Resolution Trust Corp. Sells Hyatt Resort for $65 Million
The Hyatt Grand Champions Resort in Indian Wells, one of the largest properties listed for sale by the federal Resolution Trust Corp., was sold for $65 million to the Japanese real estate firm Maruko, sources familiar with the sale said Friday.
The sale, which closed escrow late Thursday, is a boost for the beleaguered RTC, an agency formed last year to sell assets of financially troubled thrifts. The RTC has been criticized for moving too slowly in selling problem properties. The sale of the resort, however, was expected because it was considered one of the RTC’s best assets.
The resort came under government control when thrift regulators seized Gilbraltar Savings a year ago. The 336-room luxury hotel features lagoons, swimming pools, fountains, waterfalls and a 10,500-seat tennis stadium. The hotel is best known for hosting tennis tournaments featuring such stars as Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg. It also is one of the stops on the Virginia Slims women’s tennis tour and hosts the annual Newsweek Champions Cup.
Hyatt operates the resort under a management contract.
A Maruko executive reached at the firm’s Tokyo headquarters confirmed the sale but declined further comment. Maruko is especially active in the real estate and condominium market in Hawaii but owns such properties in California as San Francisco’s Holiday Inn Civic Center.
The $65-million sales price is below the $75-million asking price published by RTC in December in listing its real estate for sale. But a source familiar with the sale said that the price was near the resort’s appraised value and that the amount may include an additional $1.5 million if the Newsweek tournament can be sold to another site.
Built in 1986, the resort was taken over in February, 1989, by Gibraltar Savings after the partnership that built it, which included former tennis star Charlie Pasarell, ran into financial difficulty. Gibraltar, based in Simi Valley, was seized by federal regulators one month later.
With $8 billion in assets, Gibraltar is now one of the largest institutions operating under federal supervision. It is believed to have lost $18 million in principal on its loan.
