Visitreno

[remano]

To nobody's great surprise, L3 Development has announced that they are voluntarily deeding the Montage Condos (former Golden Phoenix) over to Corus Bank in lieu of foreclosure. Although they say the project is 100% finished and certificates of occupancy will be available for all units by Wednesday, they have apparently concluded that they still will not be able to get enough units sold in time to meet their financial obligations.

The transfer is said to be "amicable" and Corus will retain L3 as the management firm to operate the project. The bank is also reviewing options for adjusting the prices on new units and those already sold to accomodate current market conditions. Even with lower prices, however, given the current mortgage market many of those who had signed up and still want to buy may not qualify now for the financing.

The letter from L3 to prospective buyers can be seen at:

http://www.downtownmakeover.com/

[BC Dave]

Although I will always miss the old Flamingo, this is one redevelopement that looked promising. They took it down to bare steel girders and rebuilt from there. Lots of investment there. What I saw in late October looked quite attractive despite a color scheme I had a little trouble with.

Sounds like there's still hope for it. Best of luck Montage.

[JD]

Is there any truth that the King's Inn is the next Condo projext to get public funding & then go bust?

[john]

You're probably right, JD. Here's part of the story:
http://www.downtownmakeover.com/downtown_reno/Kings_inn.asp

[remano]

[RenoLady]

Okay, help me understand this. We're throwing names out like Flamingo, Golden Phoenix, Montage, L3, whatever. But, isn't this the new owners of the recently defunct Fitz?

If yes, does that mean that the only cash-flow downtown property they had, they just boarded up?

[remano]

You are correct that the Montage developers are the new owners of the Fitz. The Montage was never a cash flow property because they didn't get it done in time to start selling units before the bank takes over. The Fitz was, perhaps, a cash flow property but in recent months may have become a negative cash flow. This is pure speculation on my part, but they also may have drained the Fitz's reserves to put into the Montage, leaving the Fitz in an economically untenable position to survive the winter. Too bad, because the train trench plaza is near to completion of phase one and the Fitz was probably in the best position of all downtown casinos to benefit from it.

[RenoLady]

I don't know if Fitz was operating with a positive cash-flow AFTER the purchase by the Montage people, but they were when they were in receivership and the trustee was running it for the creditors at the purchase. I remember many would be buyers, including Atlantis owner Ferrari and (German) partners, whose offer was rejected (gaming license problems).

I remember questioning the prices of Montage condos asking, who is going to buy these things? and being answered with, they're really nice....

I guess I'm frustrated that another Reno icon has bit the dust due to speculation and short sightedness.

[CaSwede]

Anyone have an idea what these places cost? I "explorered" their website and it is full of how wonderful it is, but I could not find any link with a price list.

How many have they sold? I wonder also if there is already a secondary market....those that bought and want to bail out.

Might be a bargain now?

[mustangmike]

Some "old" prices are listed in this article
http://www.rgj.com/article/20081215/NEWS18/81215061&OAS_sitepage=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews

They were:
Penthouses at the Montage currently cost up to $2.6 million with one- and two-bedroom units and lofts ranging from $320,000 to $975,000 and studios starting at $245,000

[CaSwede]

Thanks Mike for the link. It will be interesting to see where they price the left over units. I see the fed is lowering rates again, and one person stated we might see 3% mortgage rates. ???

I imagine all those that bought in much earlier are really pissed.

[remano]

Another interesting quote from that article:

"Leal said Corus Bank is not the backer of the Fitzgeralds remodeling and the plans to develop that casino will not be affected by the change in ownership for the Montage."

I'll believe this when I see it.

[hawk]

The trench is covered for two blocks west of Virginia St. Don't knowif they will cover more but the cover beside Montage has a bunch of compressors or whatever standing in the lot taking up space. Is this ventilation for the trench or what?

I wonder if they will cover all the way to the Sands. I doubt it but it would help the Sands, I suppose.

[remano]