Upscale Hotels in Northwest Arkansas

[thewizard16]

An Embassey Ssuites is not what I have in mind. That is like defining P.F.Chang's as a really great restaurant compared to something like Theo's. I like Chang's and there is a big market for it but it is not as high end and unique as what I think we need in downtown Fayetteville. Nor is a Marriott (they are a mid-line brand). Four Seasons are very nice hotels but too expensive for this market. They are $300 to $400 a night in most markets. Check out Ian Schrager hotels. That is more what I have in mind. Less chain-like, modern, quirky, smaller rooms, but high service level. Here is a link http://www.ianschragercompany.com

M

'

Marriott is supposed to be the flagship brand for Marriott International, but they let too many properties get too run down in the last couple decades to maintain the reputation of a higher-end hotel. If you look at some of their more notable hotels, like the Singapore Marriott or the Marriott at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, you can see what the brand is "supposed" to be. Now that they own Ritz Carlton and have rolled out the JW Marriott brand and made Renaissance Hotels more of a stand alone higher-end brand, the Marriott brand itself certainly has lost some brand power. At any rate, they would still be a relatively upmarket hotel for a region of this size, so I'd be happy with them taking over the Cosmo and bringing it up to standards of any of their full-service hotel lines. Really, I'd be happy with any 3.5-4.5 star hotel chain giving it new life. I think a dual downtown hotel dynamic could work very well in the long-term future. You would need the Ren. Tower (or similar scale and attractive project) to be completed as planned and anchored by a brand at least as interesting as Renaissance (Westin, W, JW Marriott, Four Seasons (this would be ideal, but unlikely, and probably too $$$), Intercontinental (same), Element by Westin, Hyatt Regency, etc) and then the Cosmopolitan to be renovated and rebranded as an upscale full-service, but more affordable, chain like Crowne Plaza (I'd really like to see that as a Crowne Plaza. When I traveled for work all last fall and spring I stayed almost exclusively at Crowne Plaza or Crowne Plaza Suites and they've been expanding and remodeling at a brisk pace), Hilton, Sheraton, Marriott, DoubleTree, or similar.

In short- I think the goal/vision that Nock and Alexander had for downtown Fayetteville hotels would work, it just would need to be built and anchored by appropriate brands.

[Mith242]

I'm no expert on hotels. I suppose eventually all of this may work itself out. I'd hate to rush things, but at the same time I just want to see something done. So what does everyone think about the Cosmo being under Nock and Alexander? Would you guys like to be patient and see Nock and Alexander work things out or are some of you almost hoping the hotel gets taken away so that someone else might have a chance to do something with it?

[thewizard16]

I'm no expert on hotels. I suppose eventually all of this may work itself out. I'd hate to rush things, but at the same time I just want to see something done. So what does everyone think about the Cosmo being under Nock and Alexander? Would you guys like to be patient and see Nock and Alexander work things out or are some of you almost hoping the hotel gets taken away so that someone else might have a chance to do something with it?

I hope it works out with Nock and Alexander IF they can rebuild momentum on the rest of their downtown projects. I believe that's still possible at this point, so as much as I want something done now, I'm willing to wait a few years for things to level out. I would not be opposed to someone else taking it over and running with the renovation and re-launch of the Cosmo if they were willing to do things to at least the same caliber as Nock/Alexander intended. As previously mentioned, I've been a big fan of most of their downtown projects, renovations, and conversions, and if they could ever get the Ren. Tower (or something very similar) built, it would completely redefine downtown. The Cosmo is still a very important property in the area, but it's lost its identity and appeal, and someone needs to give it back. Nock and Alexander could definitely do that, but not until the money comes back. They spread themselves a bit too thin, but luckily they didn't pull a Barber on us. (Sidenote- I currently live in a former Barber building, and although I'm getting it at a great price and it's a nice, albeit generic, building aesthetically, the materials are nice, and all the fixtures are high quality, they cut some of the strangest and dumbest corners while building the place. The building is steel and concrete framed construction, and the floor is not all that level. You don't notice it until you're moving furniture, but they underfilled corners. Also, the ceiling sheetrock is nailed up with smooth shank nails, just like you'd use in a nail gun. As a result, the nails gradually work themselves loose and bulge small spots in the sheetrock, and I'm sure if you let them, they'd poke through the paper. Who doesn't use drywall screws in new mid to high end construction!?!? The most annoying thing is that the doors they used are steel but painted with a cheap paint that doesn't bond to the metal and flakes off, which is going to require scraping and repainting.)

