on lavish retreats and a corporate jet. Specialty Finance Group (SFG), a subsidiary of Silverton Bank, gave Minor a $23.6 million construction loan in 2008 and later filed a lawsuit against him for defaulting on $10.5 million on that loan.
“I may have to fight the FDIC for the rest of my life, because I will not pay a dollar to a bank that blew itself up because it was irresponsible in the way that it manages money. I just won’t,” said Minor, who said he owns the Landmark and “claimed title to it.”
A call to an FDIC spokesperson for comment was not immediately returned.
Minor’s legal issues are far from over, but he is confident the Landmark will be finished, although it’s too early to say when.
“I honestly think [Dixon] will create in Charlottesville one of the top 25 boutique hotels in the country,” said Minor, who wants the community to be part of the hotel.
“That was my whole thing. If people are coming to Charlottesville, they are going to call and ask where to stay and getting recommendations from people in town is really important.”
For the history of the Landmark Hotel, click here.