April 30–A federal bankruptcy judge on Monday approved a plan for owners of the Big Texas Inn to pay off their creditors after the property is sold at an auction next month.
Jerry Reed, a spokesman for the firm that owns the hotel, said the sale of the property has always been planned and was merely formalized by the bankruptcy proceedings and threats of foreclosure.
Reed, who lives on a ranch near Kerr County, represents Americap Group, which owns Kamayan Holdings LLC, the indebted firm that owns the hotel. Kamayan filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 6 and plans to pay back the loan after the auction, which will be held on Auction.com May 19-21 with the assistance of HREC Investment Advisors. Reed said Americap’s intention always was to sell the property or redevelop it in a joint venture.
The 102-room, 43-year-old hotel at 2105 Sidney Baker was acquired by Kamayan about 2007. The firm was acquired in 2008 by Americap Group, which specializes in buying companies that are in trouble.
Reed said Kamayan was in trouble in 2008, when the firm’s creditor, real estate investment trust Dallas-based PMC Commercial Trust, was moving forward with foreclosure. After Americap’s acquisition, PMC threatened to foreclose the property again after Kamayan was late on mortgage payments to the tune of about $18,000, Reed said.
The minimum selling price of the hotel won’t be disclosed at the auction, but the agreement approved by the judge Monday stipulates the lender and debtor agreed to the greater of $2.35 million or the total amount required to pay PMC’s claim, any taxes owed on the property and any costs arising from the sale. The Texas Comptroller’s Office, in an
April 17 court filing, claimed Kamayan owes $6,316.98 in hotel occupancy taxes.
Reed said he hopes whoever acquires the 4.4 acre property redevelops it into a convention center or shopping complex to draw more visitors to the area and stimulate the economy.
“When you see what we’ve got and the potential of what could happen in the market with any one of these (redevelopment) options, it’ll bring jobs, it brings revenues, and it brings a better quality of life to a lot of people in this market,” Reed said.
