Uptown 240 bankruptcy sale could be back on as saga of troubled Dillon condominium property continues

After being vacated earlier this month, the sale of Uptown 240 may be back on, presenting the latest twist in the multiyear saga for the partially-constructed and bankrupt 80-unit condominium development in the Dillon town core.

Dillon Town Manager Nathan Johnson said at a Town Council meeting Tuesday, Oct. 17, that Uptown 240 is asking all those who hold liens on the property to reduce or eliminate the amount owed so the sale can go through.

“It seems like things are changing at Uptown 240 with the bankruptcy proceeding,” Johnson said. “This was based on what we knew last week — was that the sale was back on. They were trying to go back around to lien holders to reduce the overall debt.”

Uptown 240 bankruptcy attorney Keri Riley on Thursday filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of Colorado that asks a judge to approve a sales contract between Uptown 240 and 240 Lake Dillon Drive Developer with a total purchase price of $12.75 million.

Still, the exact fate of the property remains uncertain. Uptown 240 had until Oct. 18 to pay $9.25 million to JGJP Dillon LLC, its primary lender, as part of a settlement agreement. But that date came and went.

“Uptown 240 has made some requests from us to extend out some of the time frame, and we’re working with them to see if we can come to terms to make that work,” Caroline Kwak, an attorney representing JGJP Dillon, said in a phone interview Wednesday.

Johnson said at the council meeting Tuesday that Uptown 240 is asking the Town Council to eliminate $123,000 in liens owed to the town for past due attorney fees and municipal utility charges. The council discussed Uptown 240’s request in executive session.

It is not immediately clear from court filings how the potential bankruptcy sale could impact unsecured creditors, such as those who put deposits down on Uptown 240 units. Neither Riley nor Uptown 240 President Danilo Ottoborgo responded to emailed questions sent Wednesday about how unsecured creditors could be impacted.

The local restaurateurs-turned-developers behind Uptown 240 promised for years to complete the condominium project themselves, including as recently as this past spring. The family restaurant at the site was demolished to make way for the planned condominium project in 2018, which broke ground the following year. But the company’s original financiers backed out during the pandemic.

Construction was supposed to resume in November 2020 and again in February 2021 but never did. Then this past February, Uptown 240 filed for bankruptcy the day before a scheduled foreclosure auction.

For much of this time, the concrete foundation of the unfinished condominium project has remained as a scar in the Dillon town core. But due to unpaid bills, the company that provided the fence around the construction site took it down, according to town attorney Nick Cotton-Baez.

Cotton-Baez said that JGJP Dillon LLC has covered the cost of reinstalling the fence around the Uptown 240 site. He added that Uptown 240 had attempted to pay to keep the fence up but the fence company, “being wary of receiving the money, maybe understandably given where they are at in the bankruptcy proceeding,” didn’t accept Uptown 240’s attempt to pay with credit.

“They came and took down the fencing around the site, which was very unsafe especially in different areas,” Cotton-Baez said. “But luckily our town engineer was very quickly able to make a quick phone call and get a fence up the next day.”