May 03–NATCHEZ — The VUE Hotel and the nearly 21 acres of riverfront property below the hotel is now for sale.
RJB Financing, which bought the hotel out of bankruptcy in 2012, is selling the property, said David Levy, vice president of NRC Realty and Capital Advisors in Chicago.
NRC is facilitating the sale, and Levy said the hotel and the riverfront property could be bought separately.
RJB purchased the property in 2012 for approximately $5.6 million, according to bankruptcy documents, and changed the hotel’s name from the Grand Soleil to the VUE.
VUE Hotel management deferred to NRC for comments on the sale.
Levy said the hotel would continue to operate during the sale process.
RJB is the financial operator of the hotel and bought it with the intention of eventually selling it, Levy said.
“They are not hotel operators,” he said.
RJB bought the properties after they were put up for sale in the fall of 2011 under pressure of bankruptcy proceedings.
In May 2011, several local private creditors including Good Hope Construction, Farmer Electrical Service Company and Ketco petitioned to force Grand Soleil into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Grand Soleil reportedly owed the companies a total of $1.6 million. The hotel elected to enter voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2011.
Grand Soleil’s bankruptcy proceedings followed recent years of financial woes and a failed attempt to develop a proposed casino project.
Britton & Koontz Bank, which is now Home Bank, initiated and canceled foreclosure proceedings against Grand Soleil four times in recent years. Grand Soleil also evaded foreclosure proceedings initiated by United Mississippi Bank in December 2009.
Levy said he believes the hotel and the riverfront property are a great buying opportunity for someone.
“Natchez is and will continue to be a popular place for tourists,” he said.
The VUE Hotel and Restaurant is located at 130 John R. Junkin Drive. The 94-room hotel is stretched across two buildings.
The first building has three stories and 65 rooms and was rebuilt from the foundation up in 2008, while the second building is two stories with 28 rooms and a rooftop penthouse and was refurbished in 2008.
The hotel has a restaurant, banquet and meeting facilities, a pool with a hot tub and a poolside bar and grill.
The adjacent 20.9-acre riverfront property has had $14 million in site preparation work completed. It is zoned Waterfront Development 2, which includes casino, condominium, restaurant and specialty retail uses.
Information about the sale and properties can be viewed at nrc.com/1407.