[zman9810]

I also wish they or some other reputable developer would get the renovation restarted as soon as possible- the longer it takes to get the project going again the more harm is done to the hotel's image. It sounds like it has already gotten a bad rep and only a major renovation will change that. I would imagine a lot of university visitors that used to use it have crossed it off their lists of places to stay.

Even though Barber received a lot of criticism about his plans and style I think he was sincere in wanting to move Fayettevile forward- at least in his vision of Fayetteville's future. He got in over his head and didn't know when to admit it and change course. He seemed to believe that his image was more important to success than good planning and sound financial decisions.

[thewizard16]

I also wish they or some other reputable developer would get the renovation restarted as soon as possible- the longer it takes to get the project going again the more harm is done to the hotel's image. It sounds like it has already gotten a bad rep and only a major renovation will change that. I would imagine a lot of university visitors that used to use it have crossed it off their lists of places to stay.

Even though Barber received a lot of criticism about his plans and style I think he was sincere in wanting to move Fayettevile forward- at least in his vision of Fayetteville's future. He got in over his head and didn't know when to admit it and change course. He seemed to believe that his image was more important to success than good planning and sound financial decisions.

That, and apparently his quality was questionable. I much prefer the Nock/Alexander vision to Barber's desire to have his name on every large building to be built during the boom. His building plans were exciting for their scale alone, but generic (very Frisco, TX) and mediocre in execution. My place looks nice, but the little things like nailing up sheetrock and not properly leveling floors are unacceptable for what he claimed was a quality residential development. And I don't think he even got what he was paying for- I forget how many liens were against this place when he finally caved, but one of them was for sheetrock, and they did a crap job.

[thewizard16]

http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2010/jun/12/court-names-receiver-cosmopolitan-foreclosure/?nwa-fayetteville

Well, this is happening. For what it's worth, that's the same exact situation an apartment complex I lived at two years ago on Wedington was in. ANB issues a loan to remodel the property. ANB fails, owner never having taken full possession of the loan (much of it was in an ANB account they were not allowed access to after the bank fails and things go to ANB Ventur, they only recover a bit of the total loan, losing millions in the failure). Foreclosure proceedings begin, with the owner trying to keep up as best as possible diverting income from other properties. Kingston Management enters the game by buying the loan from ANB Venture and everything gets nasty. The owner is working with Kingston Management on a deal where they retain management of the property but Kingston becomes the owner and continues the remodel project. Contracts are drafted, a meeting is set to discuss the situation with lawyers and possibly sign them in a week. A few days later, they come on the property and post notices on all the apartment doors demanding tenants send payments to them and not the owner from that point forward as they are taking over the property and non paying tenants will be evicted, but a minor problem: They haven't legally been given run of the place yet and have no legal claim or power to collect rent or evict tenants. The situation goes to court. Fayetteville police are brought in more than once to "escort" Kingston Management representatives off the property and block them from posting notices while the property is still tied up in court. Kingston eventually wins, and forces management out, ignoring the initial agreement. Kingston holds onto the property briefly (not a good time) before selling it to Pinnacle Realty Group for a surprisingly low price. I can not fully explain how much I was repulsed by the behavior of Kingston, or after that, Pinnacle. Pinnacle ran the property for a few months while looking for a seller, and did no maintenance on the property other than yard work the entire time they possessed it. Apartments needing maintenance claims were constantly delayed by saying "someone will come next week". We had a bad storm which took shingles off the roof, and my unit developed a serious leak in one of the front rooms. I notified Pinnacle, who of course said the previous delaying statement, but the leak persisted despite angry calls from me to the on-site manager they'd "hired", their main office, and the voicemail of the agent in charge of the property, who was conveniently unable to be reached no matter when I called. Two months later, the leak is still not fixed, the ceiling is developing mold (which I kept killing off), and the sheetrock is sagging. I'm furious, but busy and traveling a lot for work, so my time to fight with them is limited. I did have a stroke of luck when I caught people touring the property taking notes (potential owners, I thought?) and approached them and asked who they were. They were indeed the potential buyers, so I was kind enough to let them tour my apartment and see the damages. They had been told by Pinnacle the apartment had a new roof (technically true, but that was done two owners before and the roofing company wasn't honoring the warranty due to change in management), but was in mid remodel and sold "As is", conveniently not mentioning all the maintenance problems they hadn't been working on. Needless to say they were upset, but I got to stick it to Pinnacle Realty by educating their prospective buyers on what they were getting in to, and called the office and told the secretary (nice girl) to tell the agent exactly what I thought of them and their business practices, and that I had found out who their buyers were and explained the situation to them. I never heard back.

