Judge James Robart said he would issue a ruling “quite promptly” on plans to resume construction on the 40-story Potala Tower.
Several groups vying to decide the fate of a stalled Belltown hotel and apartment tower appeared in U.S. District Court on Thursday as a judge weighed a plan to hand over the project to a new group of investors.
Judge James Robart said he would issue a ruling “quite promptly” on plans to resume construction on the 40-story Potala Tower.
Although the $190 million project broke ground in 2014, it was halted last summer following a lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against developer Lobsang Dargey, who was accused of diverting investors’ money for his own use. Today, the only sign of the plans is a 60-foot-deep hole in the ground on 4th Avenue between Blanchard and Lenora streets.
A new plan recommended by a court-appointed receiver would infuse about $30 million into the project through two firms, based in China and Las Vegas, and pay Dargey $1.8 million in attorney fees in exchange for giving up his stake.
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Several other firms that put forth competing offers objected to the deal, and the SEC is against the provision that would fund Dargey’s attorney fees.
The deal also needs to be approved by about 250 investors, many from China, who put $83 million into the project and hoped to not only profit from the development but receive visas through the federal EB-5 program.
If the plan is approved by the judge, the new developers could take over the site by the end of August.