Picture of the Landmark Hotel from Blanco Nino
If you recall, we asked some real journalists to investigate the whole story about the construction halt and lack of financing for the Landmark Hotel. Thanks to a real journalist at the Daily Progress (his name is Brian McNeill), we have an update! It gets messy…
Will the Landmark hotel look like this again? Probably not, but according to the Daily Progress, an Atlanta bank has failed to make construction loan payments on the Landmark Hotel site and Halsey Minor has halted construction on the hotel. The article explains:
Under an agreement with the bank, Minor said, he would pay $7 million in equity and the bank would pick up as much as $24 million to pay for the project’s construction. Minor said he has paid his share, but the bank has fallen behind and missed a $1.1 million payment that was due Friday. So far, Minor said, the bank has paid around $4 million of its total $24 million obligation.
Um, hello. Banks just don’t not make payments on construction loans for no reason. Construction loans have a lot of covenants that are often overlooked in good economic times. If things don’t look as good, the bank might have a legal reason to not pay its obligation. Or, maybe the bank has its own financial problems. It’s hard to believe, even when you want to rooftop bar and free drinks sooo badly.
How about some real journalists call that Atlanta bank and find out the other side of the story? Sure, maybe the bank is to blame, but my boozstincts tell me otherwise. Hopefully the bank isn’t shutting down, because that would delay the construction a long time.