Anyway, that's not all relevant I hope- but I've seen this situation happen first hand before, and the parties involved are sleazy at best, who play fast and loose with business ethics to turn a quick buck. I certainly hope Nock/Alexander win this round. Article is below.

FAYETTEVILLE — The Cosmopolitan Hotel will remain open for business even as two court cases against the business continue.

A Washington County Circuit Court appointed Ozark Asset Management receiver last week to ensure the Fayetteville hotel stays open and pays all future taxes as the hotel goes through the foreclosure process.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration also has a court case pending against the hotel for failure to pay sales tax.

The Foreclosure

The foreclosure against Cosmopolitan Ventures LLC was filed April 19 by ANB Venture, a company created to handle some loans of the failed bank ANB Financial.

Appointing a receiver is typical in many foreclosure actions, said Brian Ferguson, Ozark Asset president.

“This receivership is to ensure proper management of the property until the foreclosure action is resolved,” he said.

The foreclosure filing states as of April 15, almost $16.4 million was due on the loan, with interest and fees bringing the total to $21.5 million. The original loan from ANB Financial was $16.2 million when developers John Nock and Richard Alexander purchased the hotel in 2006.

Federal regulators shut down ANB Financial on May 9, 2008, and the Cosmopolitan loan, along with about 1,100 of the failed bank’s loans, were placed in ANB Venture by the FDIC, according to Greg Hernandez, a spokesman for the FDIC. Kingston Management Services bought the loan package from ANB Venture on Jan. 12, 2009, and is now attempting to collect from the hotel.

Ozark Asset Management is an independent contractor hired by Kingston to handle some of the region’s assets for ANB Venture.

Nock and Alexander own two companies involved with the hotel: Cosmopolitan Ventures LLC and Cosmopolitan Hotel Venture Inc.

The foreclosure is against Cosmopolitan Ventures LLC, and the state’s case is against Cosmopolitan Hotel Venture Inc.

Nock said the corporation has employees while the limited liability company owns the building.

“One side is running the business, and the other side has the assets,” Nock said.

Nock blames the hotel’s financial and legal woes on the bank’s closure. He and Alexander were renovating the hotel.

“When the bank failed, we weren’t able to finish construction work,” Nock said.

He said the note with ANB Financial was for several million dollars more than they ever saw, which led to a halt in the renovation work and left many rooms unusable.

Nock said he does not plan on losing ownership of the hotel but would not say how he is going to hold onto it with the ongoing foreclosure case.

Hernandez said at the time of the sale of the Cosmopolitan’s loan to Kingston in January 2009, it was more than 10 months delinquent.

Sales Tax

In a separate case against Cosmopolitan Hotel Venture Inc., the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration issued a business closure notice for failing to pay sales tax. Vicki Bronson, attorney for hotel owners Nock and Alexander, filed an appeal May 17.

Both cases are being heard by Washington County Circuit Judge Kim Smith.

Ferguson, president of Ozark Asset Management, said his company asked the judge to consolidate the cases and set a trial date. Smith was out of the office this week, so no dates were set.

Martha Hunt, chief counsel for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, said the business closure case will continue, but she said she doesn’t anticipate action until the foreclosure process is completed.

