Oxnard to Sell Stake in Troubled Radisson Hotel

Seeking to cut its losses, the Oxnard City Council has voted to sell its stake in the Radisson Suite Hotel, allowing the sale of the property now threatened by foreclosure.

Oxnard owns the property where the 250-room hotel sits next to the River Ridge Golf Course. The hotel is owned by Westland Co. of Ventura.

The city Tuesday evening approved the $8.25-million sale to Ventura Hospitality Partners, a joint venture between international banking firm I. N. G. Inc. and SEDKO Interest Inc., which owns or manages 45 hotels nationwide.

Oxnard will also receive a onetime $545,000 payment from the new hotel owner for the right to continue to use city lands.

Manufacturers Bank has begun to foreclose on the hotel because Westland Co. has fallen $19 million behind on its mortgage payments.

Oxnard receives more than $300,000 a year from the Radisson in bed and sales tax revenue. On balance, however, the deal has been a big money loser for the city.

“Hallelujah,” City Atty. Gary Gillig said after the council’s vote Tuesday.

When the hotel was built in 1986, Oxnard officials banked on getting revenues from the hotel’s land lease to offset a $9-million bond the city took out to finance the River Ridge Golf Course parking lot. The city decided to partially invest in the hotel to lure golfers and the then Los Angeles Raiders, who used the property as a summer training camp.

But after the hotel’s construction in 1986, Westland began experiencing financial trouble. Oxnard had to pay a $985,000 yearly bond payment from its general fund because the company never made any payments on its lease.

“When this project was contemplated and the economic climate was predicted to be more optimistic, this looked like a good transaction,” Gillig said. “ . . . Most if not all of the scenarios didn’t come to pass. The sale is in the city’s best interest.”

According to attorney Stanley E. Cohen, who represents Westland’s general partners, Glen and Walter Hartman, most of the $8.25 million from the sale will go to the bank. Cohen said the Radisson franchise has asked Ventura Hospitality Partners to invest $1.1 million in the hotel on top of the purchase price. Cohen expects the deal to go through by noon Friday.

“It’s a good deal,” Cohen said. “It disposes of the litigation without trial and all the things that go with that.”