W Boston hotel, condos file for bankruptcy
April 28, 2010 05:57 PM
Just months after opening, the owner of the luxury W Boston Hotel and Residences in Park Square filed for bankruptcy today. The company said it needs breathing room to restructure debts that total more than $100 million.
The filing is also only months after the city of Boston gave the developers a $10.5 million mortgage. The city, however, is not listed as a creditor in the documents that were filed today.
In its bankruptcy filing, the SW Boston Hotel Venture listed liabilities of $100 million to $500 million. The company said in a statement this afternoon that the operations of the hotel and the condominiums will not be affected by the bankruptcy petition. SW Boston developed and owns the complex. The hotel is operated by a separate company, Starwood Hotels.
The owner's "goal is to restructure its existing debt and pay its creditors in full, and to continue to operate this project for the long-term,'' the company said in its statement. "Chapter 11 provides the breathing room to do so.?
The W is a 26-story combination hotel and condo tower at the corner of Tremont and Stuart streets in Boston's Theatre District. There are 235 hotel rooms and 122 condos, plus two bars, a restaurant, underground parking. The complex cost $234 million to build. Only about 30 percent of the condos have been sold or are under agreement.
In a statement today, the Menino administration noted the city's $10.5 million loan is secured by the W property and other real estate owned by the developer.
"We are committed to continuing to work with the W Hotel and other creditors to achieve a speedy resolution to this matter," the city said in its statement.