She added the department consented to the appointment of a receiver in the foreclosure case, but that receiver would not be able to use the Cosmopolitan Hotel Venture Inc. sales tax license.

Ferguson said he is working with the department to obtain a new business license.

“As such, we are confident the hotel will not be closed for noncompliance with taxing authorities and encourage guests to stay at the Cosmopolitan while visiting Northwest Arkansas,” he said.

Ferguson said Ozark Asset Management will not pay the past-due taxes because it is not related to the loan. Nock said Thursday he was not aware of that and needed to confer with Bronson. She did not return phone calls or e-mail messages.

According to court documents, the unpaid sales tax liabilities were about $56,000 as of September 2009. The Department of Finance and Administration does not disclose delinquent tax amounts unless court documents are filed or liens have been placed on the property, said Tom Atchley, the department’s administrator.

Nock and Alexander have also had issues with the state over paying property tax for 2007 and 2008. They paid $251,028 in delinquent property tax and penalties in April.

[Mith242]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Thanks for all the details and article. One really big mess. Hopefully eventually something will eventually come of all of this. But considering the state of things now, it's hard to stay positive on a good outcome. At least in the near future.

[zman9810]

Wow...that is a horror story. I've seen exposes on Dateline and such that sound like that. Arkansas must not any renter protections laws like some states do.

[mzweig]

http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2010/jun/12/court-names-receiver-cosmopolitan-foreclosure/?nwa-fayetteville

Well, this is happening. For what it's worth, that's the same exact situation an apartment complex I lived at two years ago on Wedington was in. ANB issues a loan to remodel the property. ANB fails, owner never having taken full possession of the loan (much of it was in an ANB account they were not allowed access to after the bank fails and things go to ANB Ventur, they only recover a bit of the total loan, losing millions in the failure). Foreclosure proceedings begin, with the owner trying to keep up as best as possible diverting income from other properties. Kingston Management enters the game by buying the loan from ANB Venture and everything gets nasty. The owner is working with Kingston Management on a deal where they retain management of the property but Kingston becomes the owner and continues the remodel project. Contracts are drafted, a meeting is set to discuss the situation with lawyers and possibly sign them in a week. A few days later, they come on the property and post notices on all the apartment doors demanding tenants send payments to them and not the owner from that point forward as they are taking over the property and non paying tenants will be evicted, but a minor problem: They haven't legally been given run of the place yet and have no legal claim or power to collect rent or evict tenants. The situation goes to court. Fayetteville police are brought in more than once to "escort" Kingston Management representatives off the property and block them from posting notices while the property is still tied up in court. Kingston eventually wins, and forces management out, ignoring the initial agreement. Kingston holds onto the property briefly (not a good time) before selling it to Pinnacle Realty Group for a surprisingly low price. I can not fully explain how much I was repulsed by the behavior of Kingston, or after that, Pinnacle. Pinnacle ran the property for a few months while looking for a seller, and did no maintenance on the property other than yard work the entire time they possessed it. Apartments needing maintenance claims were constantly delayed by saying "someone will come next week". We had a bad storm which took shingles off the roof, and my unit developed a serious leak in one of the front rooms. I notified Pinnacle, who of course said the previous delaying statement, but the leak persisted despite angry calls from me to the on-site manager they'd "hired", their main office, and the voicemail of the agent in charge of the property, who was conveniently unable to be reached no matter when I called. Two months later, the leak is still not fixed, the ceiling is developing mold (which I kept killing off), and the sheetrock is sagging. I'm furious, but busy and traveling a lot for work, so my time to fight with them is limited. I did have a stroke of luck when I caught people touring the property taking notes (potential owners, I thought?) and approached them and asked who they were. They were indeed the potential buyers, so I was kind enough to let them tour my apartment and see the damages. They had been told by Pinnacle the apartment had a new roof (technically true, but that was done two owners before and the roofing company wasn't honoring the warranty due to change in management), but was in mid remodel and sold "As is", conveniently not mentioning all the maintenance problems they hadn't been working on. Needless to say they were upset, but I got to stick it to Pinnacle Realty by educating their prospective buyers on what they were getting in to, and called the office and told the secretary (nice girl) to tell the agent exactly what I thought of them and their business practices, and that I had found out who their buyers were and explained the situation to them. I never heard back.

