Patel rejects $6 million buyout
Golden Key Hotel owner Ray Patel says he is not interested in the $6 million offer he received from Americana at Brand developer Rick Caruso for the 55-room inn on the edge of the shopping and residential complex.
“The hotel is not for sale,” Patel said in an e-mail early Friday. “I recommend if Caruso feels he needs to expand his mall, to do it across the street on Brand and purchase an existing mall. I am sure the Glendale Redevelopment Agency will give him the air rights to connect the mall with a bridge.”
On Monday, Caruso sent Patel a letter asking for a response to the $6-million offer, which he said is $1.1 million, or 22%, higher than the assessed value of the site.
Caruso Affiliated Vice President Matt Middlebrook said Patel had yet to formally respond to the offer, but added that if “he’s not going to sell, the question is, what is Mr. Patel going to do to renovate his property?”
Caruso wants to expand the 15.5-acre Americana by acquiring Patel’s hotel and vacant building next door. He told the City Council last month he would replace the structures with 60,000 to 140,000 square feet of new retail space that would generate an estimated $800,000 in annual tax revenue for the city.
At the same time, Patel is suing the city and the Americana for alleged damage to the hotel during the three-year construction of the mall. The city and the Americana say Patel’s claims are meritless.
On Nov. 30, the city gave Caruso, Patel and Henry David, owner of the vacant building, 45 days to come up with redevelopment plans for the two properties, or for Patel and David to reach agreements to sell.
David has declined comment until the 45-day period has passed, but Caruso Affiliated officials say they have also made him an offer.
Caruso has repeatedly emphasized that the Americana has improved the economic climate in Glendale, and said he wants to “double down” his investment here even as other proposed commercial developments are stalling or struggling to obtain financing.
Middlebrook added that rounding out the Americana to fully occupy the Colorado Street frontage made sense, “as anybody who walks by can see.”
The Golden Key Hotel and adjacent empty building are in a redevelopment zone established in the 1970s, which gives the city the power of eminent domain.