William Vale Hotel's $177M Sale Approved By Bankruptcy Judge
A bankruptcy judge has cleared the way for the sale of the William Vale hotel in Williamsburg, bringing an end to a property dispute that has played out in courtrooms for years.
EOS Hospitality's $177M stalking horse bid to take over the hotel at 111 N. 12th St. has been approved by a bankruptcy judge, setting the stage for the transfer. The business had been in Chapter 11 since October 2022, The Real Deal reports.
EOS's bid will pay back the Israeli bondholders who refinanced the 22-story, 184-room hotel, a property that also includes 40K SF of office and retail space. The hotel was developed by Yoel Goldman and Zelig Weiss, who wrestled for control over the property up to and after Goldman's All Year Holdings filed for bankruptcy in 2021.
Weiss leased and operated the hotel from the Goldman-led ownership group, and he and Goldman have launched a series of lawsuits against each other seeking to remove the other from the business.
Chief Bankruptcy Judge of the Southern District of New York Martin Glenn dismissed the final dispute between them this month, overruling Goldman's objection to a settlement agreement with Weiss. The settlement agreement calls for Goldman and Weiss to pay $8.5M to the restructuring offers winding down All Year Management, while All Year agreed to pay the duo $1.3M for the William Vale's internet domain, TRD reported.
A team of Herrick, Feinstein LLP attorneys represented the building's ownership in the Chapter 11 case.
The hotel was developed in 2016 and has been one of Brooklyn's highest-echelon hospitality properties ever since, although the pandemic dealt it a significant blow that caused it to start missing debt payments in 2020.
All Year, which had been one of Brooklyn's most active development firms, collapsed in 2021 and has been sold off in pieces. Avi Philipson, a healthcare investor, acquired its $438M Brooklyn portfolio out of bankruptcy last year. But its bid to acquire the William Vale collapsed after Weiss sued to stop the sale, Crain's New York Business reported.
EOS plans to bring in its own management firm to run the hotel. Its portfolio mainly consists of resort hotels and campgrounds in vacation spots like Kennebunkport, Maine; Key West, Florida; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but it also operates the L'Ermitage hotel in Beverly Hills, California, and the Hamilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., according to its website.
UPDATE, JUNE 3, 11:25 A.M. ET: This story has been updated to include the law firm representing the hotel owners in the bankruptcy case.