Anyway, that's not all relevant I hope- but I've seen this situation happen first hand before, and the parties involved are sleazy at best, who play fast and loose with business ethics to turn a quick buck. I certainly hope Nock/Alexander win this round. Article is below.

FAYETTEVILLE — The Cosmopolitan Hotel will remain open for business even as two court cases against the business continue.

A Washington County Circuit Court appointed Ozark Asset Management receiver last week to ensure the Fayetteville hotel stays open and pays all future taxes as the hotel goes through the foreclosure process.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration also has a court case pending against the hotel for failure to pay sales tax.

The Foreclosure

The foreclosure against Cosmopolitan Ventures LLC was filed April 19 by ANB Venture, a company created to handle some loans of the failed bank ANB Financial.

Appointing a receiver is typical in many foreclosure actions, said Brian Ferguson, Ozark Asset president.

“This receivership is to ensure proper management of the property until the foreclosure action is resolved,” he said.

The foreclosure filing states as of April 15, almost $16.4 million was due on the loan, with interest and fees bringing the total to $21.5 million. The original loan from ANB Financial was $16.2 million when developers John Nock and Richard Alexander purchased the hotel in 2006.

Federal regulators shut down ANB Financial on May 9, 2008, and the Cosmopolitan loan, along with about 1,100 of the failed bank’s loans, were placed in ANB Venture by the FDIC, according to Greg Hernandez, a spokesman for the FDIC. Kingston Management Services bought the loan package from ANB Venture on Jan. 12, 2009, and is now attempting to collect from the hotel.

Ozark Asset Management is an independent contractor hired by Kingston to handle some of the region’s assets for ANB Venture.

Nock and Alexander own two companies involved with the hotel: Cosmopolitan Ventures LLC and Cosmopolitan Hotel Venture Inc.

The foreclosure is against Cosmopolitan Ventures LLC, and the state’s case is against Cosmopolitan Hotel Venture Inc.

Nock said the corporation has employees while the limited liability company owns the building.

“One side is running the business, and the other side has the assets,” Nock said.

Nock blames the hotel’s financial and legal woes on the bank’s closure. He and Alexander were renovating the hotel.

“When the bank failed, we weren’t able to finish construction work,” Nock said.

He said the note with ANB Financial was for several million dollars more than they ever saw, which led to a halt in the renovation work and left many rooms unusable.

Nock said he does not plan on losing ownership of the hotel but would not say how he is going to hold onto it with the ongoing foreclosure case.

Hernandez said at the time of the sale of the Cosmopolitan’s loan to Kingston in January 2009, it was more than 10 months delinquent.

Sales Tax

In a separate case against Cosmopolitan Hotel Venture Inc., the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration issued a business closure notice for failing to pay sales tax. Vicki Bronson, attorney for hotel owners Nock and Alexander, filed an appeal May 17.

Both cases are being heard by Washington County Circuit Judge Kim Smith.

Ferguson, president of Ozark Asset Management, said his company asked the judge to consolidate the cases and set a trial date. Smith was out of the office this week, so no dates were set.

Martha Hunt, chief counsel for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, said the business closure case will continue, but she said she doesn’t anticipate action until the foreclosure process is completed.

She added the department consented to the appointment of a receiver in the foreclosure case, but that receiver would not be able to use the Cosmopolitan Hotel Venture Inc. sales tax license.

Ferguson said he is working with the department to obtain a new business license.

“As such, we are confident the hotel will not be closed for noncompliance with taxing authorities and encourage guests to stay at the Cosmopolitan while visiting Northwest Arkansas,” he said.

Ferguson said Ozark Asset Management will not pay the past-due taxes because it is not related to the loan. Nock said Thursday he was not aware of that and needed to confer with Bronson. She did not return phone calls or e-mail messages.

According to court documents, the unpaid sales tax liabilities were about $56,000 as of September 2009. The Department of Finance and Administration does not disclose delinquent tax amounts unless court documents are filed or liens have been placed on the property, said Tom Atchley, the department’s administrator.

Nock and Alexander have also had issues with the state over paying property tax for 2007 and 2008. They paid $251,028 in delinquent property tax and penalties in April.

Thanks for the article. Those numbers don't quite match up with our own research but bottom line is the same. I hate to say it but I don't think Nock and Alexander are blameless here. Not paying real estate taxes going back to 2007 has nothing to do with AMB's failure. Being ten months behind on payments at that time as well speaks volumes to me. I predict a not-so-great outcome here for the Cosmo, at least in the short-term/mid-term.

M

[Mith242]

Thanks for the article. Those numbers don't quite match up with our own research but bottom line is the same. I hate to say it but I don't think Nock and Alexander are blameless here. Not paying real estate taxes going back to 2007 has nothing to do with AMB's failure. Being ten months behind on payments at that time as well speaks volumes to me. I predict a not-so-great outcome here for the Cosmo, at least in the short-term/mid-term.

M

I'm with you. With all the problems surrounding this, it's just hard to see a good outcome for quite a while. Which unfortunately puts Fayetteville in a not so great position in the meanwhile.

[LRguy21]

This is so sad! The square is so special and deserves a nice hotel or 2 on it!

As much as it will hurt Fayetteville, Just come in and close the damn thing and have somebody with the proper finances remodel it and make it into a really nice 4 start hotel. I think its already to far gone for any hope from the current developers. Its to bad, they just got in at the wrong time and with the wrong bank. I mean but hell, the thing is so ugly and has no curb appeal, who would want to stay there? I've recommended it several times and it has always come back to bite me in the ass.

I wish that the Cosmo would turn into a boutique style hotel and that the empty lot over on MT. street would be a Hilton, Crowne Plaza, etc. It doesnt have to be 18 storys, but a nice 10+ would be fine with me. Just anything to cover up that UGLY corner! It makes fayetteville look GHETTO!!! Then put a ALOFT by W on Dickson St. That would be AWESOME!!!

NO DAYS INN, MOTEL 8 or HOLIDAY INN'S PLEASE!!! Hell, id even accept a garden in by hilton. BUT NOTHING less than that!

Fayetteville has the pull for 2 nice hotels. A MAJOR university, Multiple event centers and ample day & night life. There is nothing else in NWA or even Arkansas that comes close to Dickson St. except maybe the River Market in LR.

[thewizard16]

Wow...that is a horror story. I've seen exposes on Dateline and such that sound like that. Arkansas must not any renter protections laws like some states do.

Luckily I was gone a lot in the fall for travel for work, but coming home to a still leaking roof and having to kill the mold every other week or so was quite an annoyance. I'm not sure what laws we have out there about livability standards, but I'm sure my leaking roof pales in comparison to some of the apartment complexes I see around town . Even with the new ownership (which seem like nice people), I was thrilled when my lease on that place was up. I've upgraded considerably since then thanks to the economy, and have shared my experiences with Kingston and Pinnacle to anyone I hear that may be dealing with them. Bottom line is approach with caution.

Thanks for the article. Those numbers don't quite match up with our own research but bottom line is the same. I hate to say it but I don't think Nock and Alexander are blameless here. Not paying real estate taxes going back to 2007 has nothing to do with AMB's failure. Being ten months behind on payments at that time as well speaks volumes to me. I predict a not-so-great outcome here for the Cosmo, at least in the short-term/mid-term.

M

Oh, I completely agree. They've managed the situation poorly and over-extended themselves, there's no doubt about that. I do hope something comes out of the mess that is positive for downtown Fayetteville, regardless of who ends up owning the property.

This is so sad! The square is so special and deserves a nice hotel or 2 on it!

As much as it will hurt Fayetteville, Just come in and close the damn thing and have somebody with the proper finances remodel it and make it into a really nice 4 start hotel. I think its already to far gone for any hope from the current developers. Its to bad, they just got in at the wrong time and with the wrong bank. I mean but hell, the thing is so ugly and has no curb appeal, who would want to stay there? I've recommended it several times and it has always come back to bite me in the ass.

I wish that the Cosmo would turn into a boutique style hotel and that the empty lot over on MT. street would be a Hilton, Crowne Plaza, etc. It doesnt have to be 18 storys, but a nice 10+ would be fine with me. Just anything to cover up that UGLY corner! It makes fayetteville look GHETTO!!! Then put a ALOFT by W on Dickson St. That would be AWESOME!!!

NO DAYS INN, MOTEL 8 or HOLIDAY INN'S PLEASE!!! Hell, id even accept a garden in by hilton. BUT NOTHING less than that!

Fayetteville has the pull for 2 nice hotels. A MAJOR university, Multiple event centers and ample day & night life. There is nothing else in NWA or even Arkansas that comes close to Dickson St. except maybe the River Market in LR.

Yeah, I don't recommend it to people coming in town to visit us (which is a large volume of overnight guests I/our office ends up interacting with), given it's current condition and stories I've heard from guests that have stayed there in the past few years. I don't think the building's appearance is itself the problem (although I still don't understand repainting it that color of white for the life of me), and the new stone/slate columns and entry they did on Northeast Ave is nice, but it certainly doesn't appear to be an upmarket hotel in it's current state.

[Mith242]

On the subject of hotels I came across something. I'm still trying to figure out what it means and thought maybe somebody else might have heard something. While I was just doing a little searching on the internet I came across Vidhata Llc. They appear to run the Doubletree Hotel up in Bentonville. They also seem to have something with a listing of 112 West Center St which would appear to be the Ball Plaza Bldg. Maybe it's their offices? While it's not unheard of I just found it odd that they may have offices in Fayetteville while the hotel is actually located in Bentonville. Anyone heard any talk of a Doubletree Hotel in Fayetteville coming?

[comreguy]

On the subject of hotels I came across something. I'm still trying to figure out what it means and thought maybe somebody else might have heard something. While I was just doing a little searching on the internet I came across Vidhata Llc. They appear to run the Doubletree Hotel up in Bentonville. They also seem to have something with a listing of 112 West Center St which would appear to be the Ball Plaza Bldg. Maybe it's their offices? While it's not unheard of I just found it odd that they may have offices in Fayetteville while the hotel is actually located in Bentonville. Anyone heard any talk of a Doubletree Hotel in Fayetteville coming?

Ken Mourton was part of Vidhata, LLC which owns multiple hotel properties along with Ken Lazenby and Tom Bhakta. Ken's office was in the EJ Ball (former Ball and Mourton) Building. No connection to a downtown hotel.

[Mith242]

Ken Mourton was part of Vidhata, LLC which owns multiple hotel properties along with Ken Lazenby and Tom Bhakta. Ken's office was in the EJ Ball (former Ball and Mourton) Building. No connection to a downtown hotel.

Thanks for the info. Just thought it was odd when I came across it.

[Mith242]

Looks like I missed this over the weekend. Looks like the Cosmo is under new management now. I'm guessing that the hotel isn't under Alexander/Nock's control anymore with this move.

[Mith242]

Looks like I missed this over the weekend. Looks like the Cosmo is under new management now. I'm guessing that the hotel isn't under Alexander/Nock's control anymore with this move.

Actually after looking into the matter a bit further apparently Alexander and Nock still own the property. But at this point it seems likely that there will be new owners in the near future. Apparently only 91 of the 235 rooms are able to be used in it's current state.

[countrylivin']

Actually after looking into the matter a bit further apparently Alexander and Nock still own the property. But at this point it seems likely that there will be new owners in the near future. Apparently only 91 of the 235 rooms are able to be used in it's current state.

The hotel is in receivership and goes before the Circuit Judge on September 9th so unless John and Richard can come up with some serious cash before then it will go back to the "bank". In this case the "bank" is ANB Ventures which is an LLC set up by Kingdton Management Services. The good news out of all of this is that they hired Chandler Hotel Group out of Arizona! They specialize in turning around distressed hotels and unlike Midas the management company they got rid of, Chandler is the real deal. Not only do they manage hotels, they also have a brokerage, constuction and FF&E division!

[mzweig]

The hotel is in receivership and goes before the Circuit Judge on September 9th so unless John and Richard can come up with some serious cash before then it will go back to the "bank". In this case the "bank" is ANB Ventures which is an LLC set up by Kingdton Management Services. The good news out of all of this is that they hired Chandler Hotel Group out of Arizona! They specialize in turning around distressed hotels and unlike Midas the management company they got rid of, Chandler is the real deal. Not only do they manage hotels, they also have a brokerage, constuction and FF&E division!

That is indeed good news! Maybe now we can be assured of having a real downtown hotel that is still in business and one that gets its renovation completed!

Mark

[comreguy]

The hotel is in receivership and goes before the Circuit Judge on September 9th so unless John and Richard can come up with some serious cash before then it will go back to the "bank". In this case the "bank" is ANB Ventures which is an LLC set up by Kingdton Management Services. The good news out of all of this is that they hired Chandler Hotel Group out of Arizona! They specialize in turning around distressed hotels and unlike Midas the management company they got rid of, Chandler is the real deal. Not only do they manage hotels, they also have a brokerage, constuction and FF&E division!

Additionally, I've heard that the receiver, Chandler and the judge have agreed to put funds in place to complete some of the renovations, allowing for the property to become more attractive to a buyer. I have also heard there is interest from a group that specializes in the turn around of underperforming hotels, upgrades them and flips them to an investor for profit. There is some hope on the horizon for the Cosmopolitan (or whatever it may become).

[Mith242]

Yeah I'm sorry that things aren't working out for Alexander and Nock. But perhaps this will be best. These moves I'm hearing about sound promising. I agree with Mark, about time we finally have a 'real' downtown hotel.

[wmr]

Yeah I'm sorry that things aren't working out for Alexander and Nock. But perhaps this will be best. These moves I'm hearing about sound promising. I agree with Mark, about time we finally have a 'real' downtown hotel.

It has always seemed absurd to me that the building doesn't take more advantage of the views it has in all directions. It should be a glass tower, IMO. The view from 5 floors + in downtown is beautiful in all directions.

[Mith242]

It has always seemed absurd to me that the building doesn't take more advantage of the views it has in all directions. It should be a glass tower, IMO. The view from 5 floors + in downtown is beautiful in all directions.

Yeah I can't really argue with more views, considering it's location. But I bet if someone did try to make it an all glass building you'd have a lot of people complain about it not fitting in to the Fayetteville skyline. I don't know at this point could you actually do a major overhaul like that or would it be cheaper simply to raze the building and start all over again?

[wmr]

Yeah I can't really argue with more views, considering it's location. But I bet if someone did try to make it an all glass building you'd have a lot of people complain about it not fitting in to the Fayetteville skyline. I don't know at this point could you actually do a major overhaul like that or would it be cheaper simply to raze the building and start all over again?

Yeah probably right. Its just a shame that its such a bland, closed off building. It has potential views of Ole Main, Mt Sequoyah and the Ozark Mountains. Thats something that makes it unique to other hotel experiences in NWA, so if it were maximized, the business would likely be better there. Even if it was made to look morel like EJ Ball Plaza, it would be an improvement. The blue glass in that one worked wonders for its appearance.

I wonder what affect this whole deal will have on the empty Marriot lot....

[Mith242]

Yeah probably right. Its just a shame that its such a bland, closed off building. It has potential views of Ole Main, Mt Sequoyah and the Ozark Mountains. Thats something that makes it unique to other hotel experiences in NWA, so if it were maximized, the business would likely be better there. Even if it was made to look morel like EJ Ball Plaza, it would be an improvement. The blue glass in that one worked wonders for its appearance.

I wonder what affect this whole deal will have on the empty Marriot lot....

Yeah while all this has been going on with the Cosmo, I've also been wondering about the Renaissance lot as well. If someone came in and really did a good overhaul to the Cosmo, maybe the need for a Renaissance hotel wouldn't be as much. But considering we didn't get the Renaissance and the current state of the Cosmo. It's really just disappointing.